Winter on the Western Sichuan Plateau is not a suitable season for tourism. The icy and snowy roads with sharp curves and steep slopes are full of tears of old drivers who have stumbled.
Litang, a small plateau town located on the 318 National Highway at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, Sichuan Province, is a rare tourist destination in winter - but this year is an exception.
Highland roads after heavy snow.
Ding Zhen's popularity has made Litang famous and brought it real popularity. On the streets of the county town, we often meet strangers in twos and threes, most of whom are girls. Most of them are Ding Zhen's fans, as well as media people and network anchors from all over the country.
"Did you see Ding Zhen?" They asked each other in different accents, like a joint signal.
"Please wait outside, I'll call you later, and you will come in".
The Cangyang Gyatso Mini Museum on Renkang Ancient Street in Litang, formerly a two storey Tibetan residence, is where Ding Zhen works. A staff member stuck his head out of the door, lowered his voice, and spoke in unskilled Chinese to the three girls waiting at the door.
This sentence made the girls dance happily, but they quickly suppressed their excitement, avoided attracting other people's attention, and nodded knowingly.
The door of the museum creaked shut.
Tsangyang Gyatso Mini Museum.
The three girls from Guangzhou met in Ding Zhen's "Chaohua" message area. In order to "meet" Ding Zhen by chance, they crossed half of China and met in Litang.
After a while, the door opened again, and the staff just now waved to them to go in. "No video recording, no photo taking, if you want to take a group photo, please give your mobile phone to the staff", and he repeatedly told them.
The girl went in and the door closed.
Wait at the entrance of the museum to meet Ding Zhen's fans.
Just a few minutes later, they came out with excited smiles on their faces and the satisfaction of this trip. Ding Zhen also came out later, escorted by two staff members, avoided the crowd and left quickly.
Although only in a hurry, these three girls are lucky. Most of the fans who came to Litang with them got nothing, and finally came back angry.
The girls who came to Litang expected to meet Ding Zhen by chance.
"There are several girls who are warming up in the tea bar next to the museum, taking oxygen, and coming out every hour to have a look", a local said, "It has been several days, but I haven't seen Ding Zhen yet".
As anxious as the fans, there are also media people who come with interview tasks and stay in Litang.
They did not expect that there were so many colleagues in Litang. They then found that the interview outline and shooting plan they had prepared before were no longer needed because it was difficult for them to see Ding Zhen.
The anxiety of journalists ended on the morning of December 4, 2020, on the second floor of Gesang Yaduo B&B on Renkang Ancient Street.
A large number of journalists came here early to wait. "Why haven't they come yet? It's half past ten". Some people looked at their watches anxiously for fear that they would plan to regenerate.
Litang County after heavy snow. In winter, altitude reaction and low temperature are the biggest tests for outsiders.
Journalists gathered here have come to Litang for at least two or three days and at most one week. After many unsuccessful appointments for an interview with Ding Zhen, on the afternoon of December 3, the county finally replied, "Try to arrange tomorrow, and every media should schedule for half an hour.".
However, a few hours later, the notice was updated, and the individual interview became a group interview, "a total of half an hour", because "Ding Zhen has been too tired recently, and she is not feeling well. I hope you can understand".
Even if it is only half an hour, this is also good news for journalists who have been waiting for a long time.
Someone is planning to leave for home and have a good sleep as soon as the interview is over. High altitude reaction and low temperature weather make it difficult for them to adapt in a short time. Some people walk with heart deficiency and asthma, and carry oxygen tanks with them; Some people have suffered from insomnia for many days, "only 2 hours of complete sleep every day".
At 11:00 a.m., Gao Xiaoping, the deputy general manager of Litang Tourism Investment Company, a man who is fluent in Mandarin, appeared at the meeting with Ding Zhen and sat down in front of the camera surrounded by the crowd.
Facing the camera, Ding really seemed nervous.
Most of the journalists' questions revolved around such topics as "Ding Zhen, do you think you are angry", "what is your feeling after being angry", and "what are your plans for the future".
Ding Zhen's Chinese level is poor. Facing the intensive questions, she was a bit at a loss. She turned her eyes to Gao Xiaoping and the translator from time to time to seek their help.
As mentioned before, Ding Zhen is not in a good state because of her busy days recently.
Gao Xiaoping and the translator were much calmer than Ding Zhen. After hearing the question, they repeated it in Tibetan in Ding Zhen's ear. After thinking, Ding Zhen carefully replied in Tibetan, in a gentle, short but serious voice.
At the end of the meeting, the reporter suggested that he take off his mask and take some photos.
