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China's tourist destinations compete for online exposure

With stunning successes, and fantastic flops

Andrew Methven's avatar
Andrew Methven
Jan 27, 2024
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Welcome to RealTime Mandarin!

It’s a free resource helping you learn contemporary Chinese in context, maintain and improve your Mandarin skills, and stay on top of the latest language trends in China.

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Harbin has been one of the early marketing success stories of China in 2024.

The capital of Heilongjiang province has welcomed huge numbers of tourists in recent weeks.

They are heading to the northern city to see its famed International Ice and Snow Festival (哈尔滨国际冰雪节).

According to official data, Harbin welcomed over 3 million tourists during the three-day New Year holiday in January.

That generated nearly 6 billion yuan in tourism revenues for the city, five times that of its southern competitor, Sānyà 三亚, the popular destination in Hainan.

The tropical tourist hot spot welcomed only 563,000 tourists, generating revenues of just over 1 billion yuan.

Harbin’s success follows the social media excitement around another northern city which we discussed last summer.

The city of Zībó 淄博 in Shandong province became an overnight sensation as the hottest destination for barbecue (淄博烧烤), with thousands of tourists flocking to the city in May last year.

Seeing the huge popularity of Harbin and Zibo, other cities and provinces in China are trying to replicate the success.

Seeing Harbin being hit by the "flood of wealth," many cities across the country have followed suit, hoping to get a slice of the pie.

But some controversies and even doubts have also been voiced, with some even sending a plea: "Local culture and tourism bureaus, please stop coming up with outrageous ideas."

眼看着哈尔滨被“泼天的富贵”砸中,全国多地城市也跟风抄起了作业,希冀分一杯羹。但火了之后,一些争议乃至质疑声也开始出现,甚至有声音指出——“求各地文旅局不要瞎折腾了”。

So it’s not just about making noise online and sharing video content.

Planning and effective social media engagement are key.

In Harbin’s case, the campaign began in September last year with the hugely popular short video, “My surname is Ha” (我姓哈).

The first character of Harbin's name became its surname.

Now the city is affectionately known by its “name,” Erbin 尔滨, humanising it.

Other destinations are taking a similar approach with video shorts using the formula, "My surname is..." (我姓…). 

As "Erbin" became the first internet celebrity in 2024, netizens from all over the country couldn't sit still.

They called upon their hometown's cultural and tourism bureau to "come and do the same". [2]

随着“尔滨”成为2024开年首个“顶流”,各地网友坐不住了,纷纷喊话家乡文旅局“快来抄作业”。[2]

Local officials are also prominent in some campaigns: 

In this round of local tourism marketing competition after Harbin's success, most of them are directly "organised" by the administrative branch represented by the director of culture and tourism, sparing no effort to show "what I have" to the outside world.

Yet it sorely lacks the word-of-mouth recommendation from tourists that have visited those places, which is more convincing in marketing. To a certain extent, they get it completely wrong about how to create “internet-celebrity cities”. [1]

步哈尔滨之后的这轮地方文旅营销大比拼,多数是以文旅局长为代表的行政之手在直接“整活”,不遗余力地向外界展示“我有什么”,而更具营销效力的游客实地体验后的种草与口碑支撑却严重不足。一定程度上说,这恰恰是把“网红城市”的制造逻辑给搞反了。[1]

Some marketing campaigns have been criticised and even removed from social media channels.

Such as Yúntái 云台, a city in Henan, whose pitch to tourists was a group of topless musclemen posing in front of a waterfall. It was criticised as a "beautiful man trap" (美男计 měinánjì). 

  • The background: During the Warring States period, Duke Xian of Jin (晋献公) despatched a handsome man to the State of Yu (虞国) to speak ill of a minister of that state, eventually causing him to leave and opening up the State of Yu for attack.

There are also questions about how effective these marketing campaigns actually are at driving economic growth. 

One report suggests Zibo achieved a year-on-year GDP growth of 5.2% in 2023, which is 0.8% lower than the average for Shandong Province last year. 

So, that's what we're discussing this week!


🎧What you’re missing in the member podcast 🎧

This week’s member podcast includes nearly 30 minutes of native Chinese audio.

