‘Friendly hospitality’: 300 happy-to-help north China locals offer free lifts for tourists visiting snowy region
- Northerners form fleet of volunteers to help visitors from southern China
- Kind-hearted drivers offer free service to boost reputation of region
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News that more than 300 kind-hearted people in China are spontaneously giving free lifts to visitors in bad weather when they are unable to get transport has trended on mainland social media.
One such driver surnamed Hu, from Harbin city in the northern province of Heilongjiang, said a fleet of volunteers has been formed by locals to offer free lifts for domestic tourists from the south of the country, whom they call “small potatoes”.
It is not entirely clear how the “small potatoes” nickname came about, but people from the south of China are, by and large, shorter and thinner than their northern counterparts.
All kinds of vehicles are involved in the good deed, from trucks to luxury vehicles worth about 10 million yuan (US$1.4 million), and all display a poster advertising the lifts.
“Free rides. Please wave if any ‘small potato’ fails to get a ride-hailing service, so I can offer you a lift,” the posters say.
One local, a 30-year-old female driver, saw two young women standing in the street one evening looking lost.
“Are you small potatoes? Where are you going? I can drive you,” she told them.
The women gratefully accepted her offer and reassured her they were not offended when locals referred to them as “big sweet potatoes” or “frozen pears”, in fact, they found it endearing.
Frozen pears are a food typical of the area.
“We are very happy to offer this help,” Hu said, while acknowledging that the kind gesture was hard work for some drivers who drove from morning until late at night.
Hu said that in the beginning many visitors were unsure if the offer was genuine, but as more shared their positive experiences online, the fleet gained popularity among tourists.
“We do not go home until we’ve made sure there are no visitors left standing in the street,” he said.
Hu added that he offers the free service for his own satisfaction and for the reputation of the city he lives in, adding it serves to demonstrate the warm and friendly hospitality of people in northeastern China.
Their kindness has made an impression on many people on mainland social media.
“This is a heart-warming story,” said one online observer.
“They are so nice. I really want to travel there,” said another.
Heilongjiang province is one of China’s traditional winter tourist destinations.
In November last year it received 27.58 million visitors, a 275.7 per cent year-on-year growth rate.
Last year’s burgeoning tourist trade earned the province 39.2 billion yuan, a 767.5 per cent increase from 2022, according to the Department of Culture and Tourism.
