ZHAO MEI, the actress of the viral live show “Wang Po Matchmaking,” which has turned Kaifeng, Central China’s Henan Province, into a hot destination for the Qingming Festival holiday, has been granted a monthlong leave.

The performance, staged each day at Wansuishan Kungfu Theme Park, is based on the classic Chinese novel “Water Margin” from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The protagonist of the performance is Wang Po, an elderly woman who has her own tea house, runs a matchmaking business and also delivers babies.

Zhao has become a showstopper, thanks to her amusing style of talking, improvisational matchmaking approach and amazing dancing skills. She asked for a monthlong leave after the show was mired in controversy due to some travelers’ dishonest marriage-seeking behavior.

According to a statement from the theme park, other actresses will continue the performance during Zhao’s leave. The park also reminded travelers to have a rational view of the show as a performance, rather than taking it as a pure matchmaking event.

During the show, Zhao has encouraged tourists to come onstage and tell her about their ideal partner, and she has then attempted to find them their perfect match. Her stellar performance has not only made her an online celebrity, but has also made the theme park and the city popular among young travelers.

Travel and tour agencies said there was a scramble for tickets to the theme park as well as for train tickets to and hotel bookings in Kaifeng during the holiday over the weekend. Wansuishan Kungfu Theme Park suspended online ticket booking services April 4, due to the surging number of travelers.

The Kaifeng travel boom has had a positive impact on the province’s other holiday destinations. According to Tuniu, an online travel agency, the sales of tour products to Henan increased 99% between March 22 and 28 compared with the previous week, with the number skyrocketing 207% compared with the same period in 2023.

“The show was incredibly interesting. I saw several young men and women rushing to the stage to seek their ideal mates. Wang Po listened to them carefully and tried her best to find them a good match,” said Li Yi, a 28-year-old from Zhengzhou, who drove to Kaifeng for a day trip March 30.

“I’m not sure if the on-site matchmaking will have good results, so there is no need to take it too seriously,” he added. “It is entertaining and evokes laughter from the audience.”

Wei Changren, founder of btiii.com, a tourism-related financial news portal, said the show has resonated with young people, who are always attracted to interactive and immersive travel experiences. “The interactive show of Wang Po has made the purposeful and boring matchmaking process an interesting one,” Wei said.

Li Lixin, director of the Literature Research Institute of the Henan Academy of Social Sciences, said that the success of Wang Po and the popularity of Kaifeng were not achieved overnight. He said that Henan has channeled great resources and efforts in the past 20 years into shaping the province into a cultural and tourism destination, highlighting the history of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), as several cities such as Luoyang and Kaifeng were ancient capitals.

“Wang Po is a villain in the novel, but the modern performance has turned the character into a warmhearted, humorous and positive person,” Li added.

Wei said that well-developed social media platforms such as Douyin have helped boost the popularity of Wang Po and the city. “Their success is also the result of their persistent innovation, as neither the theme park nor Wang Po’s show is new. This success can be used as a reference for other destinations to shape their own attractive tour products,” Wei added.

(China Daily)