Who has not snapped a pic of their meal? Especially when the dishes were particularly eye catching or lovingly prepared? Likely that may have been just as a keepsake, but when 20 million people see your photo online, it’s a whole other ball game.
谁没有拍过自己用餐的照片？尤其是当菜肴特别引人注目或精心准备时？也许这只是作为纪念品，但当 2000 万人在网上看到你的照片时，那就完全是另一回事了。
Yangzhou in our very own Jiangsu Province is famed for its food, as initiated by the celebrated dish, Yangzhou Fried Rice, so much so that in 2019 UNESCO granted it the status of “City of Gastronomy”.
江苏扬州以美食闻名，以名菜扬州炒饭为首创，2019年联合国教科文组织授予其“美食之都”称号。
And so it was that when the 5th China Morning Tea Culture Festival closed on 31 May, it was revealed that in excess of 20 million people had been attracted to join the festivities online.
于是，当第五届中国早茶文化节于5月31日闭幕时，据透露，已经吸引了超过2000万人通过网络参与庆祝活动。
At that point, Yangzhou had seized the unofficial title of “top internet celebrity city”. Temporarily of course, for other cities are continually waiting in the wings.
至此，扬州抢占了“顶级网红城市”的非正式称号。当然是暂时的，因为其他城市一直在伺机而动。
This is a trend which illustrates the driving force behind changes in urban development, namely its shift from investment-driven to consumption-driven and innovation-driven.
这一趋势体现了城市发展的动力变化，即从投资驱动转向消费驱动、创新驱动。
Competition between cities in China today is more than a GDP figure; it’s now all about popularity.
当今中国城市之间的竞争不仅仅是GDP数字，更是城市之间的竞争。现在一切都取决于人气。
That’s what put Zibo, a city in central Shandong Province previously better known for heavy industry, on the map and in the minds and stomachs of many the past few months.
这就是过去几个月让淄博这个以前以重工业闻名的山东省中部城市出现在地图上以及许多人的心目中的原因。
There, it’s meat kebabs which have brought in the hoards. The BBC notes that in March alone, Zibo welcomed more visitors than its total population of 4.5 million. It was the product of a catchphrase to have recently emerged; “Let’s go as soon as you say it”.
在那里，肉串带来了囤积。 BBC 指出，仅 3 月份，淄博接待的游客数量就超过了该市 450 万的总人口。这是最近出现的流行语的产物； “既然你说的话，我们就走吧”。
Elsewhere, people have been saying much the same about going to Changsha to eat lobster, or Chongqing for hot pot.
在其他地方，人们也都在说去长沙吃龙虾，或者去重庆吃火锅。
Back in Yangzhou, that “Zaocha”, or early breakfast tea, has become an institution. The premise is simple, but effective; an early-morning meal with delicious little treats, together with steaming hot tea.
回到扬州，“早茶”已经成为一种习俗。前提很简单，但有效；早餐包括美味的小点心和热气腾腾的茶。
While it has nothing in common with English afternoon tea (other than it being snacks and wet), it is similar in so far as being something of a ritual. As the China Daily-run website, SeeYangzhou.com, notes, “Zaocha in Yangzhou is a traditional, cultural and overwhelmingly social event”.
虽然它与英式下午茶没有任何共同之处（除了零食和湿茶），但就仪式感而言，它是相似的。正如中国日报网站 See扬州.com 所指出的那样，“扬州的早茶是一项传统的、文化性的、以社交为主的活动”。
And its the enthusiasm for such a tradition that has turned food into urban development.
正是对这一传统的热情将食物转化为城市发展。
From 25-27 May during the China Morning Tea Culture Festival, there was an endless stream of customers for morning tea in Quyuan Garden, one of Yangzhou’s four time-honoured tea houses. Refreshments and snacks provided by more than 60 exhibitors were sold out in advance; they simply could not replenish in time to satisfy demand.
5月25日至27日，中国早茶文化节期间，扬州四大老字号之一的曲园，喝早茶的顾客络绎不绝。 60余家展商提供的茶点小食提前售罄；他们根本无法及时补充以满足需求。
It’s the result of 5 consecutive years of effort that has allowed people to see the increasingly-widespread influence of Yangzhou as that so-called City of Gastronomy.
正是连续5年的努力，让人们看到了扬州“美食之都”的影响力日益扩大。
But radiating from a ritual to the city as a whole, the success of the China Morning Tea Culture Festival has obvious spillover effects.
但从仪式辐射到整个城市，中国早茶文化节的成功具有明显的溢出效应。
As QQ News reports, Yangzhou’s Municipal Bureau of Commerce is making every effort to build a consumption chain with morning-tea culture as the fuse for the future.
据QQ新闻报道，扬州市商务局正在全力打造以早茶文化为未来导火索的消费链。
With food, culture and consumption as their guide, the Bureau has given itself the key task this year of guiding businesses to provide high-quality services in developing a city business model described as “morning tea, afternoon coffee, evening wine, midnight snack”.
以美食、文化、消费为引领，引导企业提供优质服务，打造“早茶、下午咖啡、晚酒、宵夜”的城市商业模式，是今年的重点任务。
Yangzhou is doing the smart thing. And in many ways, its experience with the China Morning Tea Culture Festival is a case study in making the most of what you have. As Xia Qiquan, a professor at the School of Tourism and Culinary Arts at Yangzhou University, said, “You can’t expect residents from other cities to come here to buy houses and cars, but they can come here for food”.
扬州做得很聪明。从很多方面来说，中国早茶文化节的经验都是充分利用现有资源的案例研究。正如扬州大学旅游与烹饪学院教授夏启全所说，“你不能指望其他城市的居民来这里买房买车，但他们可以来这里吃饭”。
