BEIJING China's north-eastern provinces are frosty places not known for their service.
But even as tourists to Harbin, capital of Heilongjiang province, slipped and fell on its iced-over ground in January, the local authorities rolled out the proverbial red carpet for these out-of-towners.
City employees worked for 40 hours to install a grey carpet along its main shopping drag, Central Street, and down a flight of stairs to an underpass.
Harbin, a Russian colonial city from 1898 to 1917, even created a "moon shot" for tourists. It floated an inflatable sphere over the 117year-old St Sophia's Cathedral when tourists gave feedback on social media that they would like a "moon" to appear in their photos of the 53m-tall church, one of the city's top attractions.
The carpet, fake moon and other tourist-friendly moves have paid off for Harbin.
The city rang up a record 16.42 billion yuan (S$3.1 billion) in tourism during the Golden Week from Feb 10 to 17, the country's official Chinese New Year break. About 10 million tourists visited Harbin, an 81 per cent increase from the same period a year ago.
Between Dec 30, 2023, and Jan 1, 2024, Harbin welcomed more than three million visitors, with tourism revenue for the three days amounting to about 5.91 billion yuan, also a peak.
Before Harbin, there was Zibo, a city in eastern Shandong province.
In 2023, millions of domestic visitors flocked to Zibo for a taste of its cheap and delicious barbecued food, after videos on social media showing undergraduates praising the city for its food and hospitality went viral.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 27, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der February 27, 2024-Ausgabe von The Straits Times.
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