Leshan’s Featured Cuisine Drives Tourism Boom During May Day Holiday

During the May Day holiday, the ancient towns of Leshan in Sichuan are filled with the aroma of delicious food, from the spicy and fresh Boboji to the clear and mellow Qiaojiao Beef, the crispy and flavorful Sweet Skin Duck, and the smooth and tender Tofu Pudding. The strong atmosphere of daily life greets visitors everywhere, with featured cuisine becoming the core engine to boost holiday economy and attract urban traffic, delivering an impressive report on cultural and tourism consumption full of color and flavor.

As visitors walk across the stone-paved Rugong Bridge and step into the old streets of Suji Ancient Town, a rich and fresh aroma lingers in the air — it is the soup of Qiaojiao Beef simmering in the pot. Qiaojiao Beef is not only a signature dish of Suji Town, but also an important representative of Leshan’s food culture. China News Network reported that currently, there are more than 80 Qiaojiao Beef restaurants in Suji Ancient Town alone, over 500 in Leshan urban area, and the brand has expanded to Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and other cities, with more than 10,000 stores nationwide.

Nearly every Qiaojiao Beef restaurant in Suji Town has its own secret recipe, with fragrant soup and tender meat, attracting numerous tourists from far and wide. On holidays, time-honored restaurants such as Gushi Xiang, Laoniujin and Laoshiqiao often have long queues. Statistics show that Suji Town received 115,900 tourists and achieved a total tourism income of 13.09 million yuan on the first day of the May Day holiday.

Leshan boasts world-famous cultural and tourism resources such as Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei. Its thousand-year-old cultural heritage blends with Bashu folk customs, nurturing a variety of distinctive Jiazhou cuisines and earning it the reputation of “Food in Sichuan, Flavor in Leshan”. People’s Network reported that based on its unique cultural and tourism resources, Leshan has focused on the integrated development of “cuisine + cultural tourism”, deeply integrating featured food with ancient town customs and intangible cultural heritage to create integrated consumption scenarios, allowing tourists to appreciate world heritage, taste Jiazhou delicacies and immerse themselves in the daily atmosphere of Bashu.

In Leshan’s core food blocks such as Shangzhongshun, Zhanggongqiao and Jiaxing Road, century-old pork intestine restaurants, established Sweet Skin Duck shops and characteristic Boboji stores stand side by side. Generations of operators adhere to the original flavors and operate with integrity, and numerous small and micro catering stores carry the root of Jiazhou food culture and support the happy life of people increasing their income and getting rich. Vacuum-packed food and characteristic souvenirs are sold all over the country, letting Leshan’s flavor cross regions and spread far and wide.

In recent years, Leshan has expanded and strengthened its food economy and fostered the growth of catering market entities. In 2025, the number of catering entities in the city exceeded 22,000, with nearly 1,000 food processing enterprises. The food industry drove more than 200,000 jobs, becoming an important support for ensuring people’s livelihood and promoting employment. “Seeking Flavors in Leshan” has become a new fashion in cultural and tourism consumption, promoting the accelerated transformation of the cultural and tourism industry from sightseeing to in-depth experience and diversified consumption.

Currently, Leshan is continuously improving its tourism services to enhance visitors’ experience. Xinhua News Agency reported that more than 200 food merchants in Leshan’s Shizhong District launched Chinese-English menus during the May Day holiday, attracting many foreign tourists. Looking ahead, Leshan will continue to polish the golden brand of “Leshan Flavor”, gather popularity with food, promote development through cultural tourism, continuously release new vitality of characteristic consumption, and strive to build a well-known food and cultural tourism city in China and the world.