With loads of extra phrases and insights into the language used to discuss this news story.

Sign up and access the audio and transcript now!


Favourite Five

floodwealth.jpg
Artwork by Derek Zheng

1. 魔性 mó xìng

tacky but with irresistible charm

只用几十秒、一分钟,不耽误大家时间,还很魔性,顺应了短视频的传播特点 - It takes only less than a minute to watch and it has an irresistible charm, ticking all the boxes for a short video to go viral. [2] 

  • Note: An internet slang term.

  • Related:

    • 喊麦 hǎn mài - ‘shouting mic’’ which is the style of video short used by Harbin and others.

    • 洗脑 xǐ nǎo - “brainwashing” - an extremely catchy tune

2. 显眼包 xiǎn yǎn bāo

eye catching

各地文旅争当显眼包,在互联网平台上各显神通 - Various culture and tourism bureaus vie to stand out, showcasing the uniqueness of their cities on online platforms. [2] 

  • Note: One of our top buzzwords of 2023. 

3. 整活儿 zhěng huó’r

do something unusual that can appeal to the audience

应该肯定的一点是,受哈尔滨的“刺激”后,各地文旅部门开始各种“整活” - One thing for sure is that culture and tourism bureaus across the country have resorted to all kinds of tactics after being shocked by Harbin's success. [1] 

  • Note: An internet slang term originally from online gaming. 

4. 流量至上 liú liàng zhì shàng

online traffic is king

由此所展现出的一种只要能火就可以“豁出去”的“流量至上”的思维 - This reveals the belief that "online traffic is king": as long as it can go viral, we're willing to go all out.[1] 

  • Related: 

    • 火 huǒ - trending, popular

    • 出圈 chū quān - going beyond the traditional scope

    • 蹭热点 cèng rè diǎn - capitalise on hot topics

5. 泼天的富贵 pō tiān de fù guì

a flood of unexpected wealth

眼看着哈尔滨被“泼天的富贵”砸中,全国多地城市也跟风抄起了作业 - Seeing Harbin being hit by the "flood of wealth," many cities across the country have followed suit to do the same. [1] 

  • More: Read more in the Phrase of the Week.

  • Related: 

    • 一杯羹 yì bēi gēng - share the spoils, get a slice of the pie

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Consuming the Conversation

VCG111475388753.jpg
Image: CFP

Useful words

6. 秀 xiù

showcase, display

很多地方的文旅局长们纷纷出镜秀个人才艺 - Many culture and tourism bureau chiefs are appearing in front of the camera to showcase their personal talents. [1]

  • Related:

    • 个人秀 gè rén xiù - individual talent show

7. 造梗 zào gěng

create internet memes

拍土味视频造梗等营销方式层出不穷 - They resorted to various marketing methods, including shooting tacky videos to create memes. [1]

  • Related:

    • 玩梗 wán gěng - playing with internet memes

8. 跟风 gēn fēng

follow the trend

把握合理边界,而不是一味跟风“卷”到底 - It is important to know what they can do and what they should not do, instead of blindly following the trend and engaging in endless competition. [1]

  • Note: This has negative connotations.

9. 噱头 xué tóu

gimmick, publicity stunt

通过某个噱头让文旅局长或者说一个地方在网上赚一些流量和人气,并不等于网友就会变身游客前往 - Gaining some online traffic and popularity for a culture and tourism bureau chief or a place through a gimmick does not necessarily mean that netizens will be turned into actual tourists. [1]

10. 端着 duān zhe

arrogant, out of touch

在一些业内人士看来,以往文旅营销是“端着的”,现在它开始放低身段,变得接地气 - In the eyes of some industry insiders, tourism marketing used to be quite out of touch, but now it's starting to lower its posture and become more grounded. [1]

11. 宰客 zǎi kè

overcharge customers

如今不少地方爆出“宰客”等现象后,往往是文旅局长们出面放“狠话” - Nowadays, when incidents like "overcharging customers" surface in many places, culture and tourism bureau chiefs often come forward with strong statements. [1]

