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It took six hours for Liu Yi, 26, to get to Tianshui, Northwest China's Gansu province, by train.
26岁的刘毅乘坐了六个小时火车到达中国西北部甘肃省天水市。
It took another two hours of waiting in a queue before he could finally get his hands on a bowl of local malatang — a mix of foods boiled in hot, spicy broth.
在排了两个小时的队后，终于吃到了一碗天水麻辣烫，这是一种以麻辣汤汁为底、炖煮各种食材的特色美食。
While choosing the ingredients he wanted, Liu picked wide, thin rice noodles and a lot of chillies, along with the usual vegetables and meat.
在挑选食材时，刘毅选了宽粉和大量的辣椒，还有常见的蔬菜和肉类。
Spicy food is a must for Liu, a native of Southwest China's Sichuan province.
对于刘毅这种土生土长的四川人来说，辣椒必不可少。
The malatang did not disappoint. "It has a kind of rich fragrance," Liu said, after wiping hismouseclean.
大快朵颐后，刘毅评价道：“天水麻辣烫有一种浓郁的香味”。
The popularity of the dish is suddenly soaring.
近期，麻辣烫的受欢迎程度突然飙升。
Thousands of diners like Liu have been making their way to the little-known northwestern city to try malatang, overwhelming local restaurant owners and contributing to local wealth.
成千上万像刘毅一样的食客来到这个鲜为人知的西北城市品尝当地麻辣烫，对此当地餐馆老板甚至有些招架不住。这一盛况也为当地经济发展作出巨大贡献。
These days around 7 am, Ga Haiying's restaurant in Qinzhou district becomes crowded with diners, some still rubbing their sleepy eyes.
天水市秦州区嘎海英的餐馆在天水麻辣烫爆火前通常都是上午11点开门。而这些天，早上7点左右餐馆就挤满了食客，不少食客甚至还睡眼惺忪。
Earlier, the restaurant would open at 11 am. To serve the surging number of customers, Ga and her family now work from 6:30 am to 10 pm every day. They are too busy to pause for lunch.
为了服务激增的顾客，嘎海英和她的家人需要每天从早上6点半工作到晚上10点，生意繁忙甚至都无暇吃午饭。
"I have sold malatang for 30 years," Ga said. "I never dreamed that one day it would be so popular."
嘎海英说：“我卖麻辣烫卖了30年了，做梦也没想到有一天它会这么火爆。”
Recently, more than 1,000 customers have been trooping into her restaurant daily, despite an average waiting time of about two hours. The restaurant's revenue has tripled.
最近，前来的游客平均要等近两个小时才能吃上饭，尽管如此，每天仍有超过千名顾客涌入她的餐厅。餐厅的收入是原来的三倍。
Ma Yulin, a malatang restaurant owner in the city's Maiji district, said that over the last 10 days, the establishment was packed with diners, more than half of whom were from other cities.
天水市麦积区一家麻辣烫餐馆老板马玉林说，过去10天，店里挤满了食客，其中一半以上来自外地。
Many young customers not only come to eat but also take photos. Ma has hired more workers and added seats to cut the waiting time.
很多年轻顾客不仅来吃饭还拍照。为此，他专门多雇佣了服务员并增加了座位以减少顾客等待时间。
"I'm exhausted," he said. "I'm overwhelmed that our malatang is suddenly recognized by so many."
马玉林表示：“这几天真是累坏了，想不到我们的麻辣烫突然得到这么多人的喜欢”。
In a typical malatang restaurant, customers select fresh food items, strung on skewers and hand them over to the chef.
在吃麻辣烫时，通常由顾客自己选择想吃的串串，
The chosen ingredients are boiled in the broth and then scooped into a bowl, with or without the original soup, depending on the customers' preferences.
厨师会用高汤烫煮熟所选食材，舀入碗中，可自行选择加或不加原汤，
With two spoonfuls of oil and pepper drizzled on top, the bowls fairly burst with flavor.
最后淋上两勺辣油和胡椒粉，香气扑鼻而来，让人垂涎三尺。
Since early March, videos and photos of Tianshui malatang have been going viral on social media platforms.
自3月初以来，天水麻辣烫相关的视频和照片在社交媒体平台上十分火爆。
It all started when a netizen released a seven-second video on Feb 13 that garnered millions of views. More vloggers followed suit, and then the tourists began to arrive in droves.
最开始是一位网友于2月13日发布了一段7秒的视频，获得了数百万次观看。其他视频博主纷纷效仿，游客也开始成群结队地涌来。
Within a month, bookings for hotel rooms in Tianshui had quadrupled year-on-year, according to Ctrip, an online travel platform.
据线上旅游平台携程网数据，最近一个月，天水的酒店客房预订量同比增长了四倍。
Qinzhou district, where most malatang restaurants and attractions are located, received more than 770,000 tourists, local authorities said.
当地政府表示，聚集着大量数麻辣烫餐厅和景点的秦州区接待游客超过77万人次。
Lei Hongliang, director of the Tianshui Catering Industry Association, said the special pepper used in the dish is key to the unique flavor.
天水市餐饮行业协会会长雷鸿亮表示，这道菜所用的特制辣椒给这道大众小吃注入了独有的“天水味道”。
Gangu pepper — from the city's Gangu county — is nationally recognized. It tastes good, but is not as spicy as some other types.
产自天水市甘谷县的甘谷辣椒是全国著名的辣椒品种，红而不辣，味道鲜香。
To increase the popularity of malatang, he suggested maintaining a stable price and standardized flavor to "make Tianshui flavor a distinctive brand".
为了提高天水麻辣烫的知名度，雷鸿亮建议统一口味标准、同时要稳住价格，将天水风味打造成特色品牌。
Each bowl on average costs about 21 yuan ($2.95).
目前当地麻辣烫每碗平均售价约为21元。
Tianshui has adopted measures to better serve tourists. Tourists arriving by train are greeted by welcome banners and offered free bus rides.
此外，天水市还多措并举，努力提升服务质量。乘火车抵达的游客会看到准备的欢迎横幅，并可免费乘坐巴士。
Free parking lots are provided to motorists. Some workers from local scenic attractions distribute tickets and give out mascot or gifts at the malatang restaurants.
为驾车者提供免费停车场。当地景区的一些工作人员在麻辣烫餐厅分发门票、赠送吉祥物或礼物。
The city's attractions include the Maijishan Grottoes, a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, the temple of Fuxi — the legendary ancestor of the Chinese nation — and Nanshan Mountain.
该市的景点包括被联合国教科文组织列为世界文化遗产的麦积山石窟、中华民始祖伏羲庙和南山。
Feng Wen'ge, Party secretary of Tianshui, said at a conference on Saturday that the explosive popularity of Tianshui malatang presents a rare opportunity to enhance the city's reputation and also test its service capabilities.
天水市委书记冯文戈在一次会议上表示，天水麻辣烫的爆火，为提升天水城市声誉提供了难得的机遇，同时也是对天水服务能力的一次考验。
He added that every effort should be made to meet visitors' demands and improve their experience by increasing offerings and improving service quality.
要尽力满足游客的需求，通过增加服务内容和提高服务质量来改善游客的体验。
He also emphasized the need to ensure traffic, food and fire safety, as well as environmental hygiene at key locations such as airports, railway stations and commercial streets.
他还强调，要保证机场、火车站、商业街等重点场所的交通、食品、消防安全和环境卫生。
"All forces should be mobilized to provide comprehensive services in every aspect, ensuring that visitors to Tianshui can eat, play and travel with pleasure," he said.
要动员各方力量，全方位提供综合服务，确保游客来天水吃得开心、玩得开心、游得开心。
