On the New Year’s Day in 2021, Chinese Culture Center in Paris launched an online exhibition of the 5,000-year-old Liangzhu City, now a world heritage site in a suburb of Hangzhou, on Twitter and Facebook. The online showcase received more than 150,000 hits after a week.

The exhibition was launched simultaneously at 43 Chinese Culture Centers across the world, opening a window on Zhejiang for international viewers. People in major European cities can tour Zhejiang online, visiting places of historical and cultural interests of Zhejiang through VR interaction and viewing videos and photos.

Japan is a large source market for tourism across Zhejiang. October 17, 2020 saw the launching of a tourism promotion by Zhejiang Culture and Tourism Administration in Hangzhou. At the launching ceremony tour operators in Zhejiang signed agreements with Japanese tour operators JTB and HIS on the site and with several other tour operators in Japan through an online ceremony.

A view of the venue of the launching ceremony of “Daka China”, an international program designed to promote culture and tourism across China to the world

“Daka China” Started in Zhejiang

On November 20, “DaKa China”, an international internet communication event, was launched in Wenzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province. Over 40 Internet influencers from about 20 countries witnessed the opening of the one-month-long media tour, and 44 popular scenic spots in Zhejiang Province were introduced to a global audience at the opening ceremony.

“DaKa” in Chinese pinyin or “打卡” in Chinese or “punch the card” in English, is a Chinese phrase used by social media people, referring to the practice of registering one’s presence at a famous location.

From November 20 to 21, the 40-plus Internet influencers across the world visited eight places in Wenzhou, launching the national “DaKa China” event.

Some of the international internet influencers have been in Zhejiang for some time. They expressed their passion for China, their second home.

31-year-old Russian Dmitrii Doronin has been in China since 2013. He is an internet celebrity due to the short videos he broadcasts online. The videos are all about his experiences in rural Zhejiang. At the launching ceremony of “DaKa China”, he shared his life in Zhejiang with the international audience. “I have visited almost all rural areas of Zhejiang. Right now I am living in a village,” said the Russian.

Jerry Kowal, an American who is an internet celebrity known for his video blogs about Chinese life on YouTube, interacted through a video app with hosts in Wenzhou, expressing his passion for China and Zhejiang.

Online Family Reunion in Qingtian

Qingtian in southern Zhejiang is home of a large overseas Chinese community in Europe. Of 550,000 registered residents in Qingtian, about 330,000 live overseas. February 5, 2021 marked the Preliminary New Year’s Eve, a week before the eve of the Spring Festival, which fell on February 11 this year on the lunar calendar. A Preliminary Eve celebration was held at Xiaozhoushan, a village in rural Qingtian. It was the fourth of the annual event. In the past, the celebration was held off line. This year, it was held online. The online entertainment was exciting, colorful, and heartwarming, including a Yueju Opera performance and a hip-hop stint in the Qingtian dialect.

In November 2020, National Geographic published a list of destinations on the rise for 2021. Tonglu, a rural part of Hangzhou, is one of “the 25 amazing places to inspire future journeys and remind us why we love to travel”.

Tonglu on National Geographic’s List of Destinations on the Rise for 2021

In November 2020, National Geographic published a list of destinations on the rise for 2021. Tonglu, a rural part of Hangzhou, is one of “the 25 amazing places to inspire future journeys and remind us why we love to travel”. 

Also on the list are Katmai National Park in Alaska, Guam, Gyeongju in the Republic of Korea, Lord Howe Island in Australia, Yellowknife in Canada, and Gabon in Africa. Tonglu is the only destination of China on this list.

An international friend enjoys traditional Chinese New Year in Qingtian in southern Zhejiang.