Tourists line up to buy steamed buns at a morning market in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, on Jan 28. LIU YANG/XINHUA

Zhang Jiajia felt like she was flying as she glided down a 521-meter-long ice slide, her one-minute experience making the wait in line for over an hour worthwhile.

"It's incredibly thrilling, and my heart soared with me," said Zhang, a tourist from East China's Zhejiang province, after trying the Super Ice Slide at Harbin Ice and Snow World in Heilongjiang province.

Harbin, one of China's coldest cities, emerged as the nation's most popular tourist spot early last year, followed by Tianshui in Gansu province, Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and Shanxi province.

The breathtaking landscape, exhilarating ice and snow sports programs, and an inviting atmosphere — which included offering free rides, rolling out carpets on icy streets and free frozen pears for visitors — made the "ice city" a social media sensation and a top winter tourism destination.

Official statistics show that during the last snow season, Harbin received over 87 million visits, a 300 percent increase year-on-year, and generated 124.8 billion yuan ($17 billion) in tourism revenue, up 500 percent.

Visitors enjoy the thrill of the Super Ice Slide at Harbin Ice and Snow World on Jan 5.LIU YANG/XINHUA

Ice-and-snow fever

This winter, Harbin has been experiencing another tourism boom with upgraded tourism facilities, improved visitor services and an international sports event.

During the Spring Festival holiday, which ran from Jan 28 through Feb 4, the city welcomed 12.15 million visitors, a 20.4 percent year-on-year increase. It also saw a 144.7 percent surge in inbound tourists during this period, according to statistics from Harbin's culture, radio, television and tourism bureau.

The 9th Asian Winter Games, held from Feb 7 through 14, attracted 1,200 athletes from 34 Asian countries and regions, putting the city under the spotlight. Meituan Travel said searches for "Asian Winter Games" surged 862 percent on its platform in the first week of February compared with the previous month.

Harbin Ice and Snow World, the city's iconic attraction, had over 3 million visits, a record for the event, during its 52 days of operation.

Built with 300,000 cubic meters of ice and snow, the park was expanded to 1 million square meters this winter, the largest since it started in 1999.

Luo Xin, deputy general manager of Harbin Ice-Snow World Co, said the venue integrated elements of the Asian Winter Games, creating a more dazzling winter wonderland.

The number of lanes at this year's Super Ice Slide, the longest the park has ever had, was increased from 16 to 24. A 300-meter-long windproof structure was erected in the line-up area, allowing visitors to enjoy the scenery while being protected from the cold.

"A series of activities, including an ice harvest festival, a new fantasy show, outdoor performances and ice carving competitions, have enriched the visitor experience," Luo said.

Wang Hongxin, director of Harbin's culture, radio, television and tourism bureau, said the city has been striving to provide a thorough and multilevel experience for domestic as well as foreign tourists.

There are over 1,300 bank branches in the city that can handle foreign currency exchanges and more than 5,800 shops that can accept foreign card payments, he said.

On Harbin's Central Street, icy stairs were covered with nonslip carpets, while the railings were wrapped in frost-resistant material. Tourists had easy access to services including free Wi-Fi, temporary rest areas, ginger tea, hot water and luggage storage.

The city also launched eight special tourist bus routes that connected nearly all major attractions and ice-and-snow tourism facilities. In addition, the Harbin Metro extended its operating hours to better serve visitors.

People take photos of the Buddhist statues at the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui, Gansu province, on Nov 2. CHEN BIN/XINHUA

Black Myth miracle

Unlike Harbin, which draws tourists through innovative strategies and detailed services, Shanxi's tourism skyrocketed in popularity overnight almost solely due to a video game — Black Myth: Wukong.

Sun Jing, who drove with her parents during the National Day holiday in October to visit the Xiaoxitian scenic area in Xixian county, said it was the popularity of the video game that prompted the trip.

"Although I'm aware of Shanxi's rich cultural heritage and ancient architecture, I still couldn't help but be amazed when I saw them in person," she said.

The game, based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, quickly gained worldwide popularity after its release in August, fueling a tourism boom as travelers sought to view the ancient Chinese architecture depicted in the game. Twenty-seven out of the 36 scenes in the game are inspired by the province's rich cultural heritage.

In August, the province saw a 50 percent increase in visits and an impressive 120 percent rise in hotel bookings compared with the previous month, according to travel portal Tuniu.

Chen Shaoqing, first-level inspector at Shanxi's culture and tourism department, said that by the end of last year, social media topics spurred by the game and related to the province's cultural tourism and ancient architecture had been viewed more than 10 billion times.

To turn the internet traffic into actual tourist visits, the department launched the "Travel Shanxi with Wukong" campaign on Aug 22, introducing three themed tourist routes and an eight-day self-driving tour.

Liu Xiaogang, the person in charge of Xiaoxitian, said the daily visitor numbers remain high compared with previous years. The scenic area had to raise its daily visitor capacity from 3,000 to 10,000, due to the unexpected huge influx of tourists.

