Guo Yao, a tourist from Beijing, described her day at the Chinese Korean Folk Park as "wearing intangible cultural heritage, eating intangible cultural heritage, and dancing intangible cultural heritage". She admitted that she was originally just following the trend to take a set of photos, but "I didn't expect to taste rice wine and rice cake, jump in the long drum dance, and the immersive cultural and tourism experience made me deeply interested in Korean culture. The Chinese Korean Folk Customs Park is located in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, which is the only Korean autonomous prefecture and the largest Korean settlement in China. With the rise of travel photography, the local tourism model of "Korean culture+local characteristics+immersive scene" has been further upgraded, attracting more tourists to check-in and experience the charm of Korean ethnic culture. Entering the Chinese Korean Folk Customs Park, traditional houses with blue tiles, white walls, and upturned eaves are arranged in a staggered manner. Characteristic elements such as sauce jars, lanterns, and stone walls can be seen everywhere. The winding paths connect the courtyards, and different courtyards recreate the living scenes of different Korean families such as stonemasons, fishermen, and farmers. The park with an area of less than 10 hectares has become a popular destination for many young people to take photos. They were dressed in Korean ethnic costumes, with exquisite makeup, and under the guidance of photographers, they created different styles. After "filming", they posted them on their own social media platforms, causing more people to be influenced. During the summer vacation, the average daily passenger flow can reach over 20000 people Zhu Baokun, the Operations Director of China Korean Folk Park, said. He pointed to the street outside the park and told reporters, "In the past two years, hundreds of travel photography shops have emerged here, constantly upgrading their makeup and photography styles, providing tourists with different choices." The Yanji Xiyunqian Folk Photography Shop, not far from the Chinese Korean Folk Park, attracts a continuous stream of tourists who come to do makeup. The founder of the store, Lu Ziyu, said, "The characteristics of Korean clothing are slanted collars, buttonless, and elegant style. Through wearing and taking photos, many young people feel the Korean people's emphasis on beauty and etiquette, and therefore love Korean culture. This year, we also plan to expand our scale and open specialty stores and characteristic homestays." Travel photography is the first step for many tourists to get to know Yanbian. Zhu Baokun introduced that the Chinese Korean Folk Park has launched a series of immersive activities, including swinging, archery, pot throwing challenges and other experiential projects, as well as interactive performances such as Gaya guqin and Changgu drum dance. Tourists can also watch and experience the production process of traditional Korean handicrafts and Korean specialty foods. At the Chinese Korean Rice Cake Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience Hall in the park, Lin Chengnan, the fifth generation inheritor of Korean rice cake making skills, is showcasing the rice cake making techniques to tourists. He made rice balls from soaked, steamed, and pounded rice, wrapped them with fillings such as red beans and walnuts, and carefully molded them into various shapes. The styles of lucky bags, Jindalai flowers, Korean ethnic costumes, and more came alive and many tourists came specifically to experience them. Lin Chengnan told reporters that rice cake is not only one of the staple foods in the daily life of the Korean ethnic group, but also an indispensable specialty food for traditional festivals and festive occasions. Nowadays, he also combines the preferences of young people to create styles such as overseas style, cute pets, and birthday cakes. I hope to create more modern cuisine with a traditional flavor through my own innovative exploration, and further promote Korean cuisine, "said Lin Chengnan. In the first half of 2024, the Chinese Korean Folk Park received approximately 1.64 million visitors. This is a vivid epitome of Yanbian's vigorous development of folk tourism. In recent years, the local area has launched multiple folk tourism routes, while enriching the tourist experience through activities such as intangible cultural heritage markets, food selection, camping festivals, etc. Visiting the morning market at Yanji Floating Market and making spicy cabbage at the Korean Folk Village have been included in many people's "travel lists". Yu Mingliang, Deputy Director of the Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, believes that cultural empowerment is increasingly becoming a key variable in the integrated development of culture and tourism. The local government will continue to protect and inherit the traditional culture of the Korean ethnic group, improve tourism infrastructure, and allow tourists to experience the charm of distinctive cultural tourism. (New Society)