Tieling truly becoming 'big city'

The once-obscure city of Tieling in Liaoning province became a household name overnight due to Chinese comic star Zhao Benshan.

Playing an old farmer from a remote village in a televised skit for Spring Festival Eve of 1999, Zhao said he would love to travel with his wife to "the big city"- Tieling.

Most of the tens of millions of viewers had never visited or even heard of the city, but in their laughter they became quite familiar with the name.