The border area in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has seen a growing influx of foreign tourists in recent months, most of whom are from neighboring Vietnam.
In Dongxing City that faces Vietnam's Mong Cai across the river, there is an endless stream of inbound visitors entering China through the China-Vietnam Friendship Bridge after the border crossing is opened at 08:00 every morning. The hall of the frontier inspection station is often packed with travelers waiting in line to go through the required border entry-exit procedures.
"Dongxing Port has received over 990,000 inbound passengers since the start of this year, which is more than ten times the number registered in the same period of last year," said Lyv Wei, a police officer at on Dongxing Entry-Exit Frontier Inspection Station.
Many of the crowds are tourist groups from Vietnam. Some are coming with family members and others with colleagues or friends.
"There are 23 persons in our tour group. The peak time for Vietnamese tour groups to come to China is from April to August," said tour guide Hoang Van, who leads a Vietnamese tour group.
Apart from traditional scenic spots, some commodities and cuisines with local characteristics are also appealing to foreign visitors. A local hot pot restaurant is very popular among Vietnamese tourists.
"We receive up to 220 Vietnamese tourists a day. We have also prepared some Vietnamese dishes for them. Our employees have grasped some basic Vietnamese phrases for daily communication," said Luo Sheng, the restaurant manager.
Tour operators in Dongxing are also benefiting from the surge in inbound tourism.
"The number of tourists in March was 30 percent more than the same period of last year. There have been more than a dozen tour groups every weekend," said Qin Shiping, manager of a local travel agency. The inbound tourist flow is expected to pick up further with the arrival of "Sanyuesan", a traditional festival for the Zhuang ethnic minority group that is celebrated on the third day of the third month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar with a two-day regional public holiday.
It's estimated that the three border crossings of Nanning, Youyi and Dongxing will register over 252,000 border entries and exits during the holiday, which will last for four days this year combined with the weekend of March 13-14.
Int'l tourist arrivals soar in south China’s Guangxi
Corentin Delcroix, a chef from Douai in northern France, gained popularity online by sharing his love for Chinese food through short videos on social media platforms
The Frenchman impressed the Internet with his fusion cooking of Chinese and French cuisine and his fluency in Chinese, gaining over a million subscribers on Douyin (the Chinese version of Tik Tok). However, Delcroix said he was not originally a professional chef.
"So, in 2002, I came to China, originally to study business. It was a partnership between my business school in France and a Chinese business school. Came to Beijing for three years, at that time I didn't know how to cook anything, basically a bit of pasta and that's it. When I arrived in China, I fell in love with Chinese food very quickly," said Delcroix.
Delcroix, who goes by the Chinese name Guangtan, said this vast and culturally rich country has inspired his cooking. He travels throughout China and appreciates the diverse characteristics of food from region to region.
"Every time I travel anywhere, I'm going to try as much local food as I can take, and I'm also going to the local markets. So, finding new vegetables, and local specialty produce, is very interesting for me as a chef. It also shows the diversity of climates, of soil, in China is huge. If you go to Xishuangbana, think of what you are going to get there than from Dongbei – it's two different worlds. Very, very different. So, I think it is very interesting. Every time I go anywhere, I'm sure to find things I've never seen before," said Delcroix.
In addition to his culinary journey in China, Delcroix also wanted to bring food from the Orient back to France. He said his exploration is not only about cooking, but also about sharing and communicating different cultures. Through his sharing of different cooking styles, his French friends learn more about Chinese culture and vice versa.
"To be honest, my main goal is very simple. It's just to get people into cooking. Cooking more at home and experiencing some new food. I think food is really a vehicle to also create more cultural exchange. Because it starts from the food. In the long run, if they like the food, they're gonna be interested in what's the cultural background behind this food. It's the same thing when I go back to France. I cook some Chinese food for my family and my friends. And they're gonna be … this dish is a little bit spicy. This one is from Sichuan. This one is from Shanghai. Where is Sichuan? How Sichuan is different from Shanghai? So, from a basic dish, you're going to get more about (the) cultural background. I think it's a great bridge to create that cultural exchange between different countries," said Delcroix.
French online celebrity chef shares passion on Chinese cuisine
