Zibo BBQ with fire comes out of the circle

Zibo has a very long history. In the history of China, Zibo was once the capital of Qi, the "Seven Heroes of the Warring States", and the birthplace of Qi culture. Zibo is also one of the earliest industrial cities in China. It was once one of the most important industrial centers in Shandong Province and even the whole country, with rich industrial culture.

It is difficult to verify the origin of Zibo barbecue, but it is said that Zibo barbecue originated from a small vendor named "Zhouji" in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty. On the road outside the south gate of Zibo, he pioneered the method of baking mutton kebabs with tofu skin and charcoal fire, which won the local people's love and reputation. Later, this barbecue method gradually spread and became a unique food culture in Zibo.

The explosion of barbecue in Zibo was not overnight, but gradually detonated after many times of network communication. The initial craze about barbecue in Zibo may benefit from the effect of "planting grass" on social media.

The video "How to Eat Barbecue in Zibo" released by a blogger named "Mr_ Mu" in Tik Tok received 191, likes and was forwarded 224, times, which attracted a lot of fans' attention and pursuit. The "College Students Group to Zibo for Barbecue" on the hot search list in the same city has even ignited the enthusiasm of netizens, and the search volume has exceeded 5 million.

Then, some local barbecue shops in Zibo began to publicize and promote their own barbecues on social media, among which there were many "top-notch" barbecues in Shepherd Village, which attracted the attention of countless netizens. These barbecue shops have used the power of social media to display their own special barbecues, which has aroused more and more people's interest and curiosity.

Li Zhouyi shared a recent barbecue experience: "We deliberately chose a restaurant that was not' hot', basically only for local guests. We waited in line for an hour and waited for half an hour before serving a plate of peanuts. It was an hour and a half before we saw beef skewers. The busy boss in the store had no time to string them."

He said that before the barbecue started in Zibo, at most several restaurants lined up, but now every family is lining up. However, he still hopes that this state can continue. "I hope that in the future, everyone will mention Zibo barbecue and become a local signboard just like Qingdao seafood and Jinan bazi meat."

Sun Xiaorong, an expert member of the China Tourism Reform and Development Advisory Committee, said in an interview with China Newsweek that food is the most popular "local culture", and the barbecue culture in Zibo is unique, which skillfully combines Shandong pie-rolling, cooking tea around the stove and stringing, and has a strong sense of ceremony and scene.

Different from other places, Zibo barbecue is one of the few cities that keep the independent small-scale pure charcoal barbecue. In Zibo barbecue, each table is equipped with a small stove as standard. After the waiter sends the kebabs cooked in seven or eight degrees to the table, the customers need to reprocess them themselves: on the small stove, the grilled kebabs are soaked with oil, and the meat is scooped up with a packet of small cakes, and the crispy Shandong tender onions are sprinkled with their own prepared hot sauce, which has different flavors. Therefore, there is a joke in Zibo that "there must be a kebab master in a threesome".

Sun Xiaorong believes that it is this barbecue style in Zibo that fits young consumers' pursuit of traditional lifestyle and "local culture". After the spread of social media, it triggered a "phenomenal" consumption trend. "It is still a young consumer group, creating a new trend of consumption and guiding new ideas of life." He said.

Since March, the search volume of local "barbecue" keywords in Zibo has increased by over 37% compared with last year. The search volume of the keyword "Zibo BBQ" on the whole platform increased by over 77% year-on-year. As the first choice for midnight snack, "BBQ" has become the category with the highest local late-night orders, while young people aged 2 to 3 are the main force of barbecue consumption, accounting for over 5%.

Wang Zhongwu, a professor of sociology at Shandong University, said that Zibo's going out of the circle is inseparable from the building of Jinan metropolitan area. Zibo is one of the important cities in Ji 'nan metropolitan area, and the most important thing in the metropolitan area is the interconnection of traffic, and it is necessary to build a one-hour commuting circle.

"The convenience of transportation is one of the important factors that drive a city out of the circle. For example, the Jingshi Road East Extension Project in Jinan will be built all the way to Zibo, and it is expected to be completed in 224. With the continuous improvement of the traffic network, not only college students, but also people in the cities in the metropolitan area will enjoy the scenic spots and food. " Wang Zhongwu said.