The rise of tourism in Zhongshan is closely related to industrial development. In the early stage of reform and opening up, the town economy of Zhongshan City developed rapidly. Therefore, with the rapid development of industrial economy in the town area, Zhongshan actively meets the needs of Guangzhou, especially in terms of business expansion and business docking. At this stage, it is more appropriate to say that Zhongshan is adapting to its business needs rather than developing tourism, and the most famous one during this period is Zhongshan Hot Springs. Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel was invested and built by well-known figures from Hong Kong and Macau, such as Huo Yingdong and Mr. Stanley Ho, in 1979. It was completed and opened on December 28, 1980, and is the first Sino foreign cooperative tourism enterprise since China's reform and opening up. Zhongshan Hot Springs are known as the "living fossil" of reform and opening up. Many business activities take place at Zhongshan Hot Springs, which became a template for early hot spring tourism in Zhongshan.
Between 1996 and 2003, Zhongshan discovered its unique tourism development theme - Sun Yat sen culture. During this period, a series of themed scenic spots with Sun Yat sen as their IP were born, such as the Sun Yat sen Hometown Tourist Area and the Sun Yat sen Film and Television City, as well as the Sun Yat sen West Road Pedestrian Street. Therefore, this stage is the period when the first theme IP of tourism in Zhongshan City is highlighted.
From 2003 to 2007, Zhongshan's industrial tourism began to experience significant development. The economic development of various towns in Zhongshan is getting better and better, with industrial enterprises growing from small to large and becoming increasingly prominent. During this period, there was a nationwide trend of industrial tourism, which utilized industrial museums or factory locations to showcase and promote corresponding products. These effects have enabled many enterprises in Zhongshan to embark on the process of industrial tourism. During the same period, the entertainment equipment sector in Zhongshan Town's economy began to rise, and the large-scale rise of Jinma Corporation was its main representative. After its rise, it quickly became a supplier to the Bay Area theme park group, exporting a large number of equipment to companies such as Chimelong, Happy Valley, and Huaqiang Fantawild. But Zhongshan tourism has been stagnant since 2007 due to the stagnation of urban development. For over 15 years thereafter, tourism in Zhongshan remained hesitant.
Firstly, there are few tourism projects updated in Zhongshan; Secondly, there is an extreme lack of leading tourism themes. Finally, although Jinma Corporation has made corresponding attempts in the development of theme parks, it is only limited to small-scale amusement parks and amusement parks, and its transformation is not considered successful. That is to say, there is no corresponding product layout such as fist amusement parks or main parks throughout Zhongshan. Therefore, during this period, we can see that Zhongshan tourism is basically in a relatively invisible state in the entire Pearl River Delta region. The well-known tourist attractions in Zhongshan City mainly include Sun Yat sen's former residence, Zhongshan Film and Television City, Wuguishan Forest Park, Zhongshan Hot Spring Hotel, Zhongshan Film and Television City, and other attractions.