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Sustainable development evaluation of agri-culture-tourism integration in revolutionary old areas: a case study of Tianshui city
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  • Published: 02 April 2026

Sustainable development evaluation of agri-culture-tourism integration in revolutionary old areas: a case study of Tianshui city

  • Maomao Luo1,
  • Huanyu Zhang2,
  • Mengke Xuan3,
  • Tingting Liu4 &
  • …
  • Qiancheng Zhou5 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Development studies
  • Economics

Abstract

As a carrier of China’s historical and cultural heritage, the sustainable development of the integration of agriculture, culture, and tourism (Agri-Culture-Tourism) in the old revolutionary base areas plays an important role in promoting the protection of cultural heritage and regional economic growth. However, how to achieve sustainable development of Agri-Culture-Tourism integration in old revolutionary base areas and what the key factors influencing such development are still remain important research topics that have not been explored in depth at present. This paper explores the practices and explorations of Tianshui City, a revolutionary old area, in terms of sustainable development in Agri-Culture-Tourism. Through methods such as Python Grey Relational Analysis, Logistic Regression Analysis, and Principal Component Factor Analysis, this study reveals the high correlation between Agri-Culture-Tourism and the tertiary industry in Tianshui City. It identifies key factors influencing tourists’ willingness to support, including the “level of infrastructure development for Agri-Culture-Tourism,” “richness of Agri-Culture-Tourism resources,” and “integration of Agri-Culture-Tourism supporting poverty alleviation.” Tianshui city has made remarkable achievements in promoting the sustainable development in Agri-Culture-Tourism, which requires focusing on promoting the development of secondary service industry, basic service industry and improving the efficiency of publicity. This study innovatively reveals effective experiences in the sustainable development of Agri-Culture-Tourism in revolutionary old areas, providing valuable insights for the sustainable development of similar regions in China and other developing countries.

Data availability

The raw data have already been included in the analysis of the article, and further data can be obtained by contacting the corresponding author.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiujiang Polytechnic University of Science and Technology, Jiujiang, China

    Maomao Luo

  2. Tourism College, Beijing Union University, Beijing, China

    Huanyu Zhang

  3. School of Business, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

    Mengke Xuan

  4. School of Marxism, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China

    Tingting Liu

  5. School of Public Administration, Jilin University, Changchun, China

    Qiancheng Zhou

Authors
  1. Maomao Luo
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  2. Huanyu Zhang
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  3. Mengke Xuan
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  4. Tingting Liu
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  5. Qiancheng Zhou
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Contributions

Maomao Luo: Article writing, data collection and analysis, article translation, revision and polish, refs. Huanyu Zhang: Article writing, data analysis, material collection and article revision. Mengke Xuan: Article writing, data analysis, data search, article revision and plan implementation. Tingting Liu: Article writing, data collection and analysis, article translation, revision and polish. Qiancheng Zhou: Article writing, revision and polish. All authors agree with the content of the manuscript and all explicitly agree to the submission of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tingting Liu.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethical approval

After review by the Ethics Committee of Central University of Finance and Economics, this study was conducted in strict compliance with the Helsinki Declaration. All participants provided informed consent for the research, and all procedures adhered to relevant guidelines and regulations. The study involved no physiological risks or sensitive personal information. All experimental protocols were approved by the Ethics Committee, which has formally endorsed this research.

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Cite this article

Luo, M., Zhang, H., Xuan, M. et al. Sustainable development evaluation of agri-culture-tourism integration in revolutionary old areas: a case study of Tianshui city. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47156-8

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  • Received: 27 October 2025

  • Accepted: 30 March 2026

  • Published: 02 April 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47156-8

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Keywords

  • Sustainable development
  • Agri-culture-tourism
  • Revolutionary old areas
  • Integrated development
  • Services
  • Tianshui city
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