The unique experience of drinking afternoon tea next to the Forbidden City is attracting tourists from all over the country; At night, ordering a specially made cocktail has become a standard practice for young people to relax after work; Following the recommendation of the "Must Play List", experience the joy of "flying roofs and climbing walls" at the climbing gym... On July 8th, 2026, Dianping's "Must Play List" invited listed entertainment merchants from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and other regions to gather in Beijing to exchange experiences and share this honor "played" by real users.

It is reported that on June 24th, 2026, Dianping's "Must Play List" was upgraded and released, with a total of 3764 entertainment venues in 230 cities listed. 'Fun', 'popular', and 'trendy' have become keywords on the list, covering over 40 categories of entertainment, including nightlife, trendy neighborhoods, entertainment, leisure sports, intangible cultural heritage handicrafts, and more. Among them, Beijing has 102 entertainment destinations on the list, ranking first in the country.

At present, young people are redefining "play". They no longer chase after clocking in and taking photos, but infiltrate every crevice of daily life, perhaps listening to a song in LiveHouse, or spending a day training in a trendy sports hall... "The upgraded release of this year's' Must Play List 'is mainly to meet the new needs of young people for play. We continue the 10-year selection mechanism of the' Must Eat List 'and excavate worthwhile places to play from users' real evaluations," said Zhao Yan, the person in charge of Dianping's star rating list.

With the release of the list, more local unique gameplay has entered the public eye, and following the "must play list" to explore treasure cities is becoming a new consumption trend for young people. As a "city entertainment guide", the list is relying on the listed entertainment destinations to bring new momentum to local consumption. According to data from Dianping, by 2025, the proportion of out of town searches for must play merchants will be 56.9%, nearly three times higher than non listed merchants. Since June 24th, the transaction volume of Beijing's listed amusement parks has increased by nearly 20% month on month.

▲ "Must Play List" invites businesses from Beijing Tianjin Hebei region to gather in Beijing (Photo by Xu Cheng)

The experience of local characteristics in cities has become a trend, and the reputation of real people has driven the expansion of service consumption circles

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to May 2026, the year-on-year growth rate of service retail sales was 5.4%, consistently higher than the growth rate of commodity retail sales. According to data from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, in 2025, the per capita service consumption expenditure of residents in the city will be active, with service consumption expenditure accounting for 59.3% of residents' consumption expenditure. This also means that for every 10 yuan spent, nearly 6 yuan is spent on "buying experiences". The experience economy is booming, and local users have a strong demand for urban entertainment services, which is activating a diversified consumption landscape.

Among them, local unique experiences that cannot be replicated elsewhere are becoming a "must-have" for more people visiting a city. The Yuxuan Tea House, which is listed on the "Must Play List" in 2026, is a typical example of such local experiences. Lai Jin Yu Xuan Tea House is located in Zhongshan Park, Beijing, separated from the Forbidden City by a wall. The name of the tea house, "Lai Jin Yu," comes from the Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu's poem "Autumn Annals," which states that guests often travel by carriage and horse. In the past, rain came, but today it does not.

Tourists from all over the country come here to experience the leisurely life of drinking tea and admiring the sky in old Beijing. Old Beijing atmosphere, relaxation, and urban culture are frequently mentioned keywords in our Dianping comment section. Tourists from all over the country can experience the unique Beijing experience in this small courtyard, "said Wang Yahui, the operations manager of Laijin Yuxuan Tea House, to reporters. A century old tea house located in Zhongshan Park next to the Forbidden City, dedicated to flying to Beijing to experience afternoon tea and enjoy a romantic Chinese ritual, "commented Leo, a user of Dianping, in his review of Lai Jin Yu Xuan Tea House.

In the current era of rapid development of AI, "real person reputation" is also becoming the core asset of urban recreational areas. It is reported that the "Must Play List" continues the ten-year selection logic of the "Must Eat List", is not affected by commercial cooperation, completely rejects artificial nominations, insists on letting "users recommend users", and consolidates and amplifies the trust relationships grown in the real world.

The 'must play list' is very valuable for the bar industry as it provides consumers with an entrance to discover good stores. Fan Zhu, co-founder of Long Fong Bar, which was also listed on the 'must play list' this year, said, 'Bars in Beijing are scattered in various corners of the city, and' Deconstructing Apple Martini 'is our store's internet famous cocktail. To gain long-term recognition from users, not only must there be popular products, but also long-term operational thinking. Massive real evaluation data is the basis for judging whether a store is good or not.' Liu Chang, brand manager from E752 Chamber of Secrets Research Institute, a listed merchant in Tianjin, also has this feeling. 'To create popular chamber of Secrets experience products, we must pay more attention to it.' Real user evaluations and refined operations are the key to generating long-term business

Chen Yifang, the head of the Le Life business of Meituan Service Retail Division, said that the "must play list" is becoming an important decision-making basis for entertainment consumption. According to data from Meituan and Dianping, the cumulative impact of the list has reached 3.9 billion people. The holiday traffic of leisure and entertainment destinations on the list increased by 216% month on month, and the order growth rate increased by 167% month on month.

Explore more treasures and play areas, expand the "must play list" of play categories

According to data from Dianping, in the first half of 2026, niche experiences will accelerate their rise, with a year-on-year increase of 72% in intended user searches. Search terms will shift from functional to emotional and social experience based, and keywords such as "atmosphere" and "immersion" will continue to heat up. Play is no longer a single consumer behavior, but a way to gain emotional satisfaction experiences. The continuous upgrading of mass entertainment consumption has led to more trendy and entertaining places making it onto the 2026 "must play list".

In the past two years, rock climbing has evolved from a sport to a lifestyle for young people. On weekends, many customers arrange their own 'training days' to focus and relieve stress. And every user's real evaluation is a vote for' must play projects'. "Wei Junjie, founder of Beijing Rock Climbing, shared with reporters the changing consumption trends of rock climbing. According to Meituan data, the number of rock climbing users has increased by over 80% year-on-year in the past year. From rock climbing and trendy sports to racing and skiing, the "must play list" is becoming a fun answer book for users to explore cities.

In addition to the rapid rise of niche experiences, seemingly traditional forms of play such as children's playgrounds are actively breaking the boundaries of experience and being "played" by parent-child families on the "must play list".

If the current parent-child amusement park only meets the single demand of children's play places, it is far from enough. At the same time, it needs to take into account the shared experience of parents, children's exploration interests, intellectual development and other diverse parent-child play needs. We will have a dedicated team to collect feedback from the public review comment section, and make targeted service adjustments and development. "Xu Jing, co-founder of Naibao, shared the brand's operating experience on site." Naibao and its affiliated brands have a total of 11 stores on the 'must play list', each with its own characteristics. It is the experience of countless families that has made Naibao selected

We always believe that the truly valuable location of a store is not just on a map, but in the trust formed through word of mouth. As a platform, the true long-term value of Dianping comes not only from its technological capabilities, but also from whether it helps more people find, discover, and experience the beauty of the real world, "said Tao Xuexuan, Vice President of Meituan and General Manager of Dianping Business Unit." In the era of AI, we hope to continue to let the real life footprints left by every person who loves life be seen and become trusted decision-making references for others, helping more people find, discover, and experience the beauty of the real world