ChinaFocus:Fromspicyhotpottobarbecue,streetfooddriveslatestconsumptioncraze_GuangmingOnlineChinaFocus:Fromspicyhotpottobarbecue,streetfooddriveslatestconsumptioncrazeBEIJING,March25(Xinhua)--Afteranine-hourdrive,SuYouchunarrivedinTianshui,GansuProvince,withahungerfueledbyanticipationforoneofChina'slatestonlineculinaryobsessions:Malatang,thenumbing-spicyhotpot.Thestreetsnack,withvariousingredientscookedinachilioil-richsauce,didnotfailhim."ThechilipeppersinTianshui'sMalatangaredeliciousandnottoooverpowering.Theyhaveauniqueflavoroftheirown,"saidSu.Su'sjudgmentofMalatangshouldnotbetakenwithagrainofsalt,asthe47-year-oldhasworkedinthecateringindustryfornearly20years.Moreover,hehailsfromSichuan,aprovincesynonymouswithspice,mostnotablyitsownsignaturenumbing-spicyhotpot.CHARMOFDELICACIESSichuan-stylehotpotfirstgracedTianshui'sdinnertablesinthe1990s,andsincethenhastakenonalifeofitsown,distinctfromitsforebearerthankstoitsinclusionoflocalchilipepperstrains."Ourlocally-grownchilipeppersarethesoulofthedish.Buildingonthat,variousrecipesandinnovationshaveflourished,"saidHaHaiying,whorunsahotpotrestaurantinTianshuinearanancienttempleinmemorialtoConfucius.Despiteitsrichhistoryandculture,Tianshuihasremainedundertheradartomanypeople,eveninChina,untilthedish'srecentonlineviralfame.AccordingtostatisticsonDouyin,theChineseversionofTikTok,thetotalviewsofcontenttaggedwith"TianshuiMalatang"and"GansuMalatang"haveexceeded1.5billion.Sofar,relevantcontenthasreceivedmorethan85.79millionlikesand81.12millioncommentsfromnetizens.TheonlinepopularityofTianshui'snumbing-spicyhotpotsoonkick-startedaninfluxoftourists,hankeringtotastethedishthemselves.ManyMalatangstallsandrestaurantsarepackedwithpeople,withlongqueuesnowbecomingacommonsightacrossthecity.HuXiaoyu,whooperatesaMalatangeaterywithherhusband,isoneofthelocalcateringbusinessownersridingtheboom.Accordingtoher,thewoodenstickssheusestoskewervegetablesandmeatinthenumbing-spicyhotpotcanstackoverameterhighafteraday'sbusiness.CULTURE,TOURISMCONSUMPTIONTheMalatangbusinesshasalsospurredculturalandtourismconsumptioninTianshui.FromMarchtodate,thetotalticketsalesofthecity'stouristattractionsincreasedby216.8percentyearonyear."Lifehereislaid-backandcozy,andtheweatherisagreeable,withsomuchcultureandhistorytoexplore,"saidJuYuexuan,atouristfromLiaoningProvinceinnortheastChina.Asanamateurgourmet,JuwasdrawntoTianshuibythefameofitsnumbing-spicyhotpot.Duringherthree-daytrip,shenotonlychoweddownonmanylocaldelicacies,butalsovisitedtheMaijishanGrottoes,ancientTianshuitownandatemplededicatedtothemythicalChineseancestorFuxi."ItissuchapleasureformetofindsomanyculturalgemsinacitylikeTianshuiduringmyquestforpopularstreetfood,"Jusaid.InChina,Tianshuidoesnotstandaloneintranslatingthecharmoffensiveoflocaldelicaciesonsocialmediaintoaprosperousculturalandtourismmarket.Lastyear,theuniquelocalbarbecueofZiboinShandongProvince,eastChina,featuringgrilledmeatwrappedincrispypancakeswithshallots,madeasplashonChinesesocialmedia.Zibosawitshotelbookingsincreaseovereight-foldduringtheMayDayholidayin2023comparedwiththesameperiodin2019,withtotalordersinthetourismsectorup20-fold.Thisyear,Zibohascontinuedtowootouristswithaseriesofeventssuchasarecently-concludedfolkculturefestivalthatcombinedlocalsnackswithculturalperformances.OnChinesesocialmediaplatformssuchaslifestyle-sharingappXiaohongshu,postssharingfoodinsmallerandless-knowncitieshavegainedrisingdiscussionsandinteractionsamongfoodies,offeringpotentialopportunitiesforthesecitiestobecomethenextfoodiedestination.Accordingtothelatestfive-yearworkplanissuedbyChina'sMinistryofCultureandTourism,thecountrywillinvestfurthereffortstoimprovethequalityofthecateringindustryfortourists,promotethecombinationoftourism,cateringandculturalsectors,anddevelopcuisine-featuredtourism.Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.