During China's National Day holiday this year, tourists in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region rolled up their sleeves for a playful "potato hunt," searching among the ridges for small leftover potatoes after the main harvest, a pastime made possible by the region's vast potato fields and abundant yields.
The city of Ulanqab, known as "China's potato capital," has become a focal point of this unexpected craze. With its booming potato industry, the city offers visitors a unique, hands-on glimpse of rural life. Many enjoy the harvest as a treasure-hunt-like experience that often becomes a delightful surprise during their trip.
As travelers showed off their special "souvenirs" and shared their lucky finds on social media, the high quality of Ulanqab's potatoes and the city's thriving potato industry drew widespread attention online.
Behind this quirky "potato-hunt" trend lies a rapidly growing, technologically advanced potato industry featuring improved variety breeding, large-scale mechanized planting, intelligent irrigation and modern farming practices. In 2024, Ulanqab's potato industry achieved a total annual output of more than 2.17 million tonnes, the highest in Inner Mongolia.
Read more at People's Daily Online