Participants will also receive a 5-liter electric cooker as a bonus gift.
A travel agency representative told Jiupai News that the tour was designed as a shopping trip and the age restriction was to ensure people spent money.
Unlike so-called “purely leisure-oriented tours”, these tours are cheaper but still include some shopping stops in the itinerary.
Quan Hongchang's hometown has been transformed into a tourist destination. Photo: China Times
This allows travel agents to earn commission from tourist purchases, helping to offset the cost of the tour.
Since Quan won two gold medals at the Paris Olympics, her hometown has become so popular that it is now referred to as the “Olympic Village” and “Village of Champions” in travel advertisements.
Another travel agency, also in Maoming city, Guangdong province, has also launched a number of tours to her hometown, ranging from a few dozen yuan to a few hundred yuan, offering both shopping-focused tours and purely leisure trips, the paper said.
As its popularity grows, a villager-run restaurant serving local dishes such as roast suckling pig and sliced chicken recently opened in Quang's hometown, once a poor rural village.
Quan's neighbour, Quan Huasai, was once known as a “loser” after his failed beef offal business, but he was determined to revive it and is now a successful businessman.
“We're not making less money now, but it's just exhausting. Just gutting a cow takes two people two hours every day, not to mention the other tasks,” he said.
Quan Hongchan, now 17, has won three Olympic gold medals, including one at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
She won the individual 10-meter platform and, together with teammate Chen Yuxi, also won gold in the 10-meter synchronized platform in Paris.
She first rose to fame at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, aged just 14, when she earned the nickname “Girl Genius” after receiving perfect scores on three of her five dives and minimizing splashes.
Since then, she has become one of the most beloved and iconic figures in China, with news about her constantly trending online.
Her tour of her hometown sparked lively online discussion and piqued the curiosity of many.
Businesses in the Olympic champion's village are profiting from Quan's success. Photo: China Times
“It's too far from where I live but if it was closer I would definitely go. Only 58 yuan for the whole day. What a bargain!” said one person.
“It's fantastic, she's contributing to the local economy and creating additional income opportunities for the villagers,” said another.
“If Quan Hongchang is promoting it, I might buy the pesticide for fun. Or maybe for my husband,” another woman joked, showing her affection for Quan.
But concerns have also been raised: “Is it okay to over-commercialise such a young girl? She shouldn't have time to do what she wants, time to be with her family and time to not be able to go home,” said one online observer.
