OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

For some experienced Chinese travelers, who have visited many destinations home and abroad, their focus has shifted to explore the domestic road less traveled amid the global pandemic situation.

For those who're adept at discovering such places, they like to share their stories online, so that visitors can find a way to avoid crowds－be it a getaway from a city's hustle-and-bustle, or experiences like learning some craft.

Couple travel to remote villages

Tuotuo and Susu, who only reveal their online names, are known for their first-person perspective vlogs about less visited destinations in China. The couple's short videos attract over 1.66 million followers on Sina Weibo, many of whom are youngsters with a yen to travel.

When they were confined at home due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 last year, they made productive use of their time and finished a book about their journey around the world.

They used to travel overseas frequently to make vlogs. As the pandemic makes it impossible to do outbound travel, they started a new project in May, aiming to make a series of short videos about less traveled destinations in China.

"It's like a blessing in disguise. We had to adjust ourselves and make different travel content due to the global pandemic. The project allows us to meet many interesting Chinese people and experience their unique lifestyles," says Tuotuo, 33. The couple, who used to work in IT companies in Beijing, are full-time travel influencers.

"In less traveled destinations, the locals hope that tourism will boost their economy. However, some secluded places, especially those with poor public transportation, are barely known. We feel honored that if our vlogs can help promote them online."

The couple traveled to some quaint villages totally devoid of tourists. They dined and rubbed shoulders with the locals and enjoyed the agreeable rural life.

"As young people have gone to big cities to make a living, only the elderly stay in villages," she says.

"Sometimes it's good that these villages can be 'seen' by the public," she says.

They visited Laozhai village in Lingshan county, Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The ancient Yao ethnic group village only has about 200 residents in 48 households. Villagers are honest and kindhearted, and taught the couple some traditional skills.

When they were in a minsu (a Chinese-style bed-and-breakfast homestay) halfway up Damian Mountain, in Guilin city of Guangxi, they made friends with the owner.

To boost the local tourism, she had built a stone path from the foot to the summit of the mountain and a viewing platform at her own expense. Photographers can enjoy a panoramic view of the rolling mountains and clean lakes, free of charge.

"We don't like to make short videos about travel tips. Rather, we prefer to present the local lifestyles and we feel emotionally connected with these people."

They visited a cattle-farming clan in Yangdong village, Liping county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong autonomous prefecture, Guizhou province. They had to drive on a winding road up the mountain and a bumpy mud path, but the picturesque view of terraced fields proved to be worthwhile.

Every May, more than 1,000 cattle plough the fields, a tradition of the Dong ethnic group. The village head opened a minsu via crowdfunding, hoping to draw tourists.

"It's like a Land of Peach Blossom in modern society. Their material life may not be as good as those in big cities, but they lead a life of ease and comfort," Tuotuo says.

Parents travel with kid

Ren Zhongli and Yuan Meng have been posting their travel stories with their 5-year-old son on tourism platforms such as Mafengwo, to record his growing-up. As they've drawn more and more fans, they then became travel influencers and still work in a State-own company in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

"I want to explore less visited places and share our travel experience, so that others can know which destinations are suitable for them and how to better enjoy themselves in a trip. I also share the good people and good deeds that we encounter, and it's a way of passing on positive energy," says Ren, 32.

Once they visited Hemu village at Kanas Nature Reserve, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in winter, when the temperature was around -30 C.

It so happened that their car got stuck in the snow and an ethnic Kazak man volunteered to help, by tying rope around the car tires for an hour to help them gain traction. Ren wanted to offer him some money, but he refused, so Ren rented out his horse-drawn carriage to tour around the village.

"My son likes making friends, so we take him to places other children would gather," he says.

The couple often go on a road trip and they prefer to visit children's playground and aquarium so that the boy can play with others of his age.

On weekends, they drive a car to explore Chengdu's surrounding areas for a getaway. For example, they might camp near the Ya'nyu Lake in Ya'an city, and visit villages for cultural experiences such as pottery and cloth-dying.

They visited Xishuangbanna and Pu'er in Yunnan province and avoided crowds at some less visited places. They took the boy to pick up pineapples in Xishuangbanna's Manyuan village, and learned about the coffee planting history in Pu'er, and visited a plantation.

He says compared with before, some domestic destinations have developed new experiences to cater to the needs of visitors. For example, in Xishuangbanna, tourists can take a stroll with an elephant in a tropical forest.

"After several years of traveling, my son likes to communicate with others, and when we travel overseas, he plays with other kids even if he can't speak the local language. He's also broadened his horizon and be mature," Ren says.

In September 2018, they were stuck for about 40 hours in the airport in Osaka, Japan, due to flooding caused by a powerful typhoon. They had to sleep on the ground and the boy didn't make a fuss. When the Chinese embassy sent buses to pick up Chinese tourists, he lined up for several hours and knew the importance of public order.

Some parents, he says, are worried that there will be many problems if they travel with their child, for example, whether the child might have carsickness or airsickness, or won't like the local food.

"If you want to travel with your kid, you should have confidence in him or her. Children have great adaptability and they're not as delicate as you think," Ren says.

"They want to have fun every day during a trip. At first, you can take them to places with better infrastructure for children."

Liu Simin, vice-president of tourism at the Beijing-based Chinese Society for Future Studies, says: "Frequent outbound visitors have traveled many places, with a higher consumption power and demand for destinations. It's natural that they would explore less traveled domestic places to meet their needs."

"Rather than common scenic areas, they prefer in-depth travel and are interested in the local lifestyles and local people. For them, tourism has become a kind of lifestyle, and lifestyle has also become an essential part of tourism."