[Towards “New”] Traffic becomes volume, Malatang ignites new development of China’s cultural tourism

Editor's note:

　　Amid the great changes in the world, China has chosen to move towards "newness", promote high-quality development with new productive forces, and provide the world with new opportunities with high-quality development. With a new beginning in the new era, China News Network launched the "Move towards the 'New'" plan to analyze the new trends and new driving forces of China's economy and society, and witness the magnificent picture of China's modernization construction.

　　China News Service, Beijing, March 28 (Liu Yue) "Work and study are suspended. If you have something urgent, go to Tianshui!" This spring, a bowl of spicy soup has made Tianshui, a small town in northwest Gansu Province, the most "hot" place in the minds of many tourists. destination.

　　From "Zibo Rush Roast", to "Erbin Favorite Noodles", and then to a bowl of spicy hotpot "hot" Huotian Shuicheng. In recent years, China’s cultural tourism market has been undergoing an unprecedented “new” transformation. The key to change lies in "newness" and "heart".

Gansu Tianshui Malatang. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng

　　new trend

　　——"Moving by eating, traveling by exploring taste" is popular

　　Chili oil is red, coriander is green, and the chewy hand-made noodles are wrapped in thick oily red sauce. They are picked up in front of the camera with chopsticks - the female college student whose online name is "One Cup of Liang Baikai" did not expect that when she went home to celebrate the New Year, she would The photo received millions of likes. The accompanying text in the video "It is recommended to popularize Gansu Malatang nationwide" has also become a prelude to the popularity of Tianshui Cultural Tourism.

　　From the south to the north, there are planes and high-speed trains, and countless tourists flock here. According to statistics from the Gansu Provincial Tourism Information Data Center, Tianshui City received a total of 2.99 million tourists from March 1 to 23, and the number of tourists from outside the province in a single day on weekends exceeded 70,000.

　　The shop owner "collapsed": He couldn't finish boiling, he couldn't finish boiling at all, the pot was cooked!

　　Netizens joked: The last time so many people came to Tianshui was when Zhuge Liang subdued Jiang Wei.

On March 14, in Tianshui, Gansu Province, tourists held up their selected Malatang ingredients. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng

　　Food is the most important thing for the people. In addition to Malatang, spicy paste, water noodles, and eight bowls, Northwest continues to capture the hearts of tourists with its rugged taste characteristics. This kind of "food tourism", which explores local specialties and promotes the development of local cultural tourism, has developed rapidly in recent years and has gradually become a new favorite in the cultural tourism market.

　　Chive pancakes, meat skewers, and Zibo barbecue rolls create a new pattern in Qilu; sour bamboo shoots and peanuts, fungus and yuba, and snail noodles create new growth in Baiyue Zhuang Township. The success of Zibo, Shandong and Liuzhou, Guangxi has fully demonstrated the new consumption trend of "eating to move and exploring for taste".

　　According to third-party platforms, in recent years, tourism in cities such as Shantou, Chaozhou, Zigong, and Yibin that specialize in local cuisine has generally increased, and "eating a city in one day" has become a traffic password. Behind the emergence of "food tourism", it not only contains the practicality of "the fireworks in the world, the most touching people's hearts", but also complies with the people's growing taste needs.

　new gameplay

　　——Use "Fancy Work" to "Splash the Sky with Wealth"

　　Food is not alone in this "new" transformation. Not limited to famous mountains and rivers, tourists began to prefer to pay for their personal spiritual needs. Cultural tourism has ushered in new ways of playing, and major scenic spots have been "fancy renovations."

　　Kaifeng Long Live Mountain Martial Arts City is full of visitors, just because "Wang Po's matchmaking" changed to "If You Are the One", which is funny and down-to-earth; Hebei's Handan Taihang Wuzhi Mountain has caused heated discussions, and the "feeding Sun Wukong" keeps tourists entertained; Guangzhou Chimelong is happy In the world, high-quality NPCs such as the Proton Group in "Fengshen" attract countless tourists to check in...

The picture shows the Songhua River Ice and Snow Carnival Park. A brightly colored hot air balloon has become a popular experience among tourists. Picture/Visual China

　　In 2023, Harbin will usher in "flooding wealth" with its unique "tycoon-style fans": frozen pears on the plate, reindeer parades, roasted sweet potatoes with spoons, private cars to pick up tourists for free... the renovation is exciting. Eye-opener. “It’s not that Europe is unaffordable, but that Harbin is more cost-effective.” There are hot memes on the Internet. Locals posted pictures of the hot air balloon over the Songhua River and exclaimed, "Erbin, you make me feel strange." Foreign tourists took photos of the artificial moon over St. Sophia Cathedral and lamented, "There is a kind of happiness of being pampered"...

　　The “new way” of cultural tourism has created the revenue myth of “6 billion in three days” in Harbin. Relying on resources, using technology, and the new combination of creative design and immersive experience, unlimited possibilities for future market changes are brewing.

　　new goal

　　——We need both “flow” and “volume”

　　The explosion of popularity in Harbin is also the result of the exponential spread of short videos.

　　Those who get traffic win the world. In the Internet era, short videos have become the strongest new driving force in the cultural and tourism industry. A glimpse of the "roly-poly" lady, revitalizing the city that never sleeps in the Tang Dynasty; the arrival of the hairpin-wearing women in Xunpu made Xunpu Village in Quanzhou, Fujian an internet celebrity check-in place; the popularity of Tianshui Malatang in Gansu also originated from Just take a photo... However, looking back on the past, there are countless Internet celebrity scenic spots that have become popular after being detonated by short videos.

At the Malatang "Foodie Festival" held in the ancient city of Tianshui, Gansu, tourists from all over the world taste Malatang. Photo by Jiumei Danzeng

　　So far, on the short video platform, the cumulative views of the topic "Tianshui Malatang" have exceeded 3.5 billion. How much of this network traffic can be converted into current and future tourists depends on Tianshui's methods of retaining tourists.

　　After the hustle and bustle, how do "Internet celebrities" become "long-lasting"? The "Ice City" has gained popularity and won the favor of tourists, all thanks to the enthusiasm of the Northeast; Zibo's explosion has received rave reviews, relying on strict supervision; Gansu Tianshui also handed in the answer: the Railway Bureau launched the "Tianshui Malatang" tourist train, and the caring fleet was "nanny-level" "We pick up and drop off tourists, volunteers deliver mineral water, government departments set up "Mala Tang Street", party and government agencies open their courtyards, and open toilets and parking spaces to foreign tourists for free...

　　This rugged northwest town reveals its delicate and thoughtful side to visitors. With a history of 8,000 years of civilization and a history of hot and spicy food, Gansu Tianshui is full of confidence.

　　In this transformation of the cultural tourism market to "move towards the new", in order to achieve the new goal of changing "traffic" into "retention", we must replace the old with the new and the heart with the heart. (over)