From "going to Zibo to catch the barbecue" to "going to Tianjin to catch the dancing", why hasn't Tianjin become the next Zibo?

This article focuses on the phenomenon of diving uncles in Tianjin, exploring its rapid spread and impact on social media. The phenomenon attracted a large number of netizens to watch and discuss, making the Lion Grove Bridge a high-profile attraction. However, the article also mentioned some problems, including the safety of diving activities and facility maintenance, and how to convert this traffic into sustained tourism opportunities. In addition, the article emphasizes the cultural differences between Zibo’s popularity and Tianjin’s diving phenomenon, and the need for Tianjin to develop more tourism projects to attract tourists. If you are interested in social media hot spots and urban tourism development, this article is worth reading.

Following the "Go to Zibo for barbecue", the "Go to Jin for dancing" swept the entire Internet.

At the end of August, a group of Tianjin uncles (bai) diving were photographed by passers-by, which attracted the attention of netizens and also gave the Tianjin uncles a stage to start performing.

Image source: TikTok account: "SeuLe_"

A passionate speech before diving is standard, "Survive for one minute, be happy for 60 seconds" has become a tacit slogan between the old man and the audience;

Cartoon patterns and flowery shorts may look childish to elementary school students, but they fit the temperament of an old man very well;

The sky kick and the splits are difficult for college students, but they are just right for old men.

The Tianjin grandpas' reckless jumps have turned the Lion Grove Bridge into an "8A"-level scenic spot, and tourists from all over the world have flocked to Tianjin. At the same time, Tianjin has become a hot search on multiple platforms. As of press time, the Tianjin grandpa's diving has been watched more than 1.2 billion times across the Internet.

However, this "diving fever" only lasted about half a month.

On September 6, the Tianjin Lion Grove Bridge Diving Team issued an initiative stating that the unexpected popularity had brought together friends from all over the country, but the untrained divers had increased the difficulty of the rescue work. At the same time, the relevant facilities of the Lion Grove Bridge posed a safety hazard and needed to be repaired, and the conditions for diving were not met. "Therefore, we decided to withdraw from the Lion Grove Bridge diving."

Previously, a netizen said: "Zibo tied everyone up with barbecue, and Tianjin tied everyone up with uncles."

But at present, Tianjin has not become the next "Zibo".

1. The diving grandpa in Tianjin became an "8A" scenic spot, with more than 1.2 billion views on the Internet

“The world looks to China for diving, China looks to Tianjin for diving, and Tianjin looks to Daye for diving.

At first, the Lion Grove Bridge was not an official tourist attraction, but just an ordinary bridge across the Haihe River.

Although there are warning signs clearly posted on and beside the bridge saying "No diving" and "Observe civilized regulations, swimming in the river is strictly prohibited", the old men still "risk their lives" to enjoy the coolness of the summer river water.

In mid-August, the "battle of wits and courage" between Tianjin police and the diving uncle began to circulate on the Internet.

Young policeman: "Uncle, didn't you see the banner?"

Grandpa from Tianjin: "Hey kid, I don't know the characters."

Young policeman: "Bye, it's too dangerous! Don't jump!"

Uncle (while throwing away his shoes): "My slippers fell off. I have to go look for them."

Xiao Lu, who lives in Tianjin, told the Xinbang editorial department that she passes the Lion Grove Bridge every day on her way to and from get off work. Originally, this place was a gathering place for local swimming enthusiasts in Tianjin, and people swim here all year round. "There weren't so many people watching before, but recently it was suddenly photographed on the Internet and became a hit."

Image source: Internet At the end of August, more and more passers-by came to the Lion Grove Bridge and pointed their cameras at the old men. In response, one netizen commented:

Tianjin Public Security: No No NO

Tianjin Tourism: Go Go Go

Tianjin tourist: Oh Oh Oh

It is difficult to trace who made the Tianjin uncle popular. When netizens came to their senses, the Tianjin uncle had already become a hot topic, making the Lion Grove Bridge an "8A"-level scenic spot in the hearts of netizens.

How could the "E-people" uncles miss this well-prepared stage? They all showed off their best skills.

From passionate speeches to interactive calls, the uncles lived up to the "stereotype" that everyone in Tianjin is a crosstalk artist.

"Hello, comrades. Thank you for visiting Tianjin. Your presence here makes Tianjin shine!"

"Dear college students, please do not forget the kindness of your parents. I wish you academic success."

People can jump into the water, but words cannot fall to the ground.

For example, the old man with the online name "Old Sickle" already has his own "supporting actor".

Old Scythe: "Hello, comrades"

Audience: “Hello, Chief!”

Old Scythe: "Comrades are too dark."

Audience: "The chief is even darker."

From free turns to somersaults, from skyward kicks to splits, Tianjin people have welcomed their own "Quan Hongchan".

There was even an old man who was using crutches one second, throwing away his crutches and diving into the water the next.

Image source: TikTok account "Shangqiu Radio and Television Station"

As the diving team grew, the uncles gradually formed teams and the audience became judges, staging Tianjin people's own "Olympic Games".

Image source: TikTok accounts "Fat Chicken Soup" and "Phoenix WEEKLY"

Such a "competition" is not lively enough if only old men are present. Internet celebrities, male college students, national team players, and even foreign friends have gradually joined the diving army.

On September 1, Gao Yousi of the "Foreigner Research Association" became a hot topic after checking in for diving in Tianjin. Although he shouted that he was afraid, he still plucked up the courage to jump into the river after receiving the code "survive for one minute, be happy for 60 seconds".

Image source: Weibo account "Foreigner Research Association"

On September 2, Olympic champion He Chong came to the Lion Grove Bridge, took off his shirt amid the audience's cheers, and slid into the water with a neat 360-degree turn.

