CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Hospitable Chongqing is really worth its name! On the occasion of the May Day Holiday, in addition to the closure of the Qiansimen Bridge for visitors, a number of service industries in Chongqing have launched the “hospitality” measures: providing free air tickets, free food and accommodation, as well as sending postcards and litsea tea on visitors’ behalf. All sorts of initiatives, big and small, are aimed at making visitors coming to Chongqing return with satisfaction!

Offering RMB 100,000 to invite “Chongqing Fans” to come here for free

Before the May Day Holiday, a well-known Chongqing time-honored hot pot invited three Chongqing “fans” online, including providing them free air tickets, accommodation and guide fees, so that they can come to Chongqing for free.

Why the restaurant spend so much time and energy? You know, customers who go to the restaurant have to wait in long lines! The person in charge, with restaurants opened in Shenzhen, Shanghai and other places, found that many visitors know little about Chongqing, as many of them only have impression on the hot pot and mountain city. They invested nearly RMB 100,000 to invite three random “fans” from Shenzhen, Chengdu and other places to visit Chongqing for free on May Day, all-inclusive. There is no age or gender limit for the candidates, with the only requirement being a fan of Chongqing.

“I hope to show them that Chongqing is not only about urban prosperity, but also about the precious heritage of original culture. They can have an exclusive memory of Chongqing after visiting here.” The person in charge said, for the three lucky “Chongqing fans”, the hot pot restaurant provides them round-trip air tickets, special three-day and two-night local stay, regional cuisine, tour tips, local “indigenous” guides, as well as a set of photos in Chongqing, the all-inclusive video recording, etc., so they can enjoy themselves in Chongqing without spending a penny.

Services provided even without consumption --- Hospitality of National Outstanding Migrant Worker

Every year, once in the winter solstice, Zhang Shiwen will carefully prepare a hot free mutton soup pot for sanitation workers. He has been insisting on this feast of love for nearly 20 years. Zhang Shiwen, who was once named “National Outstanding Migrant Worker”, has now become an entrepreneur and opened a “charity hot pot”. Hot pot restaurant provides non-customer visitors with luggage storage for large items, free tea, air conditioning and resting places. Zhang Shiwen said, all visitors who come here are his guests. No matter they spend any money or not, he hopes they feel the hospitality of Chongqing people. This year, Chongqing is extremely crowded during the May Day Holiday with hot weather, when the visitors got tired, they could walk in to take a break, enjoy the air conditioning and have a cup of tea.

During the holiday, it is normal for the service industry to increase prices slightly. However, Zhang Shiwen decided to cut the prices of dishes by 30-50% rather than raising them. He noticed that some tourists are travelling alone, so he launched a “rotating hot pot” for tourists dining alone to enjoy dozens of dishes.

It is learned that he also changed the original plan of 3 squatting toilets to 11 to help tourists solve their urgent needs for free. He said that he hopes to use the food and culture business card to convey the “virtue”, so that the hospitality of Chongqing people will become a highlight to attract more tourists.

Free tissues and drinks --- details that embody the hospitality 

Hositality measures introduced by Chen Xue, a theme bookstore owner in Yuzhong District, are also very considerate, such as helping tourists who have no time to go to the post office to send postcards on their behalf, getting the Chongqing tourist stamps, providing mosquito repellent, tissues for wiping sweat, charging and hot water, all for free!

Chen Xue said that there were so many tourists during the May Day holiday this year. There is a section of stairs in Shancheng Lane, and often visitors get tired and sweaty after climbing up, so she put seats under the ficus virens tree outside the bookstore and placed the palm-leaf fans to give visitors a break and wipe their sweat.

What she didn’t expect was that in the small store featuring cultural and creative products of the mountain city, the palm-leaf fan actually became extremely popular! More than one hundred handmade palm-leaf fans were quickly sold for RMB 18!

In addition, during this year’s May Day Holiday, Guanyinqiao Food Street in Jiangbei District provided visitors with unlimited free drinks, including cola and mineral water, and more than 8,000 bottles were distributed on May 1. Free umbrellas were also prepared to allow the public to both shelter from the sun and the rain. It is learned that on May 1, Area A and B of Guanyinqiao Food Street recorded a total of about 200,000 visitors on a single day, all of whom were attracted to Chongqing snacks such as skewers, tofu puddings, hot and sour rice noodles and spicy noodles. (Translated by Wang Junli, Fathom Language Limited)