At the "Taihu Gusu Wuxia Association" in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, a matchmaking event hosted by the matchmaker "Wang Po" excited the entire venue, and on the streets of Wunvzou Tourist Area in Jiangxi Province, NPCs who "only accept sweets" are smiling and conveying the warmth of the town. In Hetou Old Street in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, "Li Bai" recites poetry with tourists, recreating the elegance of literati from over a thousand years ago. Every holiday, NPCs at tourist spots become a hot topic on social media, becoming an eye-catching scene in the cultural tourism market. China Economic Net reported.

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NPC originally refers to the gaming term "Non-Player Character." In the cultural tourism sector, it refers to professional staff who guide tourists through role-playing, interactive stories, skill performances, and other means based on specific cultural themes to enhance immersive experiences. According to the "China Experience Economy Development Report (2025)" published by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, as of the end of November 2025, the market size of China's experience economy reached 18.4 trillion yuan (approximately 43.24 billion JPY), an increase of 22.6% year-on-year. As tourists' needs shift from "sightseeing" to "experience-focused," NPCs are transforming from mere marketing buzzwords into a crucial force driving the restructuring of cultural tourism experiences and the upgrading of the industry.

NPC "Li Bai" at Hetou Old Street, Tangshan City, Hebei Province
The initiative at Puyuan Fashion Ancient Town in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, is a prime example. According to Zhou Jian, brand director of the ancient town, "In the early stages of the tourist spot's operation, we placed NPCs such as 'Song Dynasty street performers' to liven up the atmosphere of the town, but from the autumn of 2025, we established an interactive NPC system. The core of this is to enhance the immersive experience through a design that allows visitors to 'participate, interact, and create lasting memories.'" NPC costumes and makeup are meticulously reproduced based on Song Dynasty systems, embodying historical texture. Furthermore, Song Dynasty life scenes are deeply integrated into interactive spots, such as incorporating activities like Go and storytelling appreciation into "Washe (public entertainment venues)." All these designs are linked by a "Jiaozi (Song Dynasty paper money)" mission system, forming a complete story flow that transforms tourists from bystanders into participants.

Wansui Mountain Wuxia City in Kaifeng City, Henan Province, has taken this NPC model to its extreme, building the "Grand Song Wuxia City" with over 1,000 NPCs. Through an "Yin Piao (ancient paper money)" mission chain, it connects over 3,000 interactive performances daily. The tourist spot's total operating income in 2025 reached 1.27 billion yuan (approximately 29.845 billion JPY), a year-on-year increase of 136.5%.

The traffic effect and commercial value brought by NPCs are rapidly becoming apparent. Since the beginning of this year, a "talent war" has been quietly unfolding at tourist destinations across the country. Taishan Shigandang Tourist Spot in Shandong Province urgently recruited 500 NPCs in preparation for the "Labor Day (May 1st)" holiday. Zhouzhi Water Street & Fireworks Alley in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province, even recruited a "top NPC group" with a maximum monthly salary of 50,000 yuan (approximately 1.18 million JPY). At Xiangwang Guli in Suqian City, Jiangsu Province, they recruited for the role of "Xiang Yu" with a daily wage of "height × 10," amounting to a maximum of 1,900 yuan (approximately 44,650 JPY).

NPC "Xuebinghou" at Changchun Zoological and Botanical Garden
With the expansion of the workforce, there is growing interest within the industry in the professional development of tourist spot NPCs. During this year's National Two Sessions (National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee), an NPC representative proposed that consideration be given to including "Cultural Tourism Immersive Interactive Experience Master" or a similar title in the "National Occupational Classification Dictionary," and that tourist spot NPCs should be taken as a typical case to explore a pathway for standard certification of "new employment form" occupations.

Excellent NPC practitioners are not merely actors but also propagators of culture. Zhou Jian emphasized, "In the recruitment and training of NPCs, we focus on developing three abilities: 'cultural understanding,' 'improvised interaction skills,' and 'empathy.' Training content covers a wide range, including historical culture, situational acting, safety routes, and emergency measures, and they must pass an examination before being deployed to the field." A clear career path for NPCs is also provided, allowing them to start from basic roles and gradually grow into story facilitators and area operation managers.

Yan Xiangjun, Party Committee Secretary of Shandong Tourism Vocational College, pointed out that practitioners themselves need to continuously improve their historical and cultural literacy, improvisational acting skills, and emotional control abilities. NPCs may evolve into "operation managers" in the future. That is, they will become "designers" and "guides" for cultural experiences in specific fields such as local cuisine and traditional crafts, providing deep and differentiated immersive experiences to tourists with various needs. (Provided by People's Daily Online Japanese Edition / Edited by NA)