Editor’s Note: the great culture and tourism promotion event Chongqing Showcase is moving into the second season, with the mayors and secretaries from the city’s 41 counties, districts, development zones, and the administrative new area is coming to the front and promoting their unique cultural and tourism resources in a live stream promotion event. This article is about the pearl county in western Chongqing – Rongchang.

Chongqing- Gao Hongbo, mayor of Rongchang District, joined on Monday a 90-minute live-stream event in the latest episode of the ongoing Chongqing Showcase Season Two, to promote the district’s tourism and creative cultural products. The live stream was broadcasted on the city’s seven major news platforms and attracted more than 16 million views and 1.5 million likes.

Located in the western frontier of Chongqing and bordering the neighboring province of Sichuan, Rongchang was famous for having “the most fragrant Chinese flowing crabapple” in ancient times, and, as its name suggests, is a prosperous and thriving place. “Rongchang has long been held as a pivotal communication hub connecting the Chongqing and Sichuan areas, which led to the fusion and integration of the Ba culture and the Shu culture,” Gao said at the beginning of the live stream.

If you are one of those who often find it hard to decide what kind of souvenirs or gifts to buy for your friends and family, then Rongchang is the right place for you. Here you can find one of the country’s finest folding fans, porcelains, and silk clothes, and also one of the best pork in the world.

Gao started by introducing the Rongchang Ceramics, which originated in the Han Dynasty, thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties, became famous in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and is now a national-level intangible cultural heritage. It has “a purplish red color, a mirror-like shiny ulterior, a paper-like thin layer, and a chime stone-like sound.”

“With the rapid development and popularization of Rongchang Ceramics these years, a lot of young people and college graduates are jumping into this industry,” said Liang Xiancai, a 70-year-old national-level inheritor of this porcelain-making technique. “It shouldn’t be hard for me to find a successor to pass the baton.”

Gao also highly recommended the Rongchang Folding Fans, which is one of the three most famous folding fan brands in the country, and the Rongchang Grass Linen, which firstly emerged at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty and soon gain nationwide attention for its comfort and smoothness, and the Rongchang Pork, which is one of the eight best pork brands in the world.

“The appeal of Rongchang not only lies in the ingeniously designed handicrafts, but also in the mouth-watering local delicacies and cuisines,” Gao continued the second part of the live stream by introducing the most well-known cuisines such as the Rongchang Stewed White Goose, the Rongchang Yellow Bean Jelly, the Rongchang Panlong Mutton Soup, and the Rongchang Pugai Noodles.

Near the end of the event, Gao joined a virtual studio to introduce the must-see tourist routes through the Wanling Ancient Town Scenic Area, the Changzhou Residence for Revolutionary Martyrs, the Laixihe National Wetland Park, the Gufo Mountain, and the Rongchang Catholic Church.

“Rongchang is currently actively engaged in playing a bridgehead role amid the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, making itself a growth pole of strategic importance,” Gao added. “Next, a new tourism ecosystem incorporating cultural tourism, research tourism, and sports tourism industries will be created in the coming years to make Rongchang an ideal place for tourists within the Economic Circle.”