"Taste Travel" enriches travel experience (travel with your taste buds)

Source of chart data: China Tourism Academy "2023 China Food Tourism Development Report"

Countryside Flavor

Enjoy a cup of eight-treasure tea, stay overnight in a mountain view homestay, and eat a delicious farm meal... Maji Village in Haidong, Qinghai is now very lively, and many tourists come here to experience the customs of ethnic minorities. In late July 2017, the Youzuiwan Ecological and Cultural Scenic Area in Maji Village opened for business, driving the former "hollow village" to develop into a tourist village. Hand-pulled lamb, firewood chicken, stuffed skin... These delicacies in the daily life of Haidong people have now become beautiful memories that tourists can never erase. The picture shows local people tasting traditional specialties. Photo by Li Jun (Image China)

Countryside Flavor

In recent years, Guizhou, with its rich tourism resources, has become a popular tourist destination, and the mutton noodles with local characteristics have become a delicacy that tourists cannot miss. In Xingyi, Guizhou, located at the junction of Guizhou, Guangxi and Yunnan, the golden rice fields and magical karst landforms of Wanfenglin have also entered the tourists' field of vision along with the mutton noodles. Strolling in the fields under the autumn sun, pursuing natural ecological experiences in the geological park, and then going to the nearby villages to eat a bowl of mutton noodles and appreciate the Buyi culture - through the journey of searching for flavors, tourists can immerse themselves in the unique rural pastoral slow life. The picture shows steaming mutton noodles. Photo by Luo Xinghan (Image China)

Countryside Flavor

When visiting Hongcun, Anhui, in addition to admiring the white-walled and black-tiled Hui-style architecture, the memorable Hui cuisine is also not to be missed. In recent years, relying on Hui-style architecture and authentic Hui cuisine, Hongcun has adhered to the "tourism +" development theme, deeply promoted the transformation and upgrading of the tourism industry, continuously improved the tourism environment, and achieved the integrated development of agriculture, culture and tourism. The picture shows the Hongcun Old Street, which gathers local delicacies. Photo by Yang Zien (Image China)

Ancient City Night Market

In the ancient city of Dunhuang in Gansu, there are not only intoxicating scenery, but also bustling night markets. Dunhuang Night Market, also known as Shazhou Night Market, is a gathering place for Silk Road food and Silk Road handicrafts. Because of its distinctive local characteristics and rich folk customs, it is known as Dunhuang's "night view" and "customs painting". According to statistics, since September, the average daily passenger flow of Dunhuang Night Market has reached more than 30,000 people. Tourists come here to enjoy the scenery, sightsee and relax, and buy special cultural and creative products. Especially in Dunhuang-style food gathering areas such as Shazhou Tower and Shazhou Food Station, it is even more crowded, and people enjoy the strong cultural atmosphere and fireworks. The picture shows the brightly lit Dunhuang Night Market. Photo by Chen Hongdou (Image China)

Ancient City Night Market

When talking about the ancient city of Xi'an in Shaanxi, in addition to the magnificent Terracotta Warriors and the ancient Big Wild Goose Pagoda, there is also the bustling Muslim Street. As a food landmark in Xi'an, Muslim Street attracts countless tourists with its fragrant mutton soup steamed buns, golden and crispy roujiamo and other special foods. The picture shows the food on Muslim Street - naan. Photo by Zhang Yajun (Image China)

Ancient City Night Market

The Drum Tower Night Market in Kaifeng, Henan has a long history. It is recorded in detail in "Dongjing Menghualu", which describes the prosperous scene of the night market at that time. Today, the Drum Tower Night Market in Kaifeng is still bustling, with fried jelly, almond tea, soup dumplings, braised fish, mutton soup and other local delicacies and snacks gathered, attracting a large number of tourists. The picture shows the aerial scene of the Drum Tower Night Market in Kaifeng. Photo by Zuo Dongchen (Image China)

City Taste

Thanks to snacks such as Laoyoufen and snail noodles, the taste of Guangxi has gradually become well-known to diners, and Nanning has also become a popular choice for food tours. In recent years, Nanning has actively created consumption scenarios, cultivated business formats such as "food + tourism" and "performance + tourism", continuously improved services, and frequently innovated ways of playing, accelerating the release of consumption potential. The picture shows the food on Zhongshan Road in Nanning. Photo by Lei Wenzhen (Image China)

City Taste

In the face of market changes, catering companies are actively creating new personalized consumption scenes to inject new vitality into urban development. At Xingshun Night Market in Shenyang, Liaoning, industrial cement pipes are transformed into restaurant viewing platforms. This design is both modern and differentiated, allowing people to take beautiful photos of their meals while enjoying the food. The picture shows the cement pipe dining area at Xingshun Night Market. Photo by Yu Haiyang (Image China)

City Taste

In recent years, Changsha, Hunan has promoted the integration of food, culture, entertainment and other industries to actively meet the needs of diversified experience. Some shopping malls and blocks have taken the initiative to increase the cultural connotation, allowing citizens and tourists to experience the profound historical and cultural heritage while touring Changsha and tasting food. The picture shows the Wenheli Food Market on Huangxing Road Pedestrian Street, which brings together Changsha's special snacks. Photo by Ding Junhao (Image China)

