According to online platform data, as of 3 p.m. today, the box office of 2026 National Day movies exceeded 800 million yuan. During the National Day holiday, the suspenseful crime-themed film “Empty Gun” continued to generate popularity. A large number of real-life scenes in the film were taken from Jiangmen, Guangdong and other places. The old arcade streets, Lingnan ancient villages and other overseas Chinese-style features full of 1990s texture attracted a large number of movie fans to Jiangmen during the holiday.
“Empty Gun” takes the story of Guangdong and Hong Kong police and criminals in the 1990s as the main narrative line. The crew used many places in the old city of Xinhui as filming locations, preserving the texture of the hometown of overseas Chinese and the fireworks of the city. Many tourists followed the footage in the film, visiting the same streets and alleys featured in the film, checking in at old shops and tasting local delicacies such as dried tangerine peel and wonton noodles from the hometown of overseas Chinese. Walking into a noodle shop on Tianxin Road, the shop was packed. This old noodle shop, which was frequently featured in “Blank Gun”, has completely retained the Hong Kong-style signboard and retro decoration from the time when the crew was filming. Many movie fans came here to follow the movie footage, and the noodle shop’s business is particularly prosperous.
Tourist Zhong Daqin:I came here from Hong Kong after watching the movie “Blank Gun”, and I felt like I wanted to come here to see the filming location and feel its atmosphere. It feels like this place is similar to a movie, very period.
The classic delicacy pineapple buns in the film also popularized local Hong Kong-style tea consumption. Many tourists after watching the movie came to the old street store to check in and taste the same pineapple buns in the movie.
Hong Kong-style tea restaurant staff Ms. Li:After the movie was broadcast, the sales of pineapple buns in our store increased a lot. Many tourists came to order the same style as the movie. The supply often exceeds the demand during peak holidays.
The exciting gold shop robbery scene in the movie “Empty Gun” was filmed at Diwang Square in Pengjiang District, Jiangmen. After the movie hit theaters, Diwang Plaza became a popular spot for movie fans. During the National Day holiday, the flow of check-in customers continued to increase, driving the popularity of prime stores and catering shops in shopping malls to rise. The local package has launched ticket stub benefits. With the “Blank Gun” movie ticket stubs, you can enjoy consumption discounts at merchants in the business district, turning the popularity of the screen into consumption vitality in the business district.
Visitor Ms. Wei:I came to Jiangmen after watching the movie “Empty Gun”, and then walked through places like Diwang Square again, checking in at points related to the movie, and I felt like I was back in the movie.
It is understood that Jiangmen has planned to launch the themed itinerary of the “Exploration” tour of the overseas Chinese hometown of “Empty Gun”, selected 7 film shooting locations, and set up 4 exclusive movie check-in devices to effectively convert the popularity of film and television into on-site cultural tourism traffic. The local area also carries out open-air movie screenings, links food stalls and cultural and creative markets, creating a nighttime consumption scene of “watching movies, visiting markets, and tasting delicious food”.
“Welcome to Dragon Restaurant” Brings Fire Chinese Food
The movie “Welcome to Dragon’s Restaurant” continues to be in theaters. The film brought tears to countless viewers with its simple Chinese value of “eating well”. It also boosted the sales of classic Chinese delicacies such as Kung Pao Chicken in the film, injecting new vitality into the holiday catering market.
The prototype of the “dragon head” in the movie “Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant” is based on the Subang cuisine of squirrel and mandarin fish; and the protagonist Xu Fu’s homemade “Xu Fu Risotto” is a fusion dish that conveys the simplicity and warmth between Xu Fu and Middle Eastern children. A hot meal carries the warmth and hope in difficult times. After watching the movie, many viewers made a special trip to the restaurant to check out the same delicacies. Many restaurants took advantage of the popularity of the video to launch the same dish. At a restaurant in Beijing, sales of the “Xu Fu Risotto” set meal and “Dragon Head Head” themed dishes increased significantly.
As of October 4, the cumulative box office of “Welcome to Dragon Restaurant” has exceeded 2.3 billion yuan, ranking third in the total box office of the year. The popularity of the movie has led many restaurants in Chengdu to launch “Sichuan cuisine from Dragon Restaurant”, which combines Kung Pao chicken and Mapo tofu, becoming a new highlight of holiday dining consumption. According to data from the Chengdu Catering Association, during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, online searches for “Sichuan Restaurant” in Chengdu increased by more than 30% month-on-month.
Consumer Sun Bohan:After watching “Welcome to the Dragon Restaurant” in the cinema, especially after the pot of red oil for Mapo Tofu came out in the movie, I was particularly greedy for this bite. After watching it, I immediately came to this restaurant to try the Mapo Tofu dish.
Consumer Yue Yang:When I was watching the movie, I was not only moved and thought the film was very well shot, but also the food scenes in it particularly attracted me. There happened to be two dishes in it, one was Kung Pao Chicken and the other was Mapo Tofu. After we watched the movie, we ordered these two dishes and found them very delicious.
This “movie food craze” extends the Chinese fireworks on the screen to offline, allowing more people to feel the humanistic warmth behind Chinese food, converting the screen heat into catering customer flow, and promoting the continued rise of cultural and tourism consumption.
Travel to the forest with movies, film culture and tourism are mutually beneficial
During the National Day holiday, “touring the forest with movies” has become a popular new way of leisure during the holiday. Cultural tourism activities held in the forest ecological scenic spot in Yichun, Heilongjiang have driven holiday consumption of “watching movies – traveling in the forest – tasting delicious food”.
Yichun City in Heilongjiang Province has thousands of hectares of red pine forests, with a forest coverage rate of 83.8%. The forests are rich in negative oxygen ions and the air is fresh and pleasant. It is called a “natural oxygen bar”. During the National Day holiday, the local government launched the “Travel with the Movies and Visit Home in the Forest” cultural and tourism reciprocity activity. Citizens and tourists can enjoy a 20% discount at partner cinemas with tickets to four scenic spots including Tangwang River Forest Sea and Stone Forest and Wuying Red Pine Forest Sea. After watching the movie, the audience can use the movie ticket stub to visit the four cooperative scenic spots and enjoy a 20% discount on the tickets to the scenic spots. Drive diversified consumption in scenic spots, camping, B&Bs, catering, etc. Watching movies, traveling in the woods, and tasting delicious food have become popular new ways of leisure during the National Day holiday.
Beijing tourist Kang Jiawen:With the ticket stub of the scenic spot, I only spent 16 yuan to watch a movie. I was particularly surprised. This trip not only allowed me to enjoy the scenery, but also watch a movie. It felt like I had more entertainment options.
Ao Zhanyuan, the person in charge of a movie theater in Yichun City:This event brought a very obvious increase in customer traffic to the theater. Combining tourism and film culture not only gives the public more choices, but also helps our theaters gain popularity.
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