Next internet celebrity city emerges amid China's cultural tourism boom

LANZHOU, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Following the barbecue-induced travel craze to the city of Zibo in east China and the ice-snow tourism frenzy in Harbin in the northeast, Chinese social media has once again showcased its influence in highlighting the next internet-famous city worthy of exploration.

This time it's Tianshui, a low-key city in northwest China's Gansu Province that has taken the spotlight. It has garnered considerable attention online following enthusiastic endorsements from food enthusiasts and social media influencers, celebrating the city's iconic dish of hot pot and its wealth of cultural attractions, including the Maijishan Grottoes.

Known as Tianshui Malatang, which literally means spicy and hot, the local dish is popular for its large portion of skewered meat, vegetables, and hand-made potato noodles in a pot of boiling broth, and served with a ladle of flavored chili oil.

Two food bloggers, with over 3 million followers in their account "Daoyuesheshiyuji" on the popular Chinese microblogging site Weibo, are among the influencers extolling the deliciousness of Tianshui Malatang.

"This chili oil only enhances the fragrance but is not spicy. The aroma alone entices your appetite to make you drool," they said while savoring the delicacy.

Their vlogs show eager food enthusiasts lining up on the streets, clutching hot pot skewers. Many of them traveled from cities far away to relish the culinary experience.

Dong Liangyan, 29, from Daqing in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, located more than 2,000 km away from Tianshui, told Xinhua that she was absolutely delighted to relish the local delicacy.

"Being a food enthusiast myself, all of the short video recommendations on my phone recently are about Tianshui Malatang," she said.

In mid-March, the average daily passenger flow at railway stations in Tianshui surged by some 40 percent in a week compared to the same period last year, data from China Railways showed.

Amidst a surge of social media buzz, China has seen several tourist attractions gain popularity in the past year before Tianshui.

During the five-day May Day holiday last year, tourism bookings for Zibo in Shandong Province known for its barbecue increased some 20 times from the same period of the previous year, according to the local culture and tourism bureau.

The "ice city" of Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang Province, embraced a tourism boom with its dazzling ice-and-snow theme park. It received over 10.09 million visitors during the Spring Festival holiday, marking an 81.7 percent year-on-year increase.

The phenomenal popularity of Zibo and Harbin, whether it be their local delicacies or signature tourism scenes, was just the beginning.

Beyond the allure of popular dishes, the old industrial city of Zibo attracted visitors with its high hospitality standards and quality of service.

Harbin demonstrated its attention to every nuanced travel experience for visitors and implemented a variety of innovative strategies to attract them. Similarly, Tianshui is trying to follow suit to embrace the opportunity for a tourism boom.

As of March 13, "Tianshui Malatang" has become the most widely searched hashtag across China's major social media platforms, with related short videos garnering over 1 billion views. Searches for "Tianshui Malatang" on the Chinese lifestyle-sharing platform Xiaohongshu have resulted in over 30,000 relevant notes.

In response to the overwhelming popularity, Tianshui has swiftly committed to providing tourists with top-quality hospitality experiences. At the city's train stations, visitors can conveniently board chartered buses that transport them directly to restaurant streets. Meanwhile, many locals have volunteered to offer free rides, picking up tourists from the stations.

To sustain the tourist flow, the city also ramped up efforts to ensure food safety and price control. Recommended tour itineraries catering to the diverse interests of visitors, whether they seek local specialties or cultural sites, have been launched for their convenience.

While drawn in by the delectable cuisine, many travelers are also captivated by the city's rich cultural tourism resources, including the Maijishan Grottoes and the temple of the mythical Chinese ancestor Fuxi.

The travel boom has also yielded benefits for other sectors. Fueled by their love for hot pot, people are also buying special ingredients, such as Gangu chili powder.

According to He Zhibin, general manager of a chili pepper processing company in Tianshui's Gangu County, the sales of chili powder products have soared and attracted attention from many e-commerce hosts.

For Zibo and Harbin, the sustained tourism fervor has unleashed the potential of the consumer market, as well as the demand for high-quality cultural tourism offerings.

In the recently released government work report, fostering new areas of consumption growth including entertainment and tourism is listed as one of the tasks for 2024.

China's domestic tourists made nearly 4.9 billion trips in 2023, with total tourism expenditure nearing 5 trillion yuan (about 694.5 billion U.S. dollars), according to Sun Yeli, minister of culture and tourism.

This phenomenal tourism boom wasn't accidental, but rather, to some extent, inevitable, Sun said, noting that to meet people's growing needs, cities across China need to push forward the development of cultural tourism infrastructure, improve service quality, and standardize the market.