Liuzhou, an industrial city in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has become a tourist attraction, particularly to the country’s Gen Zers, or people born from 1995 to 2009, thanks to the great popularity of a famous local specialty.

People taste Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, at a restaurant in Liuzhou city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 26, 2023. (China News Service/Lin Xin)

The city boasts a unique view with tourists from across the country lining up for Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, on the streets with their suitcases on weekends.

Tian Mi, born after 1995, drove to Liuzhou with two of her friends from central China’s Hubei Province to taste authentically flavored river snail rice noodles. “I finally got the chance to taste the food in Liuzhou,” Tian said, explaining that as a big fan of the local specialty, she boiled prepackaged river snail rice noodles bought online once a week.

River snail rice noodles are a signature street food in Liuzhou. In 2014, the city began to produce prepackaged river snail rice noodles, which became a hit across China and were exported to Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe.

Liuzhou then took the popularity of its iconic dish as an opportunity to roll out Luosifen-themed travel routes.

Zhang Kunling, born after 2000, was also a tourist who came to Liuzhou to taste Luosifen and tried the dish at different restaurants. Zhang places more weight on delicious food, fun and low prices when traveling to a city.

People line up for Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, at a restaurant in Liuzhou city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 26, 2023. (China News Service/Lin Xin)

Liuzhou meets Zhang’s expectations. It’s a lesser-known tourist destination with a unique local specialty and all parks in the city are open to the public for free. Many internet celebrities and tourists across China shared the charm of the city on Chinese social media platforms.

China’s Gen Zers tend to spend their leisure time at lesser-known tourist destinations to seek unique travel and shopping experiences. The so-called “reverse tourism” has emerged as a new trend among Chinese Gen Zers.

Data from China’s online travel service provider Ctrip showed that bookings for lesser-known cities, including Hengshui, Hegang, Rizhao and Leshan, saw a remarkable increase during the National Day holiday of 2022, with bookings made by tourists born after 1990 and 2000 accounting for around 70 percent of the total.

Huang Xiaojie, chief marketing officer of Qunar, another online travel service provider in China, observed that Gen Zers, a major force in driving tourism consumption, prefer less-traveled cities with relatively sound infrastructure where flights and hotel stays are not pricey.

A tourist waits for her train with take-away Luosifen, or river snail rice noodles, at Liuzhou Railway Station in Liuzhou city, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 28, 2023. (China News Service/Lin Xin)

A growing number of holiday makers in China are going against the tide of flocking to well-known tourist destinations on vacation, according to Liu Huimin, vice dean of the Academy of Tourism and Leisure of Zhejiang University in east China’s Zhejiang Province.