There was such a question on the Internet: how to distinguish a southerner from a northerner in a second?
One of the high praise answers: When it snows, it is the southerners who cheer and roll in the snow, and the northerners who stand quietly on the side. After all, it's much more interesting to see southerners than to see snow.
This winter, Harbin suddenly exploded out of the circle and became the first "top-stream" Internet celebrity city in 2024. Countless southerners are either in Harbin or on their way to Harbin.
"Wearing a light-colored down jacket and a cute hat", "Sitting on a suitcase with your feet out of reach", "Screaming when you see snow", "Playing snow drifting...... The hordes of fuss about the "little potatoes of the south" have become the most interesting scenery in this ice city in their own right.
Tourists flock to it
Looking at the snow, the scenery, and the southerners, how did Harbin, an old tourist city, become "popular" again?
A plays a headwind game into a tailwind game
Compared with the Internet celebrity cities that suddenly exploded, Harbin's road out of the circle was a little bumpy, and even almost fell on his heels at the beginning.
As Harbin's tourism signboard, this year's Ice and Snow World has high hopes - covering an area of 810,000 square meters, the highest ever since the park opened in 1999. In less than 3 hours on the first day of the opening of the Ice and Snow World, the number of reserved visitors reached 40,000, and the passenger flow of the subway station exceeded one million.
In the face of the surging crowds, the old tourist city of Harbin seemed a little caught off guard, and for a time exposed many problems and shortcomings: the ice and snow world that opened ahead of schedule still has unfinished landscapes, and many projects have not been opened as scheduled; the popular projects big slides and Ferris wheels are lined up in long queues, and many tourists have been queuing for hours in the cold weather of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius but finally did not play; the park service management is insufficient, and the on-site order appears chaotic...... All kinds of dissatisfaction accumulated, and finally caused a well-known "refund" storm on the whole network, giving Harbin a slap in the face to the expected start.
In fact, in order to make tourists have fun, Harbin has put a lot of effort into it, taking the big slides as an example, this year a total of 14 have been built, twice as many as in previous years. But on the other hand, the number of visitors to Ice and Snow World has nearly tripled compared to the first day of opening in 2019, when it was a record high in 10 years. In the face of the explosive increase in the number of tourists, the seemingly adequate preparation in advance seems to be stretched at the moment.
Seeing that the "refund turmoil" is intensifying, and the careful preparation is about to repeat the mistake of "tourism is not enough in Shanhaiguan", some locals are also gradually anxious and sad in the controversy. At this time, Harbin used the sincere attitude of "correcting mistakes when they know them" and calmly faced criticism and accusations from all sides.
On the second day of the "ticket refund turmoil," the Ice and Snow World quickly responded, apologizing for the fact that some tourists' needs for play had not been fully met; they were not satisfied? The Ice and Snow World immediately canceled the reservation system, launched a delayed service, set up queuing information prompts, and increased security, reception, and volunteer service personnel; and wanted to refund the tickets? Leaders at all levels in the scenic spot worked on the spot to apologize, rectify, and refund the tickets, and there was no ambiguity at all.
Screenshot according to Harbin Ice and Snow World
Harbin's series of sincere actions not only calmed the anger of tourists, but also made more people feel the fiery sincerity behind the "Northern Ice City", and more and more critics turned into "tap water" to promote this treasure city to people. And Harbin has also been in a hurry from the beginning, and gradually embarked on the road of "pet fans":
Tourists want to stage "Fast and Furious" on the ice, and the hovercraft will immediately speed over; tourists want to feel the hot atmosphere in the ice and snow, and the ice and snow world will immediately become a scene of 10,000 people jumping; tourists want to take pictures of the snow scene with the moon in Sophia Cathedral, and the drone will immediately hang the "artificial moon" and soar up...... The attitude of responding to requests has made countless tourists come and return satisfied, and countless locals have also shouted "jealousy", and Harbin has been awarded the title of "flattering city".
