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