How blockbusters and travel policies are redefining China's tourism?
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China travel has become a hot topic since the introduction of the visa-free policy, which saw an impressive 20 million visitors entering the country in 2024, a staggering 112% increase from the previous year. And now with the policy being extended to allow stays of up to 240 hours and the global rise in popularity of Chinese movies, the tourism industry in China is poised for another significant surge.

And this week on Deep Dive, here in this beautiful city of Guilin, I'm joined by my colleague Gabriel Salgado, an Argentinian who's perhaps explored far more Chinese cities than I ever have. And together, we'll explore how China is captivating these international tourists and how the country can further optimize its travel industry to meet this growing demand. It's Friday, February 28th.

Well, welcome to the show, Gabriel. Muchas gracias. Thank you, Yunqi. It's a pleasure to be here. It is such a beautiful scenery. I know. And so this movie, Nezha 2, has been breaking new records almost every day after day. And we have quite a special opening today because I know you have made... Actually, you learned a Nezha rap and you made a video about it.

Of course we're not gonna hear the whole thing, but can you give us a little bit? Of course, of course I can. First of all, this rap was actually a very smart marketing move from the company, because the rap is actually not included in the movie, but they sent it to social media to allow all the fans to have fun with it. Yeah, something extra to promote it. Let me play the music for you. Okay, yeah, we need the music to go along with this.

You want me to sing you the Spanish version or the Chinese version? So you actually wrote a Spanish version? Yeah, we have a Spanish version. Okay, so it was originally a Chinese rap. Yeah, I think the Chinese version is still better than my poor translation. Actually, I would love to hear both, but you can pick a preference. Like which one would you like to start? Oh, you want me to say both? Okay, let's start with the Spanish one. Okay.

Los truenos retumban y siento pavor Me han despedazado ¡Ay qué dolor! Me levanto con fuerza y valor Trompeta en las manos, al cielo mi voz Mi destino es mío, lo decido yo

Oh wow! Sounds very rhythmic, well-written lyrics. Did you write that yourself? Oh yeah, yeah, of course. Actually, it's not an exact translation because, you know, raps need to rhyme with each word. And I heard in some languages they had some problems with the rhyme and it does not sound the same. Because, you know, in the Chinese one it finished like...

They use these words. So you had to do some tweaking on the lyrics to make it more rhythmic in the Spanish translation. Exactly. Yeah, now let's hear how the original version sounds like. Oh my god. Is that more challenging than the Spanish version? Of course it is. Let me see the lyrics. Okay, just like this. Here.

Something like that. Right. Well done, well done.

Very impressive. Okay, now the third version. Let's do an English version. I don't know this one! Yeah, I'm just joking. That's fine. You went to watch this movie, Nezha 2. Of course, that's how you actually made rap out of it. How did you like it? Because I know, maybe the viewers don't know, but

Gabriel actually speaks very good Chinese. Right? Not so good, just a little bit. So how did you like this movie Nezha 2? Well, in the beginning, actually I hadn't watched Nezha 1. So when this movie came out and started to make all these thoughts, I was, I'm going to confess, I was a little bit lazy. I'm like, well, I have to watch two movies. I'm not sure if I want to do that. I was very busy with the Spring Festival.

And then it started to steam up, so I decided to watch the first one and was actually pretty impressive.

you can see how from the first one to the second one, the animators really stepped up. Like the cooperation among all the animation companies and the promotion of the movie was so good. And the script was tweaked in a way that I think it can connect way better with domestic audiences but also with foreign audiences. Yeah, and that's actually a question that I had for you. It's a Chinese movie and there's a lot of Chinese mythologies, philosophies, wisdoms in the movie.

Is it difficult for non-Chinese speakers to grasp this?

ideas behind this movie Nezha 2? Well, I think what is so rich about the movie and what is so smart about it is that it has different layers of complexity. Like, of course you can just go to watch the movies because originally it's like a family movie. So it's also designed for children, for Chinese children and can, like maybe this is also their first contact with this story with a hero of Nezha. So actually you have

like a first layer where you have the family story, the message where this boy in a child wants to fight against destination, predestination, and wants to build his own way towards life. - Very inspirational. - So this idea of course connects with the whole world, especially now where a lot of young people, especially maybe they feel constrained by the rhythm of life, that everything is so fast,

and there are a lot of expectations on everyone. This message is very powerful by itself. But of course then we have a second and third and fourth layer of complexity. You know, like Nezha is inspired by Ming Dynasty story. So of course it has very deep Chinese philosophy and Chinese terms. Right, some complexities if you go deeper into the movie. And also you have a lot of cultural elements, relics that appear, like for example the guardians of the town.

are inspired by the Sanxingdui masks, like the Sanxingdui ruins in Sichuan province. And of course, you also have some treasures or some little details that you can find in a movie, like the accent of Nezha's teacher, master, is from Sichuan. - Right. - So it's also like a-- - With a very strong Sichuan accent. - Exactly. So it's funny, but at the same time, it reflects a little bit of the Chinese diversity. For example, in Latin America, we don't like to watch dab movies.

So I'm pretty sure everyone will notice that this person speaks differently. Even if we cannot understand the language itself, everyone can hear the subtle differences, the richness and the diversity among the things that are presented.

Yeah, so there are actually many layers of stories in this movie Nezha. Some ones are a bit easier to comprehend, actually a bit more universal. You don't necessarily have to speak the language, know the background, the stories to understand this part. So this spirit is actually universal, like a little boy fighting against destiny to be the better version of himself. Exactly. And also there's like, there are other topics that connect with this, like for example, the

the love for his family, like the mother's love for him, how she wants to see him grow. She doesn't care if she suffers or what is her destiny as long as her children, her child can grow better.