Behind the slapstick and ridicule, there is a lot of emotion and gratitude. "The biggest feeling I have in Harbin this explosion is 'fireworks in the world'." He Shengying, a local media person in Harbin, told Jinguan Lab, "I am really grateful to all tourists for their recognition and love for Harbin, and I hope that our hometown will get better and better." ”
On the last day of 2023, Heilongjiang Province issued a New Year's thank you letter to tourists and friends at home and abroad, bluntly saying that "this winter, your preaching will make many Longjiang people 'can't be rectified'", and promised that "we will dig out our hearts and lungs, improve details, and improve services, 'There is no best, only better.'" ’”
Nowadays, more and more tourists encounter the "strange fate" of ice and snow here and write a "fairy tale" journey.
B The secret of the explosion behind the screen of the phone
Harbin is on fire, as we all know, but there are different opinions on why Harbin is on fire.
In today's frequent hot spots, people's attention has become very scarce and easily diverted. Many cities have tried their best to be caught in the spotlight of public opinion. And Harbin not only suddenly became the "top stream" of the whole network, but also continued to be hot. On the one hand, this "pouring wealth" is enviable, but on the other hand, it is incomprehensible: why is it popular?
He Shengying believes that this explosion out of the circle is not "falling from the sky" for Harbin, but "waiting too long".
As a city that became an international commercial port a hundred years ago, Harbin once had 160,000 expatriates from 33 countries, which left it with countless exotic buildings with distinctive characteristics; in recent years, a series of popular film and television dramas and hit songs with the theme of Northeast China have swept the country and attracted more and more fans; at the same time, Harbin has vigorously developed characteristic cultural tourism, and the signboard of "Ice and Snow Culture Capital" has become more and more eye-catching.
natural scenery, historical and cultural resources, policy support...... Everything is ready, and short videos are a strong east wind at the right time.
Nowadays, short videos have increasingly become an important form of urban image communication. In order to welcome tourists, the accounts of major platforms of Harbin cultural tourism have launched short videos such as travelogues and guides. Delicately plate frozen pears, move symphony performances into shopping malls, and invite Oroqen compatriots to interact with tourists with reindeer...... As soon as all kinds of content were released, they were on the hot search, and Harbin instantly became an "Internet celebrity physique".
And the rich ability of netizens to "create memes" has given the popularity a longer vitality. The description of the cute image of "small potatoes in the south" has not only become a nickname for southern tourists by locals, but also the most popular word in the circle this time. Whether it is the spectacular occupation of the northeast bathhouse by southern tourists, the amusement of the per capita "clip sound", or the favor of "princess, please drink brown sugar water", the "famous scenes" that make people laugh have become hot stalks on the Internet, which not only make people feel the joy and warmth that overflow the screen, but also make Harbin so hot that it can't stop.
There are many tweets related to "Little Potatoes in the South" on the online platform
"With the blessing of various short video platforms, a 'tipping point' will inevitably be formed under certain conditions, thereby activating the cultural and tourism activities of the entire region. Ai Jin, a professor at the Department of Tourism Management of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, told Jinguan Lab, "The important reason for Harbin to be out of the circle this time can be said to be a successful integrated integrated marketing formed by the officials, third-party short video teams, citizens and tourists after they seek their own excitement." ”
It is worth noting that Harbin did not accurately grasp the "traffic password" from the beginning, and the videos of local official accounts in different styles reflect the city's continuous experimentation. Not long ago, Harbin closely followed the Internet hotspot of "My surname is Shi" and launched a promotional video of "My surname is Ha, drink Aha, everyone from all over the world praises". Because its content style is too earthy, the local citizens are eager to sell their accounts directly - "You give me a side haha, I personally declare that I am from Erbin, I can't get out."
After continuous learning and Xi exploration, Harbin finally found its way and began to market the "Hagwarts" and "Russian Princess", which are more popular among young people, and became popular. Looking back at this time, Harbin keeps hitting a wall and keeps trying, which also makes people feel honest and cute. Even the "black history" of "Erbin" has now become everyone's affectionate name for the city.
From small potatoes to sugar oranges, Harbin's hot words are constantly updated, and more interesting stories are still being staged.
C cold, the advantages and disadvantages of Harbin tourism
How long can it be popular? This used to be people's question about Zibo, and now it is also people's question about Harbin.