There is also a muscular male college student who shows off his body generously, from questioning the old man, to understanding the old man, and finally becoming the old man himself.

Image source: TikTok account "Pure man is not big" and "Xiao Li loves to eat"

In Xiao Lu's opinion, the old man's humorous language and ability to entertain people are a microcosm of Tianjin culture. "The characteristics of Tianjin are optimism, slow living and enjoying life. Maybe in recent years everyone has gradually longed for this mentality and lifestyle."

Public data shows that as of press time, the cumulative number of views of the Douyin topic related to the Tianjin grandpa diving exceeded 1 billion, the number of views of the related content on Kuaishou exceeded 180 million, and the number of views of the related content on Xiaohongshu exceeded 50 million.

2. “Tianjin’s wealth” has not yet arrived. Will Tianjin become the next Zibo?

"Zibo is catching up on the heat in the first half of the year, while Tianjin is taking a bath in the second half."

From the hot comments of netizens, it is not difficult to see that everyone is looking forward to Tianjin becoming the next Zibo.

Judging from the volume, Tianjin still lacks some "heat".

Although the old man’s diving video has become popular, he has not yet created a phenomenal internet celebrity.

Even someone as popular as "Old Sickle" currently only has 32,000 Douyin fans.

According to the data tool XinDou, owned by Xinbang, tens of thousands of “Tianjin Grandpa”-related videos have emerged in the past week. Most of these videos are from the perspective of passers-by, and the audience is more interested in these accounts as a “camera position” rather than the account itself. Therefore, no amateur account has taken advantage of the situation to quickly gain fans.

New Douyin data shows that in April this year, Douyin’s “Zibo” related content received an average of over 16.74 million likes per day, and “Zibo BBQ” received an average of over 11.74 million likes per day. The popularity of internet celebrities and merchants such as blogger “Mrs. B” and the guy selling duck heads soared.

In comparison, in the past week, the average daily likes for Douyin's "Tianjin" related content were 3.29 million, while the average daily likes for "Tianjin Grandpa" and "Tianjin Grandpa Diving" were less than one million.

On the one hand, the danger of diving puts the Tianjin government in a dilemma.

On September 4, #天津大爷已沒空跳水了# became a hot search on Weibo. A man jumped from the Lion Grove Bridge in Tianjin and was knocked unconscious by the water after entering the water due to his incorrect posture. Faced with tourists and passers-by trying to follow suit, the old men were so scared that they personally stepped in to stop them and even acted as lifeguards.

According to Metropolis Express, one of the uncles at the scene, "Brother Mu Yuqiu", said that diving requires skills and he has been diving since he was a child which is why he has the current skills. "A 4-meter drop can knock people out, and 6 meters is no joke. I have rescued several people recently."

Due to safety risks and facility issues, diving in Lion Grove has been put on hold recently.

On the evening of September 6, the Tianjin Municipal Urban Management Committee issued an announcement stating that due to safety hazards such as falling off and leakage of relevant facilities of the Lion Grove Bridge, "the street light management department temporarily cut off the power to the landscape lights, and the bridge landscape lighting facilities cannot operate normally for the time being", and began to carry out safety maintenance and renovation of the Lion Grove Bridge's external landscape lighting facilities.

The Lion Grove Bridge was crowded with people on September 5th vs. the empty bridge on September 7th. Photo provided by the interviewee

That night, the Lion Grove Bridge Diving Team also issued an initiative, saying that it had decided to withdraw from diving at the Lion Grove Bridge, and called on everyone to "stop diving at the Lion Grove Bridge, free up the space for the government to repair it", and also welcomed tourists, "Tianjin has many delicious and fun places, and there are many near the Lion Grove Bridge. If you are interested, we can also serve as your guides."

On the other hand, Tianjin faces the difficult problem of how to handle the influx of tourists.

On the Internet, every city may have the opportunity to become "famous overnight", but when returning to the offline world, whether it can turn traffic into retention is a test of the entire city's infrastructure and services. Zibo has already submitted a "reference answer".

"The hotels around the Lion Grove Bridge, the night market snacks by the Haihe River, the Italian-style street and other attractions have all become popular, and some advertisers are even running ads under the name of providing free mineral water." Xiao Lu said that the uncle in Tianjin has indeed boosted the surrounding economy, but has not yet created a series of tourism projects like Zibo.

Wenwen, who settled in Tianjin, believes that Tianjin's popularity was more accidental than Zibo's. After Zibo became popular, Zibo provided urban services inside and out from the government to the residents, but Tianjin is not fully prepared now.

The Tianjin Culture and Tourism Bureau once publicly responded: "The Lion Grove Bridge is not a scenic spot and is not under the supervision. The relevant situation of the grandfathers diving will be reported to the relevant departments to see what can be done from the perspective of culture and tourism."

When diving was stopped, Tianjin still lacked tourism services and consumption projects that tourists could truly enjoy.

The essence of Zibo's popularity is that the cultural gene of Shandong's hospitality has been carried forward. With good attitudes and low prices, every tourist can become a beneficiary of Zibo people's hospitality.

In contrast, Tianjin is still at the stage of "watching diving pictures for fun", where the viewing value is far greater than the experience value.

For Tianjin, it needs to find a focus like Zibo barbecue, such as Tianjin crosstalk, fried dough twist and other consumer items, so that tourists can have a happy travel experience, thereby attracting more people to check in in Tianjin.

"Next, it depends on whether the Tianjin Culture and Tourism Bureau can provide support," Wenwen said.

Image source network

Author: Bamboo

Source: WeChat public account "New Ranking (ID: newrankcn)"