Ding Zhen hesitated to take off her mask and smiled shyly. Later, accompanied by Gao Xiaoping, he left the scene.
On the way back, the reporters received a phone call or text message from the staff of Litang County. First, they expressed their sincere apologies for "poor reception"; Second, invite the other party to visit Litang at a convenient time.
People in Litang are worried that the process of "waiting for Ding Zhen" will leave the impression of Ding Zhen "putting on airs" and "playing big cards" to the media and fans. But they are also helpless. This unprecedented and explosive visit has far exceeded the reception capacity of local tourism and propaganda cadres.
Ding Zhen brought fire to Litang, but Litang is not ready to become a "popular county". People in Litang need time to make prudent judgment on the trend of this matter and avoid "turning good things into bad ones".
Winter scenery of the plateau - in summer, it will be covered with grass and flowers.
Grassland, blue sky, snow mountain, white tower, horse racing... The scenery of Litang matches the romantic imagination of most netizens about life on the plateau. Only those who are in it can understand the difficulty of this journey.
Restricted by the relatively harsh natural conditions, 96.75% of the total rural population in Litang County was almost in absolute poverty in 2000, where people and livestock lived together, could not drink clean water, and used pine oil for lighting;
In 2015, the total GDP of Litang was only 990 million yuan, ranking last among 183 districts, cities and counties in Sichuan;
It was not until February 2020 that Litang took off the hat of a poor county.
A local has just enjoyed the sunshine in Litang White Pagoda Park.
After poverty alleviation, the transportation, housing, communication and education of Litang have been greatly improved, and the cultural and tourism industry has gradually changed from planning to reality: Kangren Ancient Street, Qianhu Tibetan Village, horse racing culture, Kangba Han Selection
Litang people welcome visitors and expect tourism to bring changes to this small plateau city.
"Nobody expected Ding Zhen to take Litang on fire with his' own strength '", a reporter from Chengdu said that for Litang's cultural and tourism propaganda work, "like a thirsty person, he accidentally fell into the river".
Ding Zhen was unprepared for his sudden "popularity".
In the face of the sudden popularity, and the swarming media and fans, Litang was a bit unprepared.
"We don't want Ding Zhen to be overspent," said a staff member of Litang Tourism Investment Company. "He is just a child.".
Recently, luxury cars with foreign number plates frequently appeared on the streets of Litang, which aroused their vigilance. "Those are the people from the Internet celebrity company, and they are also looking for Ding Zhen".
Ranrika Village, Gnie Town, Litang County, Ding Zhen's hometown.
The village is located at the foot of Mount Gnea, 6204m above sea level, 80km away from the county seat. It takes nearly 3 hours to drive. Except for occasional mountaineering enthusiasts, few tourists usually go there.
The villagers have little contact with the outside world. From the village to Gnie Town, there is only one minibus every day for the villagers to purchase living materials in the town. It was not until the year before last that the village was electrified.
Ding Zhen's family has 90 cattle, which is the main property of the local herdsman families, and is considered to be of medium level in the village. If he didn't become popular by accident, he would wield his whip to herd cattle and run horses on the hillside on a snowy day.
Ding Zhen's hometown is a Tibetan boy who smiles at us.
After becoming famous, Ding Zhen had less time to meet his friends. He went to work in the county town and seldom returned to the village. Even when he returned, he often took the task of cooperating with interviews and filming, and always surrounded by many people.
From obscurity to popularity, Ding Zhen is still adapting to this process.
After Ding Zhen entered the city, the number of outsiders in Ranrika Village once increased.
They have different purposes: some are looking forward to meeting Ding Zhen here, some are trying to contact Ding Zhen's family, some want to do live broadcast, and some are just curious.
Later, Litang County set up a detour point on the road to Ranrika Village to stop unauthorized outsiders. "Ding Zhen's family and local villagers do not want their normal life to be disturbed".
Ranrika Village, Gnie Town, Litang County, Ding Zhen's hometown, has just had access to electricity and roads.
A girl who lives in Ranrika Village and now attends tour guide training in Litang County was once a cowherd partner with Ding Zhen. After getting acquainted with us, she promised to take us to the village and visit her home.
But the night before the departure, the girl told us regretfully that the trip had been cancelled - after reporting to the leader, she got the advice that it was best not to bring outsiders into the village, so as not to make trouble for the local villagers.
The grassland in winter is empty and yellow.
"The presence of Ding Zhen must be a good thing for Litang Culture and Tourism Company", said Du Dong, Ding Zhen's "agent", the general manager of Litang Culture and Tourism Company. "Because of this, we need to protect him even more".
