Tourists are flocking to China’s viral snow city
TikTok’s favourite winter travel spot? From Douyin to Dongbei, discover Harbin’s chilly charm in China and know how social media made it a tourist magnet.
Animal ears and pom-poms on fuzzy hats adorn tourists' heads on the streets of the frigid northeastern Chinese city of Harbin, which is enjoying a surge in visitors driven by social media.
Photos and videos taken around the city's landmarks flood platforms such as TikTok counterpart Douyin and Instagram-esque Xiaohongshu -- many featuring tourists from the warmer south.
They're affectionately known as "southern little potatoes", a reference to their alleged smaller stature and cutesy winter gear that contrast with the area's stereotypically coarse character.
A search for "southern little potatoes visit the north" racked up more than 428,000 notes on Xiaohongshu.
That's where Chen Xiting, who works in e-commerce in the southern province of Guangdong, said she was inspired to visit.
