A talented street food vendor in Zhengzhou City of central China's Henan Province has gone viral on social media for his exquisite designs of pancakes.
The 27-year-old man named Yang Qiankun can whip up many cute pancakes shaped animals, dolls, cultural relics, and even aircraft carriers, fighter jets and helicopters.
The stylish pancake went popular among primary school students in the city for the special design and the cheap price -- one yuan (about 14 U.S. cents) for one piece.
Yang's videos recording the pancake cooking and selling soon went popular on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and attracted tens of thousands of followers within just a few weeks.
"I have more than 10 categories of designs for the pancake covering such fields as the military industry, animals, architecture, cultural relics and seafood, to cater to the interests of my children customers. The inspirations may strike me in a sudden. Sometimes, I will also present ideas from my social media followers through my pancakes," Yang said.
With a master's degree of civil engineering, Yang came up with the idea of pancake art by accident when he was learning the cooking skill from his father after resignation from his previous job.
He said that at first he was surprised by the enthusiastic response from his student customers and online followers.
Now he feels delighted that his pancakes can not only satisfy the hunger as a food, but also extend happiness for children and adults as a gift.
"Some of my followers online asked me to design their favorite figures during the childhood. They asked for the customized designs as a treat for children. So I filmed two videos on these designs to fulfill their wishes. I found it was an interesting interaction between the people online and offline and a good conversation spanning time and space," Yang said.
Street food vendor in central China goes viral online for exquisite pancake art
Film-themed tourist destinations across China saw a surge in visitor numbers during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday, as the traditional festival overlapped with new spring break in several regions, creating a longer travel window and boosting domestic tourism.
The Tangcheng Film and Television Base in Xiangyang City in central China's Hubei Province, laid on extra events to take advantage of the overlapping holidays, resulting in a healthy rise in visitor numbers.
"During this year's Qingming holiday, we received a total of 71,800 visits, up 24 percent year on year compared with 2025. Thanks to the spring break policy this year, our peak tourism season started earlier than before. It also brought in more cross-provincial tourists to our scenic area, and both the visitor volume and the proportion of tourists from other provinces increased," said Wang Liang, general manager of the Tangcheng Film and Television Base.
To entertain the visitors, Tangcheng hosted a series of all-day interactive performances and themed programs, offering tourists an immersive experience built around traditional culture and film production settings.
Similar scenes were reported in east China's Zhejiang Province, where the Hengdian World Studios, one of the largest active film and television studios in the world, also welcomed a wave of tourists.
Family visitors, particularly parents traveling with children, were the main drivers of the tourism boom, according to the scenic area.
"We are here in Hengdian mainly thanks to the spring break. My child has worked hard at school so I think she can take a break here," a tourist said.
Local hospitality business operators in the area also noted visitor flows were significantly higher than in previous years, with family travel rising sharply.
Several provinces across the country introduced their first-ever spring break this year. The break typically lasts two or three days, but falls at different times. In some areas, the break comes just before the three-day Qingming Festival in early April, while in others it extends into the May Day holiday or is combined with weekends, resulting in a break of five to eight days.
The new vacation not only allows children to connect with nature in spring and reduces students' academic burden, but also creates a window for family travel, which is expected to boost tourism and consumption.
Overlapping holidays boost tourism at China's film-themed attractions
