With his beef ball factory going from 2 million yuan to 200 million yuan in value, Chen Zhibin, the inheritor of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) treasure known as Chaoshan beef balls in Shantou, shared his story with the Global Times. The local snack was part of the folk traditions of the Chaoshan area of South China’s Guangdong Province. They are small yet can connect Chinese culinary art with that of other countries’ like Singapore and Thailand, while contributing to local cultural tourism growth.