"Tourists Taking Soil Too"... Ryangwonpung Hometown Becomes Tourist Attraction Amid 'Deepseek' Craze

Since January, Surge in Tourist Numbers
Up to 10,000 Visitors Per Day During Spring Festival

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which has caused a sensation with its 'low-cost, high-performance' AI, is attracting tourists to the hometown village of its founder, Liang Yuanfeng, turning it into a bustling spot.

A celebration event commemorating the success of DeepSeek founder Liang Yuanfeng was held. Photo by 163.com

According to the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP) on the 11th, visitors have been flocking to Miriling Village in Wuchuan, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, where Liang Yuanfeng was born and raised, since the end of January.

The village is a quiet place with about 700 residents, where young people work at nearby shoe factories and the elderly engage in farming.

However, since becoming famous as 'Liang Yuanfeng's hometown' in January, the atmosphere of the village has changed. Parents bring their children to tour the village, and groups of tourists wearing company uniforms have been visiting.

In particular, during the recent Spring Festival holiday period (January 28 to February 4), about 10,000 tourists visited daily, according to village officials who spoke to the media.

Liang Yuanfeng is also known to have visited his hometown during the Spring Festival. At that time, red banners welcoming his return were hung throughout Wuchuan. The banners bore phrases such as "Warmly welcome your homecoming" and "Your hometown is proud of you."

Liang Yuanfeng graduated from elementary school in this village and studied at Wuchuan No. 1 Middle School. In 2002, he achieved the top score in the school's Gaokao (China's college entrance exam) and entered Zhejiang University, a prestigious institution in China's engineering field. His parents were teachers at the village elementary school.

The house where Liang Yuanfeng lived is currently occupied solely by his grandfather. With the continuous flow of tourists, the front door, which was previously left open for convenience, is now kept closed. Some visitors have reportedly taken soil, stones, and leaves from the house, according to local residents.

Since mid-last month, renovation work has begun throughout the village. Although SCMP did not disclose which government department provided funding, it reported that with government support, projects such as road expansion, exterior repairs of 29 houses, demolition of old buildings, and tree planting are underway.

SCMP stated, "Residents are proud of Liang Yuanfeng, who has brought change to the village, and are grateful to him," adding, "Inspired by his success, a fund has recently been established to support students with excellent academic performance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.