Ch 151: The World’s Number One Resort

“What do you think?” Tang Huai asked after Xie Yunshu finished reading.

Tang Huai didn’t have high hopes for the Global Conference. Great Tang had gained its reputation through its high-tech scenery. Winning would be a bonus, but even if the ranking wasn’t ideal, it wouldn’t matter much. The final decision lay with the conference assessment team, and online voting was just a reference.

In short, Tang Huai’s attitude was completely relaxed.

“It’s fine,” Xie Yunshu agreed with Tang Huai’s perspective.

And so, they began preparing for the filming. Although Tang Huai had a laid-back mindset, he wouldn’t be careless when it came to promotion. To produce a satisfactory promotional video, Tang Huai contacted Abel.

Abel was the operations director of CC. After explaining his intention, Abel immediately got in touch with the CC advertising team. Since the release of the CC Forest Skincare ad, CC’s global revenue had increased by 12% compared to the same period last year. Grateful for the cooperation, Abel greatly valued their partnership with Great Tang.

The CC advertising team might not rival Hollywood movie stars, but they held a top position in the industry, among the best in the world.

After negotiating the price, the CC advertising team headed to Great Tang the next day. The entire shoot took three days. After careful editing and review, Tang Huai posted it on Twitter and Weibo.

It was now October 21st, with nine days left until the voting deadline. Rose Fragrance Valley still held the top spot, with Hawaii following closely behind. Great Tang, after three days of competition, had finally climbed up one spot to 33rd place with 3.06 million votes.

A pleasing result.

With everything in place, Great Tang’s advertisement quietly went live.

…

“Just download it; it’ll take at most five minutes.”

“It’s all in English. I can’t understand it. Isn’t Great Tang overseas? They don’t need this one vote…”

“This is a crucial vote! Please!”

…

Great Tang’s ad went live quietly. At the same time, in the schoolyard of Hengshi No. 3 High School in China, a teenager around sixteen was sweeping with a broom while a chubby boy in a blue school uniform beside him kept chattering.

The teenager’s name was Zhang Peng, and the chubby boy was Gao Hu. Both were students of Class 2, Grade 1.

Gao Hu was a fan of Great Tang. Since the first video update last year, he had been following Great Tang’s developments. For the sake of Great Tang, Gao Hu worked tirelessly for half a year, managing to get into No. 3 High School by a margin of three points.

Gao Hu’s parents couldn’t resist his pleading and joyfully took him to Great Tang. It was Gao Hu’s first time traveling abroad, and upon seeing Great Tang’s stunning scenery, he felt an overwhelming urge to cry.

Gao Hu had the time of his life during the summer break. Upon returning, he went from being a casual fan to a die-hard supporter of Great Tang.

Now, with the Global Conference voting underway, Gao Hu was naturally cheering for Great Tang. However, concepts like “global voting” and “Twitter” had a limited audience in China. Watching Great Tang’s vote count, Gao Hu grew anxious. After scratching his head, he resorted to canvassing votes…

After he finished speaking, Gao Hu eagerly looked at Zhang Peng.

“So troublesome…” Zhang Peng hesitated. His phone had limited storage; even downloading WeChat took ages, let alone other apps.

“I’ll treat you to milk tea tonight,” Gao Hu gritted his teeth, willing to spend whatever it took.

“Milk tea will keep me awake… Forget it, make it ramen,” Zhang Peng put down his broom, and the two sneaked off to the men’s restroom. The school prohibited smartphones, so they had to sneak around.

Zhang Peng searched for “Twitter” and clicked download.

“How do I register?” Twitter was entirely in English. Aside from a few words, Zhang Peng was mostly confused. Gao Hu patiently guided him; he wasn’t fluent either, but he had studied some tutorials before.

Three minutes later, the download was complete.

“Go to the homepage directly, scroll down to number 33,” Gao Hu instructed as he handed the phone back to Zhang Peng.

“Great Tang Resort?” Zhang Peng quickly found Great Tang’s entry. He was just about to vote when he noticed a highly-liked video in the forum below. The video’s opening shot featured the sea, an island, and seagulls.

These elements were ordinary, but under the photographer’s composition, they appeared exceptionally clear and vibrant. Almost unconsciously, Zhang Peng clicked play.

