Behind the hot stalk of "city is not city", China's scenic spots are "long" full of foreigners

Poster News

2024-06-25 08:30Posted on the official account of Shandong Poster News

Recently, on the short video platform, a foreign blogger who speaks in a funny tone and likes to mix Chinese and English has become popular. "Shanghai is a good city" and "The Great Wall is not a city at all"...... Under everyone's interpretation, "city" has become an adjective of urbanization, foreignness, novelty, and even "excitement".

The rapid popularity of "city" bloggers is not an isolated case, and now a large number of foreign Internet celebrities have appeared on Chinese social platforms, which reflects that with the expansion of the mainland's visa-free "circle of friends", there are more and more cases of foreigners coming to China without visas, and waves of foreign tourists are pouring into China.

Behind the hot stalk of "city is not city", China's scenic spots are "long" full of foreigners

The scenic spot is "long" full of foreigners

Cultural tourism ushers in new opportunities

On social media, many netizens found that the number of foreign tourists around them has increased significantly, and scenic spots around the country are full of foreigners. In the past 2024 Dragon Boat Festival holiday, the number of inbound travel orders on travel platforms increased by 115% year-on-year. According to data released by the National Immigration Administration, in the first quarter, the number of foreigners coming to China increased by more than three times compared with the same period in 2023, with tourism accounting for more than 30%.

The "novice villages" Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the "advanced version" Chengdu, Xi'an and Chongqing, and the "hard mode" Xinjiang and Tibet have become popular destinations for foreigners to travel in China, which also brings new opportunities for the development of the cultural tourism industry. Liang Qiang, a trilingual tour guide in English, French and Italian in Beijing, said that the demand for small language tour guides has recently "exceeded supply", and the daily salary has risen from 600 yuan to 800 yuan, nearly doubling the monthly income compared with last year. A full-time Spanish-speaking tour guide in Chengdu also said his itinerary was full from June to the end of October. "Take a tour for at least 25 days a month." He said. In addition, with the "explosion of inbound travel", the profession of full-time travel customizers has also become popular, and they are responsible for helping inbound tourists customize unique travel plans and experience Chinese culture more deeply.

The increase in the number of foreigners coming to China has enabled people from more and more countries to have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China. Sun Mengyang, a professor at the School of Tourism of Beijing Union University, said that the policy promotion is bringing new development opportunities to the inbound tourism-related industries and injecting strength into the recovery of industry confidence. Inbound tourism practitioners are busy again and doing their best to contribute to the recovery of inbound tourism.

Accurately "unlock" the entry checkpoint

144-hour visa-free "hard control" foreigners

The reason for the "long" filling of foreign tourists in various scenic spots in China is China's 144-hour transit visa-free policy. Since the mainland implemented the 72/144-hour transit visa exemption policy for Norwegian citizens in November last year, the scope of application of the policy has been expanded to 54 countries.

Foreign tourists who are new to China generally choose to enter from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, which have more frequent flights, better reputation, and more convenient life. But it was not all the way, at first, they complained that all kinds of apps did not have foreign language translations and could not bind bank cards. However, it didn't take long for China to prepare a variety of equipment for this group of novice foreigners, accurately "unlocking" various "checkpoints" for inbound tourism, so that foreign tourists could check in various attractions unimpeded.

At present, foreign tourists can download Alipay, WeChat and other payment tools, support the binding of international bank cards, and enjoy the one-stop service of "eating, drinking, playing and Tesco" in China; There are more than 30 e-wallets that can be used in China, making mobile payment extremely "silky".

Passengers who do not want to open international roaming can bring their passports or foreigners' permanent residence ID cards to the business hall to apply for a mobile SIM card and activate mobile communication services. Some operators also set up check-in windows or counters at airports to facilitate passengers to handle the application on demand.

Attractions and other services have also become more friendly, such as the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Base has added an online passport ticket purchase channel, and the Shanghai Museum has opened an English reservation channel for overseas tourists.

In terms of accommodation, many hotels have upgraded their registration systems, updated English maps, bilingual signs in Chinese and English, Western-style breakfast and other services, and all kinds of intimate services have opened up layers of "checkpoints" and made the experience of foreign tourists in China smoother.

There was such an itinerary of foreign friends circulating on the Internet - today Beijing to see the flag-raising, tomorrow to Shanghai to enjoy the night view, the next day to Guangzhou to drink morning tea, but the reality is that after 144 hours have passed, people have not yet left Beijing. I can't finish shopping, I can't finish shopping at all!

Is China backward and dangerous?

Foreigner: The night market is the most "dangerous"

Before coming to China, it is dangerous to be backward and do not go; After coming to China, the beautiful scenery and delicious food are really fragrant! This is the true feeling of foreigners.

In the past, due to the continuous smearing of China and spreading false information by some foreign media, whether it is advocating China's dirty and messy environment or creating the illusion of insecurity, many foreign tourists have not been interested in traveling to China. After an in-depth experience in China, he exclaimed: "China is indeed too unsafe, and the night market is the most "dangerous" place, and if you are not careful, you will gain ten pounds." Hot pot, roast duck, milk tea, skewers...... Can't stop! ”

Wait a minute, why does it seem to be different from what some media say? At this time, foreign tourists suddenly woke up, "It turns out that we have been kept in the dark" and "China is not what we expected" Foreign bloggers invariably wrote this sentence in the title of the vlog they posted. It seems to be a coincidence, but it is reasonable, hearing is false, seeing is believing, and foreign tourists who actually come to China have begun to justify China's name.

The mysterious Oriental country is revealed, and people find that the streets are clean and tidy, the pedestrians are friendly and the city is lively and safe at night...... And those lives that we have long been accustomed to have become new in the eyes of foreigners. "Pay with your face, OMG is so cool!" "High-speed rail travel, Unbelievable is too fast!" Even the main road, which usually goes unnoticed, was praised by foreign friends: "It's so quiet, Amazing!" ”

"The door of my house is always open, and I am waiting for you with open arms. If you hug it, you will have a tacit understanding, and you will fall in love here. "China has been a hospitable country since ancient times, with the blessing of favorable policies, more and more foreign tourists into the mysterious oriental country, feel the long history, splendid civilization and magnificent mountains and rivers on the land of China, how can you not boast of a "good city"!

China Travel成流量密码

A group of foreigners have entered the Internet celebrity circle

With the increasing number of foreigners traveling to China, ChinaTravel-related topics have become popular one by one, and have become a new "traffic password" on overseas social platforms such as Youtube and TikTok.

China Travel video has not only exploded on the Internet, but also become an electronic squeeze for many Chinese netizens. Everyone is chasing the "Foreigners Travel to China" series, not only can we see our daily life from another perspective, but also happy to see more and more foreigners break their prejudices to understand the real China, a large number of foreigners have entered the Chinese Internet celebrity circle, and the seeds of cultural exchange have been planted through popular short videos.

Delicious, fun and traffic, foreigners who have tasted the sweetness feel that the 144-hour "experience card" is not enjoyable, and began to study the "card bug" renewal, after 144 hours, go to the surrounding countries to play a circle and then re-enter China, and renew the new 144 hours. Whether it is really like it or for traffic, under these "China Travel" videos, more and more "potential customers" who want to come to China to experience it for themselves have gathered.

From the melodious camel bells on the Silk Road in the past to the bustling exchanges between China and foreign countries today, China has always moved forward hand in hand with the world with an open attitude. As one netizen commented: "The more confident, the more open." The more open you are, the more confident you will be. ”

Poster News Editor Song Yu Comprehensive China News Network, Guangming Network, CCTV News, etc

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