DURING a promotional event in Beijing last week for the Yinxu Ruins in Henan Province’s Anyang, Liu Jiehua, director of Anyang’s culture, radio, television, sports and tourism bureau, dressed up like Fuhao, China’s first-known female general, who lived in the 13th century B.C. She donned the special garb to promote the historical site and encourage more tourists to visit. Netizens were impressed by Liu’s attention to detail and authenticity, saying that it’s a good way to present traditional Chinese culture. A popular short video that attracted tens of thousands of likes features Du Bo, director of Tahe County’s bureau of culture, sports, radio, television and tourism in Heilongjiang Province, wearing white headwear and an all-white dress of the Oroqen ethnic group wandering in a snow-covered birch forest. Du said she hopes to showcase the beauty of Tahe in the video. The intensifying competition among Chinese officials, performing in various creative videos to attract tourists, has recently become a popular social media trend in China. From riding horses to donning traditional ethnic costumes, the normally serious officials are going all out to revitalize local tourism. Most netizens welcome this creative competition among the officials, as they help viewers know more about local scenic spots in small counties and remote places. Fan Zhou, head of the Beijing Jinghe Institute of Culture and Tourism, said it’s a good phenomenon that officials are making short videos and being spokespersons for their tourist attractions. The tourism industry in China is fast recovering. During the Spring Festival holiday, 308 million domestic tourist trips were made, up 23.1% from last year and around 88.6% of the numbers seen during the holiday in 2019, said the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Domestic tourism revenue during this year’s Spring Festival reached 375.8 billion yuan (US$54.12 billion), up 30% year on year. Gao Fu, president of the Beijing branch of Skal International, a professional organization of tourism leaders around the globe, expects the domestic tourist market to return to pre-pandemic levels in May. As social media and short videos have been attracting more attention, local officials have been embracing new media platforms to promote their tourism sectors. It has become an effective channel to expand the number of tourists and even help with rural vitalization. The officials also take part in livestreamings to sell local featured products, utilizing their online influence gained by the widely viewed short videos. With over 5 million followers on social media, He Jiaolong, deputy director of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture's culture and tourism bureau in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has helped sell 210 million yuan worth of goods and create over 2,000 jobs through her livestreamings. (China Daily) | 