Also, like, how his father, maybe in the beginning he's a little bit distant, and he starts to get closer when he sees the suffering of his children. Every character kind of grows in a way that is very humane, and I think it can connect with everybody. But at the same time, you know, the family love is a very deep theme in Chinese philosophy and in the Chinese way of life.

At the same time, it's a universal thing, but it's also a very local thing. So in this way, people can connect better, maybe with the Chinese traditions. So now we are having a business trip here in this beautiful place, Guangxi. And this movie has definitely become such a hit domestically in China. Have you met any people that are, because we know here in, for the landscape here in Guilin, actually inspired

some of the scenes in this movie Nezha and are you seeing meeting any people that actually coming here to check out this place that's that inspired the movie well yeah actually this place these beautiful rivers and these beautiful mountains inspire what is the city and it's not only this movie there are many movies throughout Chinese cinema history that use this place and

In my opinion, it always reflects a sense of harmony, of harmony between civilization and nature.

So, of course, this place needed to be the place where this town takes place. Like in the beginning of the movie, all the town despises Nezha. They think he's a demon. But throughout the movies, they start to accept him as he is. And he becomes the hero of this town. And yeah, well, right now we are in Guilin, right? And we went around asking people

And many of them think that these landscapes are fantastic and they could be inspiration of many more movies, not only Nezha. Definitely not stopping at Nezha too. I wouldn't be surprised there will be many Chinese that coming here for that inspired by these movies. But when we speak of international overseas tourists, like do they, like, I mean, will they come here more for the landscape or

for this movie Nezha because I know maybe it's a bit too early to say since the movie is only one month old. Yeah, like I think like right now we are taking part in this campaign where we explore Chinese landscapes and we do tourism in China through movies. So I think this activity will like foster people from abroad to come here and to see these landscapes because of the movies. But of course that

They're beautiful by themselves. They don't really need more introduction. But in these days, I had the chance to interview a group of Spanish people who came here from Spain just to see this area, these landscapes.

Like when I spoke to their guide, he told me, usually like people from Spanish speaking countries, when they come to China, they start with a more historical and cultural destination such as like Beijing or Xi'an. And when they reach here, it's like they're tired because like visiting museums every day and seeing the relics and seeing the explanations, it's a little bit tiring. And then they just sit here, watch the beautiful landscape, relax a little bit. Actually, they were so, so...

happy to be here in China. Like some of them even mentioned how their preconceptions of China had changed radically. All of them mentioned how clean the cities are, how good infrastructure is to come and do tourism. So I think this activity, Chinese cinema,

And in general, the development of the tourism industry will foster more foreigners to come and to see and experience by themselves. Yeah, and we have seen the number of international visitors to China seeing a significant surge.

after China launched the visa-free policy. And then just about two or three months ago, at the end of 2024, this policy has been extended further to up to 240 hours of stay. And do you think this type of visa-free policy is really appealing for international travelers? Well,

In fact, I asked this question to different people that I met, different foreigners. I even met an Argentinian and other Spanish, and all of them are taking advantage of this policy. And they're pushing other people to come too, because right now it's way more easier to come to China. So actually from Spanish-speaking countries, we have Mexico, we have Spain, Argentina, and Chile. These four countries already have like visa-free policies.

And people from this destination coming to China rose way more than other countries. So this shows the success of how this kind of policy, this kind of...

benefits for different countries would attract more people to come. Provides an incentive for overseas travelers for sure. And so a lot of these overseas travelers when they visit China for the first time of course they're gonna be impressed by how different it is from the stereotypes they had before but at the same time they would also often start with this big

cities like Beijing, Xi'an as you said earlier and then move on here to Guilin. I know that you have perhaps explored far more places in China than I have. Yeah, right, right. Like are there any, just the very last question, are there any hidden gems that you would recommend them to check out and to avoid these like maybe traditionally popular places?

I would say there are endless, endless places. And right now the tourism industry is like, we are having this trend where everyone wants to go to their custom destination, the destination that is perfect for what one's like. It's not only going to the big places, but the places that reflect our values, that reflect what we like.

I like nature, so Yangshuo, Guilin are to me are top one. And then I also love tea. So in Yunnan we have Pu'er. That's also a beautiful town with a perfect weather where you can really try the best tea in the world. According to me at least, it's the best tea in the world.

And if you want to see more mountains and higher plateaus, like Qinghai has a beautiful national park where the three important rivers of China meet. And that's also a destination I would recommend. A city called Yushu is a good place to start. And from there, just go around that area that is so beautiful. The landscapes are just stunning.

Yeah, so that type of advice is even helpful for me because a lot of these places you mentioned, I haven't been to them, I haven't been to there yet. You have to go there. Yeah, yeah. So thank you very much for your time, Gabriel. Thank you, thank you.

As Nezha 2 continues to break box office records in China, the film's success is not only capturing audiences but also boosting a global fascination of Chinese culture. And with this growing cultural influence, China's tourism industry is poised for another remarkable growth this year and beyond.

That brings us to the end of this episode of Deep Dive. If you enjoyed what you just heard, don't forget to follow us on your podcast platforms. Just search for Deep Dive. You can also leave a comment to let us know what you want to learn about China and beyond. This episode is brought to you by me, Li Yunqi, and my colleagues Zhang Zhang and Qi Zhi. Special thanks to CGTN Espanol reporter Gabriel Salgado. I'll see you in the next one.