City Taste

Xiamen, Fujian, is famous for its beautiful mountain and sea scenery, unique cultural atmosphere and rich food. Today, "pull a suitcase to taste food" has become a tourist label in Xiamen, and many local small and old shops have become experience points for the city's characteristic food culture. In order to continue to heat up the cultural tourism market, boost cultural tourism consumption, and deepen the integration of culture and tourism, the local government has designed and released a number of quality tourism routes to promote the integrated development of culture, tourism, sports and commerce. The picture shows a corner of the Zengcuo'an snack market in Xiamen. Photo by Miao Jian (Image China) Go to Tianshui, Gansu to taste the spicy feast on the tip of your tongue, feel the fireworks in the night market in Zibo, Shandong, and go to Taizhou, Zhejiang to appreciate the fresh taste of the mountains and seas... The rich and diverse Chinese cuisine allows people's taste buds to be released in a colorful journey. How many tourists will rush to a city in pursuit of authentic flavors? The "2023 China Food Tourism Development Report" released by the China Tourism Research Institute shows that 92.3% of respondents will make food guides before or during travel, and 93.1% of respondents will experience local food as one of the main factors for travel. As food becomes more and more an important factor affecting tourism behavior decisions, how to meet the diversified food culture needs and enhance the tourist experience has become the direction of tourism development in various places. This has also prompted more "flavor tours" that have risen because of "food" to become "taste tours" with rich experience. Between mountains and rivers, the flavor is fully displayed, and food brings more traffic to rural tourism. During this year's National Day holiday, many tourists set their travel destinations in Shijing Town, Nan'an City, Fujian Province. What attracts people is not only the local rural scenery with unique southern Fujian characteristics, but also an open-air rural banquet full of "hometown dishes". Starting from July 2023, Fujian will create the "China Rural Banquet" cultural tourism brand to explore the folk food hidden in the countryside. Every month or so, diners from all directions gather in traditional villages, where they can enjoy food, shoot cultural tourism short videos, and watch art programs. In addition to Shijing Town, various "famous food towns" and "famous food villages" are also expanding new growth space: in Wuyuan, Jiangxi, in addition to the colorful autumn drying scene, the oil dumplings and paste tofu in Huangling are also unforgettable; in Yanbian, Jilin, the northern scenery of Baishan Songshui is extremely magnificent, and the cold noodles and rice wine in the folk village are also mouth-watering... A journey of searching for flavors not only allows tourists to deeply experience the unique charm of mountain villages and countryside, but also gathers popularity for rural tourism and injects vitality into the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Cultural feasts have a long history, and food makes the night of the ancient city more rich and charming. Food is the art of time, and the long-standing taste is a profound charm-in Lijiang, Yunnan, a bowl of chickpea jelly carries the imprint of the traditional food culture of the Naxi people; in Xi'an, Shaanxi, every wisp of the aroma of Roujiamo tells the historical inheritance of the flavor of the ancient city. In some ancient cities with a long history, visiting night markets is also a way to experience the local history, culture and customs: in the ancient city of Kaifeng, Henan, which pioneered late-night snacks in history, the quaint night market does not have the same Internet celebrity snacks, but organically links the food culture of the Northern Song Dynasty thousands of years ago with modern life; in the ancient city of Zhengding, Hebei, which has many ancient buildings, the Wangquan Ancient Street under the night sky becomes a bustling food street, and the ancient streets and alleys present different cultural and tourism formats between day and night...Walking in the historical districts, tourists can not only feel the taste of food while feasting, but also feel the charm of the ancient city in the strong traditional "literary style". Innovating scenes and optimizing services, food also adds vitality to the development of the city's cultural and tourism economy. Food is the beginning of understanding a city, and the taste lingering on the tip of the tongue is the key to understanding a city. In recent years, there are many cities that have promoted the development of cultural tourism with food, from Changsha in Hunan, Zibo in Shandong, to Chengdu in Sichuan, and Dali in Yunnan. While providing good tourist services for scenic spots and scenic areas, various places have also made every effort to attract tourists from all directions with their unique flavors, turning the "traffic" of food into the "retention" of cultural tourism and promoting economic growth. In the past, Nanchang, Jiangxi, due to the lack of famous mountains and rivers, once played the role of a transit station for tourists to Jiangxi, and "difficulty in retaining tourists" was the pain point of its tourism development. Recently, the cumulative number of views of topics related to "Jiangxi Stir-fry" on short video platforms has exceeded 1 billion, and many people have gone straight to Nanchang to experience the fireworks of the city. Faced with the influx of a large number of tourists, how can we continue to ensure that they can stay and have a good time? The local area has made great efforts in the integration of culture and tourism: during the day, music festivals, cycling competitions and other activities are staged brilliantly; at night, fireworks shows and light and shadow art shows decorate the bright night sky; one can taste the authentic Nanchang flavor by eating noodles with chopsticks and taking a sip of clay pot soup; in the night live performances, one can "dream of Tengwang Pavilion" and "talk to Haihunhou" in the Hanyun drum dance, so as to truly appreciate the historical context of Yuzhang Ancient County. With the transformation of tourism space from scenery to scenes, the status of food in the construction and development system of tourist destinations has become increasingly prominent. "Traveling with taste buds" provides a valuable opportunity for the development of the cultural and tourism market. Only by comprehensively considering innovative scenes, optimizing services, and continuously improving supply capabilities and optimizing supply mechanisms, can we tap the potential of service consumption from a deeper level and better promote "taste travel" to enrich travel experiences. Source | People's Daily reporter | Cao Yiqing Editor | Liu Xin Please indicate the source for reprinting