Earlier this year, the aesthetic of 1990s Shanghai experienced a renaissance thanks to Wong Kar-wai’s hit TV show Blossoms Shanghai. Tourists and locals alike sought out restaurants and streets featured in the show, while influencers and tourism accounts promoted these locations using the show’s name.

This summer, another TV show has drawn tourists to a new destintation. The IQiYi show To the Wonder (我的阿勒泰, Wǒ de Ālēitài), adapted from Li Juan’s book of the same Chinese title, has sent a tidal wave of tourists to Altay Prefecture in northern Xinjiang, all searching for the idyllic, bucolic, and serene lifestyle as portrayed in the show. As RADII has previously reported, beyond Xinjiang, Chinese visitors are also pouring into neighboring countries like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Yet, to get to this picturesque paradise, travelers must first endure some serious traffic. One netizen with the username “Ximulu JAS” reported being stuck in traffic for 13 hours on the Duku Highway, a far cry from its nickname as the most beautiful road of China.

All of this presented a perfect opportunity for marketing geniuses, and soon, versions of Altay were popping up in just about every province of China. Just north of Beijing, Zhangjiakou has been rebranded as the “Altay of Beijing,” due to its somewhat expansive fields of grassy green, which bear a slight resemblance to the landscapes of northern Xinjiang.

Everywhere online, netizens are posting images of green plains and meandering highways under the backdrops of rolling hills, whether they’re the “Altays” of Sichuan, Yunnan, Shanghai, or Shanxi.

For some, this marketing trend reflects the increase in online scams that use enhanced imagery to manipulate tourists looking for a summertime getaway. Compared to an expensive and time-consuming trip to Altay Prefecture, the “Altay of Beijing” three hours away from the capital becomes an attractive alternative — but if it’s sold on the basis of airbrushed photos, it’s a scam nonetheless.

Responses from those in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, and other regions with large ethnic minority populations have been mixed. While many agree that To the Wonder is a successful TV show, they are also wary of the strong “tourists’ gaze” inherent in the series’ portrayal of life in Xinjiang, which has catalyzed the tourism mania this summer.

One netizen under the username “_sleepy_Iris” wrote on Xiaohongshu: “In the eyes of tourists, the respectable labor, hard work, and survival instincts of local people are reduced to mere entertainment and a reprieve from city life.” This utopian, romanticized vision of life in Altay is damaging to the local people who must contend with the hardships of rural life, which is far from idyllic.

Banner image via Xinhua She.