Barbecue has become a sensation, and so has Zibo.

On March 4, “College students flock to Zibo for barbecue” trended on social media; on the 10th, Zibo announced several new policies to boost barbecue consumption.

The Zibo government moved swiftly to take action and promote the city.

Today, trending topics mean traffic, and traffic means productivity. Xi’an, Chongqing, and Liuzhou have all gone viral online, drawing crowds of young people.

But what happens after the hype?

The most critical challenge is how to help others gain a deep understanding of the city, ultimately attracting talent, capital, and projects to transform them into driving forces and growth for industrial development.

Cities Capitalize on Trends, Each with a Unique Approach

Leaders Transform into Development “Spokespersons”

At the start of the year, the drama *The Storm* went viral across the internet. Seizing this opportunity, Wu Pingchuan, Member of the Standing Committee of the Huainan Municipal Party Committee and Head of the Publicity Department in Anhui Province, reached out to the actor Zhang Songwen, extending a warm invitation for him to visit Huainan and sample the local delicacies of Shouzhou.

This tactic of “riding the wave” to draw attention to his hometown won widespread acclaim from netizens.

This is not the first instance of local officials capitalizing on trending topics.

In 2017, Zhou Chuncai, then Deputy County Magistrate of Jingtai County, Gansu Province, drew widespread attention by holding up a banner promoting local goji berries outside a Black Panther concert in Beijing.

Many officials have also taken on the role of “ambassadors” for local development through short videos and live streams.

In July 2022, Xing Zheng, Party Secretary of Kangbashi District in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia, went viral with a rap performance, not only introducing the public to this “internet-famous” secretary but also raising awareness of this “internet-famous” city.

In addition, top officials at the district and county levels have transformed into live-streaming hosts, promoting local industries by live-streaming job opportunities and selling products; regions across the country are competing to create “internet-famous culture and tourism directors,” combining local characteristics with their own personal styles to promote local tourism resources and culture.

To drive development, local governments across the country have begun embracing online influence.

Innovative Policies Spark Debate

Last year, a news story about the government covering losses for college students who failed in their startups certainly grabbed everyone’s attention, prompting many soon-to-be graduates to consider moving to Zhejiang.

College students represent the potential for urban development and the driving force behind industrial upgrading. Many cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have introduced various policies to attract talent, but most of these have been largely similar. Zhejiang’s “ingenious” policy approach, however, is truly compelling.

Transforming Unique Cultural Features into “Growth Drivers”

A city’s distinctive cuisine, architecture, and culture have become new ways for cities to create economic growth hubs.

Liuzhou, Guangxi, boasts two treasures: automobiles and luosifen (snail noodles). In 2012, the documentary *A Bite of China* introduced luosifen to the nation; in 2014, Liuzhou issued its first production license for packaged luosifen. In just eight years, this rice noodle dish has grown into a massive industry worth over 50 billion yuan.

In 2019, a video titled “The Stunning Dance of the Tang Dynasty Women” went viral in Xi’an, and the “Tumbler Girl” set the city ablaze with a single dance.

Chongqing has leveraged cultural hallmarks such as its “City on the Tip of the Tongue,” magical traffic, and the nighttime charm of Hongyadong to establish itself as the “Capital of Hot Pot.”

Now, Zibo is also actively leveraging its “barbecue culture” to create a growth engine for urban development.

Industrial Tourism Is on the Rise

Today, many companies are proactively opening their factory gates, carving out dedicated tourist corridors within their workshops. From large-scale items like spacecraft and trains to smaller ones like ballpoint pens and vacuum tubes, visitors can witness the entire manufacturing process. Industrial tourism has emerged as a new solution, particularly for older industrial bases and resource-based cities that are exploring transformation due to resource depletion and environmental pollution.The ancient town of Zhusha in Wanshan District, Tongren City, Guizhou Province, was once the largest mercury mining site in New China. However, resource depletion eventually led to the closure of enterprises, leaving the mining area as a “derelict zone.”However, through the restoration of the mining area, the integration of landscape features, and the addition of tourism amenities, the industrial site has been revitalized and reborn as a popular “town” on social media. Against the backdrop of manufacturing extending into the service sector, industrial tourism not only boosts the local cultural and tourism industry but also helps attract real-economy projects and foster the development of new technologies.

