Specialties from Guangdong have become popular items at service areas along expressways across the province during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Specialties from Guangdong are making their way into households across the country, as rest stops on expressways across the province have become popular stations to buy goods in preparation for the Chinese New Year.
On Monday alone, the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush, specialties including inkstones, sugar oranges, tribute oranges, and chickens were widely sold at two service areas on the Jiangmen-Zhaoqing Expressway.
Specialties from Guangdong have become popular items at service areas along expressways across the province during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Dried tangerine peel, a culinary and medicinal favorite among Cantonese people, has been brought to the Tangxia service area on the Guangzhou-Zhongshan-Jiangmen Expressway, where its unique flavor has become popular.
Over 100 pounds of oranges are sold daily on average at the Longmen service area on the Wuhan-Shenzhen Expressway, a major interprovincial artery connecting Guangdong, Hunan, and Hubei provinces.
Specialties from Guangdong have become popular items at service areas along expressways across the province during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
"As oranges symbolize good luck and great fortune, I bought several extra boxes to take home as gifts for my relatives," said a traveler surnamed Li, preparing to return to her hometown in Hubei.
Introducing specialties at expressway service areas was in line with local authorities' initiative to promote tourism and cultural consumption during the Spring Festival travel rush, according to Guangdong Transportation Group.
Specialties from Guangdong have become popular items at service areas along expressways across the province during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Small flower markets will also be set up at service areas to help promote the unique orchids from Wengyuan county in northern Guangdong, according to Wan Youming, director of the Renxin section of the Wuhan-Shenzhen Expressway.
Specialties from Guangdong have become popular items at service areas along expressways across the province during the Spring Festival travel rush. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
"It will not only allow travelers to enjoy a stroll through the flower markets at the service areas but also enable them to bring the festive Cantonese atmosphere back to their hometowns," said Wan.
