Animal ears and pom-poms on fluffy hats adorn the heads of tourists on the streets of the chilly northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, which is experiencing a surge in visitors fueled by social media. Photos and videos taken around the city’s landmarks fill platforms like TikTok-like Douyin and Instagram-style Xiaohongshu, many of which feature tourists from the warm south.
They are affectionately referred to as the “small potatoes of the South”, referring to their supposedly smaller stature and cute winter clothing, which contrasts with the stereotypically rugged nature of the area. A search for “southern small potatoes visits the north” yielded over 428,000 notes on Xiaohongshu. That’s where Chen Xiqing, who works in e-commerce in the southern province of Guangdong, said she was inspired to visit.
“This is the fastest way for young people to get travel recommendations,” Chen said. She said she noticed a significant number of Southerners. “I’ve heard quite a lot of Cantonese, which we’re very familiar with, at tourist sites and on the streets today,” said the 29-year-old, wearing a dog-eared hat with only her face exposed to the air. .
Liu Rong, a student from Sichuan, said the city’s desire for more southern tourists was evident in the surge in videos about Harbin that he often watched with his wife. “These years, especially this year, Harbin’s cultural tourism attaches great importance to paying attention to us southerners,” Liu said.
“Small Potato” is heading north
Harbin is the capital of Heilongjiang Province, one of the three provinces that make up the “Dongbei” (northeast) region, where winter temperatures can reach -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). Bordering Russia and North Korea, it is one of China’s poorest provinces, ahead of only neighboring Jilin, Gansu, Hainan Island and sparsely populated Tibet, Qinghai and Ningxia.
But in the first five months of 2024, the operating profit of Heilongjiang’s culture, sports and entertainment industry grew nearly 60 percent year-on-year, according to official data. Tourists spent 154 billion yuan ($21 billion) in the first half of 2024, up 171 percent from the first half of 2023. Popular novels and dramas set in the Northeast have also helped spur travel to the region.
“Many southerners, whom we call ‘small potatoes’, came here for travel and made our Harbin very fashionable,” Emily Liu, a local tour guide, told AFP. Internet fame has been good for the tourism business, said Jiang Zhonglong, 30, gesturing vigorously in front of his tripod a few meters from Liu.
He started working at a travel agency in Harbin three years ago during the Covid-19 pandemic and said business is much better now. “So many little friends, southern potatoes, tourists came here,” he said. One night this month, the city’s Central Street commercial district saw a steady stream of people walking down the cobblestones under bright yellow lights.
Ling, a 38-year-old resident of the coastal eastern province of Zhejiang, was there with his wife to “daka,” a phrase that means “to break through” but now describes visiting popular photo-sharing sites on social media. “We often scroll through (video sharing platform) Douyin and the like. We often see videos promoting Harbin,” said Ling, who asked to be identified only by his last name.
“My hometown is popular”
Ling told AFP that he believed negative stereotypes about Dongbei in the past. “But we got here and found things to be pretty decent,” he said. “I craved a different cultural experience compared to where I come from – the climate and the style are completely different.” Nearby, a continuous stream of people dived into a store selling goods from Russia – just two steps away.
Foot traffic to the shopping street has tripled since 2022, said store manager Zhangzhang, who has worked in the area for more than 10 years and asked not to be identified by her nickname. “My hometown suddenly became popular,” she said, adding that she was “very proud.” Last year, she said, the store started selling more hats and scarves for travelers who “didn’t pack enough layers” — including ones printed with the region’s classic red flowers. “I think it can help boost the economy of our Dongbei.”
