Tourists visit Liuchi Lane in Anhui, Feb 15, 2016. [Photo by Zhu Lixin/China Daily]

"To the ordinary folk, the story is about how to get along with other people, while the authorities think it can also serve as a guideline for officials", said Wu Jianqiang, deputy director of the city government's publicity department.

It was reported that China's top graft-buster Wang Qishan, visited the site on Nov 15, 2014. Three days later, the ruling Party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the top anti-graft body headed by Wang, released an article on its official website.

The article, about tolerance, morality, social order and qualities defining a good official caught eyes of many.

"Until the latest Spring Festival Gala Show the lane had never seen such popularity", said Zhang Yun, party chief of Shengli community which governs the area.

The gala, organized and broadcast by the country's central television, or CCTV, was reported to have been watched by 1.03 billion people.

Media surveys show one of the most popular items in the show on Feb 7 was a song about Liuchi Lane, sung by actress/singer Zhao Wei.

"It was the gala show that gave the lane the strongest push to its current popularity", said the community official.

Zhang, who claims to be a recorded descendant of Zhang Ying, said it was impossible to count how many visitors had flowed into the lane in the past week since it is free of tickets.