The coastal city of Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province welcomed a 500-people cruise ship from Germany on March 1, with many of the visitors showing interest in exploring China's traditional culture that has gained a traction from recent Chinese New Year blockbusters.

The EUROPA 2 cruise ship, which embarked from Germany and passed through Southeast Asia, is the first international cruise ship that docked in Qingdao. Its arrival marked the opening of the 2025 cruise tourism season in the city, and with the visa-free policy, as well as the surging popularity of China fueled by the Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2", Qingdao is expected to welcome an influx of global tourists.
A welcome ceremony was held at the port, featuring diverse cultural heritage performances and traditional Chinese artifacts, as well as Chinese movies. At the ceremony, many tourists shared their aspirations to see more of the country that boasts a rich cultural heritage.
"It's so good to come here, and we can go here to see it with our own eyes and not only to hear. And we love Chinese food," said Ehn Evelyne, a cruise tourist from Austria, and her husband.
For younger generations, Chinese movies have served as a channel for them to learn about China. At the event, many shared their favorite Chinese movies, especially those featuring traditional culture, Wushu, or martial arts, as well as the recent blockbuster and record breaker "Ne Zha 2".
"He (Ne Zha) is fun, the little character, he's cute, I like it. I think it's a really cool movie how he evolves from a little kid into like a human, and saves everyone," said Oliver Pryor from Australia.
"I love Bruce Lee movies, Ip Man, Jackie Chan, and also Tsingtao beer is very good," said Atrin Madani from Germany.
Not only tourists, many of the cruise performers also cherished the chance to visit China. With impressions from movies and sceneries seen with their own eyes corroborating, they are enjoying the trip with a new perspective to understand the eastern country, said Kelly Hemsley, an Australian cruise performer.
"There are so many beautiful places in the world and some of them you don't know existed until you see them. So sometimes when you do see them through movies, that's a really big eye-opener and it's like wow, I didn't know that existed and the beauty of it. And it makes you think like I really want to go there," said Hemsley.