The local government of Zibo issued two open letters to all citizens. The government extended its gratitude for the citizens’     1     (warm) and hospitality toward visitors coming to enjoy the city’s signature barbecue,     2     has recently become a hit across the country.

Since early March, Zibo local barbecue     3     (cause) a sensation online. But how did Zibo rise to fame? From July 2022 to February 2023, Zibo organized many trips to the city for university students. Despite reaching peak visitation numbers, there was no sense of panic. Instead, several supportive     4     (policy) were promptly introduced, such as establishing a “Golden Stove Award”, forming a barbecue association, creating a map of Zibo barbecue restaurants,     5     launching 21 dedicated tourist routes that go beyond just barbecue.

Zibo’s sudden boom in popularity also resulted     6     the post-pandemic tourism revival China has experienced. The city aims to restore     7     (it) tourism industry and ensure sustainable growth.     8     (achieve) this goal, it has created     9     welcoming environment with convenient services for young people, particularly university students. The city has also invited students from distinguished universities to visit Zibo for free,     10     (signal) its eagerness to attract talented young individuals.

The China Tourism Academy released a report saying that education tourism has become popular among people of all     1     (age).

More than 6 million people joined study tours last year,     2     (high) even than the pre-pandemic number of 4.8 million in 2019, according to the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the National People’s Congress.

“The key difference between study travel and other tourism products     3     (be) that study travel focuses     4     learning while traveling,” Luo Shugang, director of the committee, said at a forum.

He said that study travel can date back to the Song (960-1279) and Ming (1368-1644) dynasties, when many poets wrote of     5     (they) experiences on study travels.

“An industry for study travel     6     (form) during the period of reform and opening-up, which has     7     (rapid) developed in the past decade.” he said,     8     (add) that students in primary and middle schools are so far the main participants in education tourism.

Dai Bin, president of the Chinese Tourism Academy, said at the forum that the development of education tourism had promoted the social education of primary and middle school students,     9     had played     10     important role in combining culture with tourism.

5 . Going against the tide of flocking to well-known tourist destinations on vacation, a growing number of holidaymakers in China tend to spend their leisure time at lesser-known tourist attractions. Reverse tourism (逆向旅游)has appeared as a new trend among young holidaymakers in China.

According to data from an online travel agency, the number of rooms booked at hotels in less-traveled cities during the holiday was up 30 percent year-on-year. Bookings for four-star or five-star hotels in less-traveled places all increased at least 10 times. Some lesser-known scenic spots posted double-digit growth during the holiday. Baimaiquan Park in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, received 52,100 visits in the seven days, up 15.78 percent year-over-year.

Besides crowds, some vacationers chose less-traveled places to save on the cost of trips to popular destinations. In addition, lesser-known attractions are not as “commercial” as developed ones and are able to offer more actual experiences and natural encounters. Essentially speaking, total relaxation is becoming a real expectation for many people when they travel. Changes in demand may be the fundamental reason for the popularity of reverse tourism. COVID-19 is another key factor fueling reverse tourism. As precautionary measures continue, traveling has an unpredictable quality. Travelers have thus become more cautious and tend to choose local attractions or places with fewer tourists.

“The rise of reverse tourism is not a bad thing,” said Zhengzhou Daily. It means that vacationers now have more options, which brings more possibilities to the tourism market. More importantly, it noted, the trend is set to force popular destinations to improve themselves instead of resting on their past honor.

Jiang Han, a senior researcher, said that reverse tourism will become one of the future directions for the market. To give a real boost to the tourism market, Jiang suggested that more efforts be made to tap the potential of underrated (被低估了的), lesser-known destinations. It is necessary to dig deeper into the local customs and highlight the local characteristics to improve the quality of local tourism.

6 . Shortly after I graduated from college, I moved to a new state to start a full-time job. One day at work, I found myself wanting to go traveling. Once I’d saved up enough money, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to travel by myself for the first time in my life. So I quickly started doing research on where I’d like to go.

I had never traveled alone before, so I decided to sign up for a guided group that was going to Thailand. This gave me a sense of security (安全). It felt like a great way not only to try being alone and meeting strangers but also doing something that sounded really fun for two weeks.

The Thailand trip forced me out of so many comfort zones (舒适区) that ended up being one of the big turning points of my life. The time I spent in Thailand finding my way around airports and taxis alone, meeting a group of strangers, and doing rock climbing with them in often remote parts of the country, ended up being one of the greatest experiences of my life. Up until this point I had always been shy and very careful to avoid danger and mistakes, but this travel experience inspired me to become different. It showed me a brave, strong, and independent side of myself that went on to influence my life greatly when I returned home.

When I got back, I pretty much dedicated my life to spending as much time as possible doing activities like climbing, hiking, or backpacking especially things that I once thought I wasn’t “capable of” or was “too scared of Today, about 6 years later, I’m an outdoor empowerment coach and backpacking educator.

My trip to Thailand was just what I needed to make that change. It showed me what was possible. It changed the path of my life.