Leaving with a Smile

The next day, the promotional film, cut into twelve segments, was released across all platforms. Not only that, Xie Zhiyao and the others had also come up with a huge pile of sappy copy: "How many people spend their whole lives never going more than two hundred li from their hometown? Everyone should visit Dali at least once," "I wait for the wind here—and for you," "Feel the wind of Yunmiao, Dali," and the like. They went straight for those who fancied themselves artsy.

Still nursing a hangover, Xie Zhiyao had gone to Windy Courtyard early in the morning to find Wang Yan, hoping to get some behind-the-scenes footage as bonus material.

Naturally, Wang Yan did not refuse. In less than two hours, he had made dozens of two- or three-minute behind-the-scenes clips. Xie Zhiyao thanked him profusely and left with the videos. Less than an hour later, the villagers of Yunmiao Village began collectively posting the clips.

That afternoon, the Dali Culture and Tourism Bureau brought reporters to Yunmiao Village for an on-site visit to support the promotional effort. This was something Huang Xinxin and Xie Zhiyao had spent the past month pushing for, though it still depended on the documentary passing muster.

Once the documentary went out that morning, its popularity soared at breakneck speed. Even if Huang Xinxin and the others had not previously approached the government departments, people from the Culture and Tourism Bureau would certainly have come on their own by then. Dali was already a popular tourist destination, but that did not mean the government did not want to take it to the next level.

Dali's pillar industry was the tertiary sector, accounting for nearly fifty percent of the prefecture's gross output. It was not easy to improve the primary or secondary sectors, since