Three-character phrases

12. 瞎折腾 xiā zhē teng

senseless messing around

有声音指出——“求各地文旅局不要瞎折腾了” -  Some also send a plea - "Local culture and tourism bureaus, please stop coming up with outrageous ideas." [1]

13. 抄作业 chāo zuò yè

copy homework, emulate

借全网抄哈尔滨作业的热点跟风推介一把本地的旅游景点 - They ride the wave of Harbin’s success and promote their local tourist attractions by copying what it has done. [1]

Idioms

14. 顺势而为 shùn shì ér wéi

follow the trend, act according to the situation

而官方主要还是与市场主体顺势而为给游客制造尽可能多的曝光与种草的“爆点” - The government mainly supports local tourism businesses to create as many “viral trends” as possible for online exposure and recommendations. [1]

15. 前车之鉴 qián chē zhī jiàn

lessons from the past, learning from previous mistakes

从前车之鉴看,各地都不应再迷信文旅局长们在网络“整活”的实际价值了 - Learning from lessons of the past, we should no longer blindly believe that what the culture and tourism bureau chiefs post on the internet can be turned into real traffic offline.[1]

16. 急功近利 jí gōng jìn lì

seeking immediate success and quick profits, shortsighted pursuit of quick success

但是,也得警惕某种过度的重视所强化的“走捷径”和急功近利的思维与冲动 - However, we also need to remain vigilant against any impulsive thinking and mindset of "cutting corners" and the shortsighted pursuit of quick success, which has been reinforced by excessive emphasis. [1]

17. 立竿见影 lì gān jiàn yǐng

see immediate results, achieve rapid success

还要警惕一些地方和部门被花式“整活”所带来的立竿见影的网络关注度和人气冲昏头脑 - We also need to be vigilant about some places and authorities being dazzled by the immediate online attention and popularity brought about by fancy marketing campaigns. [1]

18. 不甘人后 bù gān rén hòu

unwilling to fall behind, unwilling to be left in the dust

勇于跟上互联网营销脚步,有不甘人后的“拼劲” - They tried their best to keep up with internet marketing trends, showing the determination not to be left behind. [1]

19. 如法炮制 rú fǎ páo zhì

follow the established pattern, replicate the success formula

河南各大景区如法炮制 - Various major scenic spots in Henan are replicating the success formula. [2]

  • Note: Originally from Chinese medicine. Now used generally.

20. 适可而止 shì kě ér zhǐ

know when to stop, do things in moderation

适当蹭一下哈尔滨的热点也未尝不可,但也还是得适可而止 - It's fine to capitalize on Harbin's online attention, but it's essential to know when to stop and do things in moderation. [1]

21. 别出心裁 bié chū xīn cái

show creativity, come up with an original idea

别出心裁地展现了西南地区的风土人情 - They creatively showcased the local customs and culture of the southwestern region. [2]

Phrases

22. 网红城市 wǎng hóng chéng shì

internet-celebrity city

没有任何一座城市是靠以文旅局长和官方为主角的网络营销,而真正成为“网红城市”的 - No city can become an "internet-celebrity city" by solely relying on online marketing led by culture and tourism bureau chiefs and other government authorities. [1]

23. 百般武艺 bǎi bān wǔ yì

various skills and tactics, all kinds of strategies

文旅局长们几乎使出了百般武艺 - Culture and tourism bureau chiefs have tried almost all kinds of strategies. [1] 

  • 不遗余力 bù yí yú lì - spare no effort, do one's utmost

24. 一锤子买卖 yì chuí zi mǎi mai

one-time deal, short-sighted transaction

旅游不是一锤子买卖,在宣传时应做长远考量 - Tourism is not a one-time deal; a long-term perspective should be considered in marketing. [2]

25. 脚趾头抠出... jiǎo zhǐ tou kōu chū 

toe-curling, cringe-worthy

评论区中的网友虽评价“脚趾头要抠出三室一厅了”,但不得不承认,这类洗脑视频是流量密码 - Although netizens in the comment section comment that "it's toe-curlingly bad", it cannot be denied that such brainwashing videos serve as a secret recipe for internet traffic. [2] 

  • More: An exaggerated way to express feeling (often second-hand) awkwardness. Other variations include 脚趾头抠出一个城堡, which means the same thing.

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