Du Dong, a native of Nanjing and a writer, once worked as a translator and journalist in Shanghai and Tibet. He was obsessed with coffee and also liked Tibetan sweet tea. As a young man of literature and art, his famous work is Kangba Love Letter with more than 140000 words, as well as his translated novel The Dark Robbery, the art history Bohemia, etc.
In 2018, he was invited to Litang and served as the general manager of Litang Culture and Tourism Company.
Employing a young person without political and economic background to take care of the cultural and tourism industry, which is regarded as the top priority by Litang, Du Dong believes that this reflects the open attitude of the Litang government and its determination to embrace change.
Du Dong is not only Ding Zhen's "agent", but also plays the role of "protector".
Before becoming Ding Zhen's "agent", one of Du Dong's achievements in Litang was that with the support of the government, he built several museums of different types and themes, covering all aspects of Kangba culture.
Du Dong's goal is to rely on these museums to "build a Litang with cultural heritage" - the road to this goal is long and difficult, but he does not want it to be coerced by commercial consumption. "Litang has something unique that needs to be well managed and protected".
We met Du Dong here for the first time inside the Cangyang Gyatso Mini Museum.
In our conversation, Du Dong showed his excellent eloquence, careful thinking and clear vision, but the most impressive thing is his cautious attitude towards Ding Zhen's popularity.
In Du Dong's view, traffic is a double-edged sword. He welcomes traffic, but he is also afraid of it. In the face of increasing attention, "a little carelessness may lead to deviation".
He said that if such a thing happened, it would be irresponsible for Ding Zhen, and also sorry for Litang.
We talked with Du Dong until late at night.
In order to promote Litang tourism, Du Dong tried many methods. For example, take short videos, write tweets, invite travel experts
Du Dong finally found that the effect of all his efforts was not as attractive as Ding Zhen's smiling face. In the off-season of tourism in Litang, the museum welcomed a peak of tourists.
"Ding Zhen's appearance, for Litang, is like a koi inadvertently obtained, which can speed up our progress", Du Dong said, but there is also an idiom, more speed, less speed.
"When the atmosphere is more fanatical, the parties need to stay sober".
Du Dong hopes that Ding Zhen's heat will drop as soon as possible. "After cooling down, he can adapt to the new life faster, find the way he wants to go, and go further".
He repeated the sentence, "He is just a child".
At noon, the sun shines through the glass into the study of Tsangyang Gyatso Micro Museum, where Ding Zhen works.
Du Dong sits in a corner of his study and looks out the window. The laptop on the desk is open, and the coffee on the right side is steaming. Outside the window, there was an endless stream of tourists. From time to time, someone pushed open the glass door of the study and asked, "Is Ding Zhen there?"
"No", Du Dong repeated the movement of shaking his head again and again.
Behind Du Dong, there are thousands of express deliveries, mostly books. Before Ding Zhen became famous, the museum had launched an online collection of second-hand books to expand the local library.
For a long time after the fundraising was launched, there were few respondents - but after Ding Zhen became popular, this situation was quickly reversed. Couriers from all over the country poured into Litang, almost filling the study, "and most of them are new books".
"There is no room for them here. It is estimated that there are still thousands of them in the post office." Du Dong jokingly said that Ding Zhen alone has driven the express industry in Litang.
In the corner of the museum study, there are many gifts from netizens, most of which are books.
What Ding Zhen brought to Du Dong was more pressure than surprise and opportunity.
"There are dozens of media calling me every day, and I dare not answer the phone now", Du Dong said, all of which came too suddenly. "This is true for Ding, and it is also true for me".
Du Dong said that although Ding Zhen is currently in a "protected" state, he has never set limits on his future. "I hope that after this experience, Ding Zhen can find a way that really suits him. Even if he wants to go home to herd cattle, we will respect his choice".
After working in the museum, Ding Zhen spent half her time working and half her time learning cultural knowledge.
In order to make Ding Zhen adapt to the life in the county as soon as possible, the tourism investment company transported Ding Zhen's pony pearls from the village to the county and put them in a hotel.
The equestrian association of Litang County also sent Ding Zhen a racing horse. "When summer comes, Litang will be full of tourists", a hotel staff member estimated optimistically.
In the face of the upcoming tourism peak, Du Dong is still a little guilty. "We are not fully ready to accept so many tourists, and we still have a lot of work to do".
Ding Zhen's pony Pearl also moved into the city.
For Ding Zhen and Litang, the program "One Day for Chinese People" will continue to launch relevant content in the near future. Please pay attention.
Issue 3877
Writing&Video | Chen Jin Yang Shangjie Editing | Luo Chuhui
Overall planning | Xia Xia Bai Jiaqi editor | Kuang Kuang
Produced | Tencent News