Morning market gives a taste of tradition

With college students sharing their Xiaoheyan morning market experiences on Douyin, the market has gradually attracted more tourists.

Xu, 46, has worked at the Xiaoheyan morning market for 28 years. She started doing business there at 18, selling vegetables, and later became a market administrator.

"We sell very fresh vegetables, most of which are directly purchased from farmers. Some are from nearby cities, and others are freshly delivered from the source. The prices are very favorable, so many small supermarkets and restaurants come here to purchase groceries," she explains.

Fresh vegetables from various places, such as garlic shoots from Shouguang and strawberries from Dandong, are available at the market.

Xu noticed that this year, as more tourists visit, frozen pears have become the most popular fruit in the market. "In the past, ordinary pears were used to make frozen pears. This year, as a representative specialty of Northeast China, they are made with the largest pears available because they are so popular," she says.

She expects that, as the new semester approaches, college students returning to Shenyang will also return to the Xiaoheyan morning market to enjoy affordable and delicious food.

Xiaoheyan is just one example of Shenyang's bustling tourism scene this year. During Spring Festival, Shenyang welcomed over 11 million domestic tourists and earned over 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) in tourism revenue.

According to the Ctrip "2024 Dragon Year Spring Festival Travel Report", tourism in Shenyang saw a 156 percent increase in orders compared to last year, with ticket orders increasing more than fivefold.

Professor Wang Haihong from Liaoning University's Business School sees this tourism boom not as a sudden event but as the result of gradual efforts over the years. He believes it's about industries pulling together under favorable circumstances, rather than a sudden explosion of tourism.

To sustain this growth, Wang emphasizes the need to shift from simply having resources to creating quality products and improving service standards across the board. He suggests taking a holistic approach — not just focusing on "culture and tourism", but also integrating other industries, like equipment manufacturing for ice-and-snow tourism.