On June 27th, Dianping's "Must-Eat List" for 2024 was released in Beijing, with a total of 2,797 restaurants from 119 cities and regions making the list. Nearly half of the listed restaurants are authentic local or traditional old shops that showcase the local cuisine and cultural heritage. Beijing has 137 restaurants on the list, ranking second in the country, with Chaoyang District having the most listed merchants among all districts in the country.

From Zibo barbecue to Tianshui spicy hot pot, many tourists travel to a city just for a dish, making "food destination" a new trend. This year, more authentic restaurants that insist on fresh ingredients and traditional flavors have appeared on the list.

Among the 58 newly listed cities, nearly half are popular "taste bud travel" cities, covering more surrounding areas. Nearly half of the 2,797 listed restaurants are city-specific restaurants, with small shops accounting for 46% and more than 500 snack merchants.

Among the restaurants listed in Beijing, more than 20 are small shops located in the streets and alleys, with new listed restaurants accounting for nearly 30% and the number of city-specific restaurants increasing by 40% compared to previous years.

This year's selected specialty small shops include Heyan Meat Pie, which has always been popular among locals. Chefs hand-make the meat filling every morning instead of using a meat grinder to maintain the integrity and chewiness of the meat. Beiping Sanxiongdi is an authentic old Beijing hot pot restaurant where fresh lamb is cooked in a charcoal copper pot, creating a lively atmosphere. The restaurant also features performances of traditional Beijing folk arts such as Quyi and Jingdong Drum, immersing customers in the old Beijing culture.

"The catering market faced great challenges and impacts last year, but also achieved a consumption scale of over 5 trillion yuan for the first time," said Zhang Chuan, senior vice president of Meituan. In this changing process, restaurants that focus on the original flavor of ingredients, authentic flavors, and "pot flavor" are becoming more and more popular among diners. This year's Must-Eat List is also selected based on a large number of user reviews and techniques such as big data analysis.