ABSTRACT：As urbanization rapidly progresses, rural areas are being increasingly recognized as havens for individualsseeking a slower pace of life. Despite the growing interest in slow tourism as a travel modality, there is a lack ofrural destinations that have successfully established slow tourism as their primary image. This research focuseson Gaochun International Citt`aslow in China, including a mixed-method approach to investigate how rural areascan cultivate a slow tourism image to attract visitors. This paper introduces a new conceptual framework forrural China’s slow tourism image, termed the bullseye framework. This framework divides the image of slowtourism into three concentric layers: experiential foundation, interactive framework, and value resonance.Compositional analysis reveals a certain mismatch between the promotion of the image of slow tourism by thegovernment and tourism companies and the perception of tourists. This mismatch is particularly evident inpromoting an eco-original lifestyle, preserving folk culture, and creating a slow-paced living atmosphere.Therefore, the government and tourism companies must more accurately understand the needs of tourists toformulate more effective promotion strategies.