By the end of November, the scenic area had received a record 653,100 visits, a year-on-year increase of 394 percent, he said.

Liu said the scenic area is building a digital display platform that uses virtual reality and augmented reality technologies to offer an immersive experience of the Buddha statues. It will also enhance its appeal to visitors by adding recreational facilities, developing vegetarian dishes and staging immersive performances.

Lu Yi, director of the Shanxi Institute for Ancient Architecture, Colored Sculpture and Mural Protection and Research, said the success of Black Myth: Wukong and the attention it has brought to Shanxi's cultural heritage demonstrates the immense potential of the digital culture industry in promoting culture and boosting tourism.

Many classic video games are dubbed "travel simulators". For example, the highly acclaimed Grand Theft Auto V is set in a city modeled after Los Angeles, while Assassin's Creed accurately re-creates Paris. However, no game has ever triggered such a significant surge in tourism enthusiasm in China as Black Myth: Wukong.

People visit the Guangsheng Temple in Linfen, Shanxi province, in September. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Malatang's magic

Tianshui, a lesser-known small city in Northwest China, gained in popularity simply because of a signature street snack — a spicy hotpot called malatang.

Ha Haiying, owner of Ha Haiying Malatang, never expected that her restaurant would experience a huge increase in customers because of a short video.

In February last year, a seven-second video featuring the malatang served at Ha's restaurant went viral on social media, drawing a large influx of food enthusiasts and social media influencers to Tianshui to explore its culinary delights and share their experiences online.

Ha said the customer numbers tripled or quadrupled soon after the video's release, a phenomenon she had never experienced in her 28-year restaurant career. "The customer flow has dropped from the peak period, but it still takes over an hour to get a seat on weekends and holidays," she said.

He Xiaozu, head of Gansu's culture and tourism department, said malatang transformed Tianshui into a popular travel destination, bringing the provincial tourism market into peak season two months earlier than usual.

Statistics from Tianshui's culture and tourism bureau show that the city, with 3 million residents, received 59.5 million visits in 2024, up 23.9 percent year-on-year, and generated tourism revenue of 38.3 billion yuan, an increase of 25.6 percent.

Zhang Hui, deputy director of the Maiji Mountain scenic area's management committee, said the popularity of Tianshui's malatang led to a 53 percent increase in visits last year.

To attract and retain tourists, the scenic area will upgrade its infrastructure and create new visitor experiences this year, he said.

The rise in malatang consumption has also boosted the production, processing and sales of local agricultural products, especially the raw materials used in its production.

Xie Gong, general manager of Xiaolage Agricultural Technology Co, who has grown Gangu chili peppers for three years, a main ingredient of Tianshui malatang, expanded the planting area from 33.3 to 100 hectares as demand for the product soared.

"Previously, I only sold fresh or dried chili peppers. After malatang became popular, I registered my own brand and set up a plant to produce a range of products, including chili powder, chili oil and chili sauce," he said.

From March to August last year, major chili distributors in Gangu county sold 1,118.2 metric tons of chili products, with total sales of 44.6 million yuan, a fivefold increase year-on-year, according to statistics from the county's agriculture and rural affairs bureau.

Visitors pose for a photo in front of the gate of Fuxi ancient town in Tianshui, Gansu province. [HOU CHONGHUI/FOR CHINA DAILY]

Online excitement

The emergence of "internet celebrity" cities reflects deeper shifts in the country's cultural and tourism consumption patterns, highlighting a growing demand for immersive, experiential and interactive tourism, experts said.

Sun Jiuxia, a professor at the School of Tourism Management of Sun Yat-sen University, said people no longer seek just traditional tourist destinations, but also authentic cultural practices they can participate in.

"In Tianshui, for example, tourists come to sample the local dishes such as its famed malatang, which is so popular that one vendor's tired expression, overwhelmed by customer demand, has gone viral," she said.

Sun said the key to success for the "internet celebrity" cities lies in their ability to develop a distinctive identity, which requires them to offer something that cannot be replicated elsewhere.

The rise of "internet celebrity" cities is also triggering a fundamental shift in urban governance and destination management. When something about a city's culture goes viral, its administration must be ready to handle the ensuing popularity and cash in on it, she added.

Jiang Yiyi, deputy dean of the sport, leisure and tourism school of Beijing Sport University, said that improving tourism infrastructure and services should be the first priority, as quality tourism services are key to propelling the industry's high-quality development.

Harbin's promotion, for example, has been successful not only because of its ice and snow show, but also its welcoming and thoughtful services, which show its concern for tourists, she said. "However, if cultural tourism departments and travel agencies believe they can replicate the success of Harbin by blindly following its promotional methods, they are wrong," Jiang said.

She suggested that cities identify their tourism advantages, focus on their unique selling points and develop branded cultural tourism products to attract more visitors.

Zhu Xingxin in Taiyuan and Ma Jingna in Lanzhou contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at pengchao@chinadaily.com.cn