“Da-da-da, da…”

A beautiful piano melody began. This was “Dreamland,” a piece by the medieval pianist Ferro.

A fairy-tale kingdom suspended in the sky, an ever-changing underground city, and a grand, ancient giant city… Accompanied by “Dreamland,” a stunning landscape painting slowly unfolded.

Zhang Peng had a good relationship with Gao Hu, who often praised Great Tang to his ears. However, Zhang Peng was a serious student, always ignoring worldly affairs. Now, seeing the scenery in the video, he felt his worldview shatter.

The entire ad was 97 seconds long. In the final shot, a Great Tang visitor extended their arms and jumped down from Sky Forest. Against the backdrop of white clouds, it was an effortlessly cool scene.

The 97-second ad flashed by, and as the visitor jumped, Zhang Peng instinctively blurted out, “Holy…!”

At that moment, “Holy” was the only word that could capture his feelings.

“So, what do you think? Not bad, right?” Gao Hu, also watching the Great Tang ad for the first time, asked excitedly. The ad contained nearly a hundred shots, and as each scene flowed, he couldn’t help but recall his experience at Great Tang… It was pure bliss!

“Is this a real place, not some special effects?”

Zhang Peng, now casting his vote, couldn’t help but ask. The locations in the ad were beyond anything he could have imagined.

“Of course, it’s all man-made. It’s done with foreign technology…” Gao Hu started explaining, though he only had a vague understanding. As he was speaking, a sudden, hurried knock came from outside the stall. It was between classes, so the boys’ restroom was crowded. The two were hiding in one of the stalls.

“Occupied… huh?” Gao Hu responded without turning his head. Right after replying, he realized something felt off. Why did that voice sound so much like the grade director?

Gao Hu cautiously opened the door a crack. Outside, the grade director stood with an imposing look at the door. A few boys were using the urinals nearby, while some others curiously glanced in their direction.

Gao Hu: !!!

It really was the grade director.

By that afternoon, the news of Gao Hu and Zhang Peng watching videos in the boys’ restroom had spread throughout the grade. Other students thought they had been watching something “inappropriate,” but after hearing it was an ad, they became curious.

Not smoking, not watching anything indecent—just two tall guys, each around six feet, hiding in the restroom to watch an ad? That’s just… too absurd!

The students who heard about it wanted to laugh. But aside from their impressions of these two jokers, the other students were quite curious about what ad they were watching. Zhang Peng, feeling embarrassed, wanted to keep things quiet. But as a die-hard fan of Great Tang, Gao Hu saw this as an opportunity.

After both of them were sternly reprimanded, the “Great Tang ad” started spreading in their little circle.

This was just one scene from China.

…

“Oh my, is this a compilation of Great Tang’s scenery? This is shot so professionally. Looks like it’s going to go viral.”

“Amazing technical skills! Front row seat!”

…

An hour after Great Tang’s ad update, it first went viral on Douyin. Great Tang had initially gained fame on Douyin, where its audience was substantial.

Now, Great Tang’s Douyin account had over 50 million followers, and these weren’t just inactive accounts—they were real. As visitors finished watching the ad, they decisively hit the like button.

“Just got back from the dungeon from the visitor’s perspective. Why is Great Tang posting a video at this hour? Doesn’t seem like their usual style,” visitors discussed in the comments. However, gradually, something began to feel off.

Great Tang usually posted videos weekly. The last one was uploaded three days ago, so posting another one so soon… didn’t follow their usual pattern.

“It must be for the Global Conference. I thought Great Tang was staying quiet… This response seems slow, though. Can they catch up?” a few insightful commenters replied.

The Global Conference?

Thanks to some enthusiastic visitors providing context, the others finally caught on.

Great Tang has applied to participate in the Global Environmental Conference this year.

“Impressive, my Tang!”

After understanding the background, the tourists sighed. China hosted the event three years ago in Kunming, attracting global attention. However, since the same country can’t host the event twice within five years, the excitement faded, and tourists stopped paying attention.

Going abroad for such an event is too far-fetched for the average person.

Now, as time flew by, they hadn’t realized three years had passed, and Great Tang had applied this year.

“So, what’s Great Tang’s current ranking?” After some discussion, the tourists asked the key question. Pre-conference voting has always been a tradition of the Global Conference.

