Zibo barbecue Photo: screenshot from website

Zibo, an industrial city in East China's Shandong Province that has gone viral across the nation for its unique barbecue industry, recorded 105.77 billion yuan ($15.29 billion) of GDP in the first quarter of 2023, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, laying the ground for future growth as the consumption craze continues.

First-quarter retail sales rose by 8.3 percent year-on-year. Sales in the accommodation sector surged 16 percent and sales in catering were up 25.2 percent. The added value of wholesale and retail companies rose 9.7 percent, while that of the accommodation and catering sectors grew 10.2 percent.

The confidence index for services enterprises above designated size stood at 127.1, and that of entrepreneurs was 130.5. 

Zibo's economy improved in the first quarter as multiple indicators showed positive signs, market expectations improved and support policies took effect, authorities said.

The added value of the city's tertiary industry reached 52.52 billion yuan, up 4.7 percent, the Zibo Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday. 

The city's primary industry generated 2.5 billion yuan of added value, up 4.4 percent, and the secondary industry generated 50.74 billion yuan of added value, up 4.6 percent. 

Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday that the city of Zibo epitomized China's thriving consumption since the beginning of 2023, and that's likely to continue for the rest of the year. 

Since March, Zibo has become a social media hot spot due to the distinctive dining experience offered by the unique local barbecue. Statistics from trip.com showed that travel bookings in Zibo increased by 441 percent during the May Day holidays from the level in 2019. 

Surging demand drove up local hotel rates, with an economy hotel in the city charging as much as 1,000 yuan per night.

The vibrancy of Zibo shows how China's traditional industrial city can proceed. "Zibo should seize the huge opportunities brought about by its barbeque and attract more investment to accelerate a local industrial transformation," said Zhang. 

As a typical industrial city with a population of about 4.7 million, Zibo had been making great efforts to transform amid the wave of the digital economy, which helped local authorities to act quickly in response to the barbecue craze.  

In the first quarter of 2023, Zibo's GDP grew as fast as that of Shandong Province. GDPs in two other cities in the province also grew fast. Jinan's GDP expanded 4.9 percent while that of Qingdao rose 4.8 percent.

During a press conference on March 10, the Zibo government pledged to set up 21 bus routes to attract tourists. In addition, the local departments of public security and market regulation enhanced inspection targeting any illicit acts to secure the rights and safety of consumers. 

"Integrating local characteristics and promoting itself by social media is a successful mechanism to boost the local economy. The good result of Zibo was an example for cities across the country," said Zhang. 

Global Times