Looking back at the past Internet celebrity cities, almost all of them have similar paths to popularity-first suddenly exploding on the Internet, and then taking advantage of the local situation to develop cultural tourism services, hoping to transform the online popularity into a driving force for economic development.
However, the popularity of the Internet comes and goes faster, and how to turn a fleeting opportunity into a long-term plan for sustainable development is a problem that is being pondered everywhere.
Compared with other places, Harbin has obvious advantages, but its shortcomings are also prominent. Some people pointed out that the charm of Northeast tourism lies precisely in the "extreme scenery" brought by "extreme temperature". However, the limitation of temperature not only makes the landscape of Harbin seasonal, but also affects the tourism experience to a certain extent.
"I didn't know until I came here that I had to put a warm baby on my mobile phone outside," Binbin, who came to Harbin from Shenzhen to travel to Harbin, told Jinguan Laboratory, "I was taking pictures, and the weather was too cold to freeze my phone and turn it off." There are also tourists who can't stand the low temperature of minus tens of degrees Celsius, and they catch a cold and fever when they go home.
The influx of tourists not only brings opportunities for development, but also continues to test the city's ability to withstand pressure. The most intuitive feeling is that there are queues everywhere.
Yiran, who traveled to Harbin at the end of December 2023, told Jinguan Lab that in order to play the big slide in the ice and snow world, she "queued for five hours and experienced it for one minute" in the cold wind. Despite knowing that a lot of effort has been put into the local area, her experience is hardly good.
The same long queues line up at the city's bathhouses, where the famous bathhouse "Lanting Water Collection" starts in a four-hour queue and is filled with tourists carrying suitcases. Hongdou, a tourist from Chengdu, told Jinguan Lab that she never got through to an Internet celebrity bathhouse at that time, and finally found a random bathhouse nearby to experience it.
"When a large number of offline tourists visit and the online public pays enthusiastic attention, there will be all kinds of unexpected problems. Ai Jin told Jinguan Laboratory. The problems and flaws that are common in some tourist cities across the country, in the cold natural environment of Harbin, have also increased the dissatisfaction of tourists to a certain extent. Some people say that if the development of tourism is compared to a large exam, Harbin has probably received one of the most difficult papers.
But Harbin not only wants to answer, but also hopes to answer better.
Fearing that the tourists would be frozen, the local authorities quickly set up warm "potato greenhouses" in crowded places; Harbin immediately "turned inward" to rectify all kinds of tourist chaos in response to the problem of tourism fraud that tourists were worried about. Before the official call, Harbin's "living Lei Feng" have "worked", there are caring convoys on the street to take tourists for free, street businesses provide free hot drinks, and the Northeast Lao Tie, who loves to rub the bath, also makes room for southern tourists to "quit bathing for more than half a month".
"Economic benefits are not the ultimate goal of the development of the cultural tourism industry, through the development of the cultural tourism industry as a path, to enhance the common sense of identity and happiness of citizens and tourists, is what we need. Ai Jin told Jinguan Laboratory.
Whether it is the attention to detail of the officials or the spontaneous actions of the citizens, it makes the tourists feel the warmth of winter. And tourists also voted with their feet to respond to Harbin's sincere enthusiasm.
According to statistics, as of the third day of the New Year's Day holiday, Harbin has received a total of 3.0479 million tourists, achieving a total tourism income of 5.914 billion yuan. The number of tourists received and the total tourism income reached an all-time high. The horizontal comparison is more intuitive, this year's New Year's Day only three days of tourist reception and tourism revenue, accounting for nearly one-tenth and one-fifth of the entire ice and snow season in Harbin in previous years.
Today, a steady stream of tourists from all over the country still flock to Harbin. According to Tongcheng Travel's "2024 New Year's Day Holiday Travel Consumption Report", the travel boom is expected to continue into the winter and Spring Festival holidays.
After all, who wouldn't love a city that works hard to change itself for the sake of its people?
Chengdu Daily Jinguan News Text Xie Xiadong Editor-in-charge He Qitie Editor Wen Zhu Some of the interviewers in the article are pseudonyms Some of the pictures are based on the official WeChat of Harbin Ice and Snow World