“3, 2, 1, go!” Following the referee, the pets, led by their owners, started an obstacle challenge. It was a pear blossom party called “Make Pet Friends in a Blossoming Season”, held in the Honey Pear Orchard of Luniao Town, Yuhang District, attracting over 30 pet owners with their adorable companions.

The competition rules asked the pets to complete more than 10 obstacles on a 300-meter track, including hurdles, jumping through hoops, high jumps, and weaving poles. The referee ranked the pets based on completion times. After intense competition, a Bichon Frise named Qiuqiu won the championship, with a time of 32 seconds. “Qiuqiu and I work very well together, and he also met many good dog friends. It was a really fun experience,” said Ms. Liu, the owner of Qiuqiu.

Meanwhile, a variety of human-pet collaborative activities such as treasure hunts in the orchard, hula hoop endurance challenges, and loyalty tests were staged one after another, making the “level of cuteness” on site skyrocket. 

On the other side of the event, Luniao created a spring mart under the banner of pets and pears. There were stalls for branded cat food, handmade pet items, pear blossom derivatives, and pet adoptions, providing visitors with a unique pet experience-based consumption journey.

“A traditional flower-seeking tour would be mostly about photos, which is too monotonous to meet the growing needs of tourists for culture and tourism,” said an official from Luniao. Making use of the robust pear blossoms, Luniao combined the pet economy with the scene of blossoms to extend the stay of visitors while promoting the business related to them, such as catering and accommodation around the area. The measures have laid a foundation of building an “emotion-healed” town known for its “rural pet economy and tourism.”

As early as two years ago, Luniao began a model that integrated pet economy with rural tours, attracting pet-specific enterprises (and talents). The Wild Paradise has a pet training center and a pet food processing plant, which are propellants to the development of pet economy. “The center boasts a totally enclosed and multi-function lawn and separate temperature-controlled dog houses and cat rooms, meeting the needs of different pets,” said an official from Luniao. The ongoing advancement of the rural pet economy is making Luniao a retreat integrating leisure, entertainment, sightseeing, and travel experience.

In the future, Luniao will continue to enrich shopping and spending scenarios, with a highlight on a holistic experience on “flowers, fields, accommodations, shopping, and tour.” The villages will be brought into life again and made a heavenly escape from the worldly chaos.