“Ranked 33rd with 3.12 million votes. In the lead are Malaysia, Australia, and Hawaii, holding the first and second places respectively,” reported an enthusiastic visitor in real-time.

“What? Only three million in over twenty days?”

“Did you miss a zero? Even if you add one, it still doesn’t make sense.”

“Why is it so low?”

…

In the tourists’ expectations, even if it didn’t reach a hundred million, it should at least be around seventy to eighty million. But now… is this some kind of joke?

This just doesn’t seem logical.

“The promotion isn’t effective. The others are places like Australia and North America. Great Tang is a private island with scattered tourists and no permanent residents,” one visitor explained as others discussed.

The tourists took a look at the promotional strategies of other regions. There were tax exemptions, visa waivers, TV ads… Hawaii went even further, putting up giant posters on the beach, making sure every visitor knew Hawaii was participating.

“It feels like Great Tang is a bit pitiful,” sighed one visitor after seeing the comparison.

Compared to other regions, Great Tang only had one promotional ad. How could that not seem pitiful?

“Pitiful, my foot! Great Tang has character. Blue Sea Lake, Sky Forest—don’t those locations have unique features?”

“They do have unique features, but the low vote count is really hard to stomach.”

…

The tourists continued discussing casually, but the conversation gradually left them feeling uncomfortable. They were all Great Tang fans, whose greatest joy each day was watching videos of the scenery. Even through a screen, the scenery of Great Tang brought immense joy.

It was an extremely enjoyable process.

Their finances were limited, so they couldn’t contribute much to Great Tang’s economy. But online voting? They could definitely do that!

“Who can read English? Damn it, after enjoying the scenery for a year, I have to cast my vote no matter what.”

“Count me in. My dad redecorated our new house, and we replaced the TV wall with a Blue Sea Lake design. It looks amazing.”

“Even good wine fears a deep alley… How many days left until it ends? How do we vote?”

…

With these thoughts, the netizens started discussing in earnest.

In the end, they agreed. While they couldn’t make the trip to Great Tang, they could certainly participate in the international voting with a few clicks.

Thus, due to popular demand, a detailed guide on “How to Download Twitter – Register as a Visitor – Vote for Great Tang” was created.

With enthusiasm running high, tourists immediately started voting and sharing.

As Great Tang’s ad was shared, the “Voting Guide” was reposted by enthusiastic visitors across platforms like Weibo, Moments, and various voting groups.

This was a spontaneous movement by the fans. China is vast and populous, and online voting is a well-established tradition. Not only did they vote themselves, but they also encouraged their friends and family, showing more enthusiasm than even those “Star Baby Competitions” in mom groups.

Great Tang’s ad gradually gained traction, and half a day later, “Vote for Great Tang” was trending.

Celebrities across China, seeing Great Tang on the hot search list, were at a loss.

Currently, “Vote for Great Tang” had a popularity score far higher than the second place, “XX Street Dance.” “XX” was the trending star, yet under the spotlight of the Great Tang voting, they were completely overshadowed.

If this had been a year ago, celebrities would have fought hard to buy their way into the hot search, determined to suppress “Great Tang.”

Now, after countless experiences of blood, sweat, and tears, they were numb.

@TaoKe: “Support Great Tang; ‘Stroke of the Brush’ is really fun. Repost // Great Tang Voting Guide.”

@RelationshipCoachYangYan: “Visited during the summer, it was amazing. Really hoping for Great Tang to win. Repost //…”

@ZhouXingqian: “Wow, is Great Tang applying for the Global Conference? So looking forward to it. Keke grew so much during his time at Great Tang; we’re very grateful. @TreasureTravel, Repost //…”

…

Celebrities gave up competing for the hot search, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t ride the wave of popularity. Within two days, over seventy celebrities had reposted content related to “Vote for Great Tang.” This included everyone from top-tier stars to the most obscure ones. Some, like Li Yuan, were sincere and genuine, while others were just trying to hop on the trend.

With celebrity endorsements and the enthusiasm of the general public, the popularity of “Great Tang Resort” remained high.

In just two days, Great Tang gained an additional 130 million votes, surpassing Rose Fragrance Valley by 20 million and Hawaii by 22 million, instantly becoming the region with the most votes on the global website.

Great Tang didn’t just explode—it exploded to the point of leaving people in a daze, blinding the global website with its brilliance.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️