Yanji city harnesses power of football, coffee ... and dinosaurs

YANJI — What city draws tourists from all over the world only to attend a football game and enjoy a cup of coffee? Not Barcelona or Milan but the city of Yanji in Northeast China's Jilin province.

Despite the fact that Yanji's football team, Yanbian Longding, plays in China League One (the second-tier Chinese league), the strong football atmosphere has attracted many visitors. Watching a match has become a must for those visiting Yanji in recent years.

Yanji in the Yanbin Korean autonomous prefecture was one of the earliest regions in China to promote football. With a population of only 680,000, the city has a large number of football players and fans.

"The average number of spectators at this year's home games has surpassed 16,000 per game," said Piao Jun, a Yanji Sports Bureau staff member. The figure is comparable to teams in the Chinese Super League and a sizable share of the audience is made up of visitors.

Yanbian played against Dalian Pro at home in the third round of the Chinese Football Association Cup on June 22. Despite their elimination, Yu Zhenhai, who watched the game in the rain, felt happy.

"When I come to Yanji, I'm not only going to watch the game, I'm also going to have a cup of coffee," Yu said.

The city is home to nearly 590 cafes, People's Daily reported. "There was the first exodus of migrant workers seeking jobs abroad during the 1980s and 1990s. When they returned home, they've taken back with them overseas lifestyles, including drinking coffee," said Li Jun, the owner of Chayina Cafe.

Li has witnessed a tourism boom in Yanji and the coffee in his shop can sell up to 1,200 cups every day.

Coffee has penetrated locals' lives. "Some guests came to our cafe even at 11 pm for business talks," said Zhang Yanhui, who runs a cafe in Yanji. A type of latte that integrates healthy grains and is designed to appeal to elderly residents is offered in Zhang's shop.

Data from on-demand service platform Meituan show that during the first five months of 2023, sales of coffee takeouts registered a surge of 1,256 percent from the same period of 2022. The number of shops that offers coffee takeout services increased by 23 percent year-on-year.

Football has brought people to Yanji and allowed them to learn about the local coffee culture. Many visitors, such as Yu, like to take selfies with coffee mugs with "Yanji" written on them.

As an enthusiastic football fan, Li believes that Yanji has found an economic booster. "Football matches provide a way to help Yanji with its economic growth. I think football, coffee and dinosaurs have gradually filled the gap in Yanji's tourism."

The dinosaurs Li mentioned are a new tourism resource that has been created in Yanji in recent years.

In May 2016, an early Cretaceous dinosaur fossil was discovered in Yanji. Under protected excavations, the fossils of China's easternmost Cretaceous dinosaur fauna were later discovered. The combination of football, coffee and dinosaur experiences is drawing tourists as a new feature of Yanji.

According to data, the number of travel orders in Yanji this summer increased 11 times over the same period of 2022. Sports and culture complement each other, attracting tourists and revitalizing the small city.

"For me, dinosaurs are my profession, coffee is my inspiration and football is a part of life," said Guo Jing, an interpreter at the Yanji Dinosaur Museum. "Football, coffee and dinosaurs are not only the focus of an increasing number of visitors to Yanji, but a new window for the outside world to get to know Yanji."

Xinhua - China Daily