Behind the Buzz Lies an Opportunity for Investment

Generating traffic and attention for urban development is only the first step; retaining talent, resources, and projects is the ultimate goal.

What truly keeps young people in places like Xi’an and Chongqing is not the “Tang Dynasty Girls,” not hot pot, and certainly not the light rail running through the buildings—it is the opportunity to work at leading companies like Huawei, ZTE, and BYD.

Ultimately, it all comes down to industry.

It is clear that when leading officials “ride the wave of trending topics,” it is not for show; the policies they enact must not be mere window dressing. A city’s unique characteristics and industrial tourism can not only enhance the cultural and tourism industry but also serve as a driving force for the development of the real economy.

Just as behind Zibo’s barbecue lies the potential for industrial investment and development.

Data shows that the electronics and information technology industry is one of Zibo’s fastest-growing emerging sectors. To truly build a competitive moat for industrial development, technological R&D and upgrades are the core, while talent is the foundation.

However, according to the Seventh National Population Census, the population grew by just over 170,000 people between 2010 and 2020—an average annual increase of less than 20,000.

In 2021, the population increased by only 4,000 compared to 2020.

Such growth is clearly insufficient for a city currently striving with all its might to boost its economy and industries.

Yet the viral popularity of barbecue has allowed the Zibo government to identify an opportunity to attract talent and businesses.

By leveraging the buzz surrounding barbecue to demonstrate promising development prospects to businesses and talent, the city can ensure that this surge in attention is effectively converted into productive capacity.

We must have both the “face” of trends and the “substance” of industry

Every city has its own unique strengths. Whether these strengths can be transformed into a city’s calling card depends largely on whether local leaders possess the vision and courage to proactively seek change and break out of conventional boundaries.

In the past, local investment promotion efforts all looked to southern cities as models.

But today, some say: Why emulate southern cities? Let’s learn from Kangbashi in the north first!

The bold and enterprising Kangbashi District is located in Ordos, the “City of Coal,” yet Kangbashi itself lacks mineral resources. It has even been officially criticized as having “no land or livestock in the primary sector, a secondary sector entirely reliant on construction, and a tertiary sector that is large but not strong.”

Yet, despite these challenges, the district successfully made the list in the 2022 "China Internet-Famous Cities Index Report."

A lively, approachable, and people-friendly government social media account, along with a district party secretary who can rap and write lyrics, became Kangbashi’s first step toward breaking into the mainstream.

Subsequently, optimizing the business environment became a priority. Instead of evaluating corporate profits, the focus shifted to measuring businesses’ satisfaction and support for government departments, allowing Kangbashi to address specific issues and improve administrative efficiency.

In 2022, the digital economy became the “foundation” of Kangbashi’s development. The district facilitated 270 projects, signed 100 agreements, and attracted 20.7 billion yuan in investment—the highest figures in recent years.

It is clear that to transform a fleeting trend into a lasting success, the ultimate focus must remain on industrial development.

The same applies to Liuzhou’s luosifen industry, which has rapidly evolved from a single bowl of rice noodles into a full-fledged industry—even earning praise from the General Secretary in 2021.

To drive the transformation of the traditional Luozhou snail noodle industry into a digital economy, the city established the “Yunluolian” digital platform.

Leveraging new technologies such as industrial internet, big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, the platform empowers key modules including the technology chain, talent chain, sales chain, logistics chain, and capital chain.

Who would have thought that a rice noodle industry could be supported by such high-tech platforms?

In Closing

In this era of economic competition, the central government has called on local authorities to dare to innovate.

Cities with a solid industrial foundation and economic strength are choosing to venture abroad to attract investment, while others are opting to build a reputation, using online traffic to boost industrial investment.

Regardless of the approach, these represent explorations in investment promotion for the new era—reflecting local governments’ relentless efforts to devise strategies that will solidly strengthen and expand their industries.