On July 8, the Danxia peaks of Gaoyiling Tourist Area in Chenzhou was
bathed in a golden glow at dusk. At the foot of the mountain, Cantonese
songs drifted from a music restaurant that had opened less than two
weeks ago. The owner, Liang Yuxin, moved among the tables, speaking
Cantonese interspersed with a few phrases of Chenzhou dialect he had
just learned. This "handsome guy from Guangdong" had the entire room in
stitches.
"Last summer, I came to Chenzhou with friends. The scenery at Gaoyiling
Scenic Area was so beautiful that I wanted to stay immediately," said
Liang candidly. Liang has also identified a gap in the market—the
Gaoyiling Scenic Area focuses primarily on daytime sightseeing, while
nighttime leisure activities and specialty dining options are lacking.
Since the beginning of this year, particularly during the Spring
Festival and May Day holidays, out-of-town overnight visitors have
accounted for over 60% of all tourists coming to Chenzhou, with visitors
from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) becoming the
main force. Now, the set menus at the music restaurant have become a
favorite among these overnight guests.
Liang isn't the only tourist who has turned into an entrepreneur. A
young man from Seoul, South Korea, visited Chenzhou in 2024. He had
originally planned to just "look around" Dongjiang Lake, Gaoyiling
Scenic Area, and the Yangtianhu Grasslands, but once he arrived, he
found himself reluctant to leave.
Last June, he opened a "Korean Canteen" in the Chenzhou Changjuan
Cultural Tourism Zone, and business has been thriving ever since. He
also brought his grandmother and mother with him. His grandmother has
run a restaurant in South Korea for over 20 years, and his mother is the
soul of the kitchen, preparing everything from kimchi to sauces
entirely by hand. Three generations, in an ancient alley far from home,
keep alive an authentic taste of Korean cuisine.
Chenzhou received over 30,000 inbound tourist trips from South Korea in
2025, showing significant growth and solidifying the country's position
as the top source market. Additionally, a high-level South Korean
government delegation visited the city this April. An official from the
Governors Association of the Republic of Korea led a delegation to
inspect Chenzhou's cultural and tourism industry while attending the
20th Local Government Exchange Seminar between China and the Republic of
Korea (ROK). The Chenzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio,
Television and Sports predicted that the number of South Korean tourists
visiting Chenzhou this year would reach a new high.
These non-locals, transformed from tourists into entrepreneurs, are
quietly reshaping Chenzhou's commercial landscape. On the banks of the
Dongjiang River in downtown Zixing, the "Jiahua International Town"
complex developed by Guangdong businessman Chen Yue has been completed.
First stores of McDonald's, Chayan Yuese and other brands have opened
here, and a five-star hotel with 280 guest rooms is gearing up to
welcome the influx of visitors for this year's Chenzhou Tourism
Development Conference.
"The pristine waters of Dongjiang Lake are incredibly rejuvenating to
people from Guangdong, and our increased investment reflects our
confidence in its future," Chen Yue remarked. With the high-speed rail
ride between the GBA and Chenzhou taking just over an hour, spending
weekends in Chenzhou to breathe in fresh air and enjoy scenic landscapes
has become a way of life for many residents of the GBA. In May of this
year, Chenzhou was also awarded the title of "Most Popular Ecotourism
Destination" by the organizing committee of the Guangzhou International
Travel Fair.
This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
Translator: Xiao Juan
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn