This year's China Tourism Day is being marked with a host of preferential measures and nationwide activities to encourage people back on the road in the post-COVID-19 era.

In its 11th edition, the event is taking place under the theme "Green Development, Better Life" and taps into new tourism trends emerging in the country.

Earlier this month, the May Day holiday saw domestic tourism surpassing pre-epidemic levels with 230 million trips made across the country, higher than the 195 million trips registered in 2019, according to data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Ecotourism, rural tourism and themed itineraries are gaining momentum among Chinese travelers. 

Favorable policies have been introduced across the country to celebrate the China Tourism Day covering bucket-list attractions but also off-the-beaten-path destinations in remote areas like Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Nationwide activities

In Shanghai, 69 scenic spots are slashing their admission fees in half on Wednesday, including Shanghai Disneyland Park, Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai Wild Animal Park and other popular tourist hotspots. But many are also limiting the number of visitors to avoid overcrowding, according to the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism.

In the eastern province of Anhui, A-level tourist sites are opening their doors to the public for free. Others have been holding online activities since last week to give lucky visitors the chance to win tickets to popular attractions like the Yellow Mountain and Fangte Adventure Theme Park.

The main venue of the 2021 China Tourism Day celebrations is Wuhan, in the central province of Hubei. The city bore the brunt of the coronavirus epidemic in the country last year, enduring 76 days of lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. It has since roared back to life with visitors from around the country pouring in to support local businesses. Artistic performances and ticket discounts await the public across the city's scenic areas.

To mark the day, China Post is also issuing on Wednesday a set of four special stamps on "Fujian Tulou," rural round-shaped dwellings exclusively found in the southeastern province of Fujian and designated by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 2008.

New tourism trends

Qinghai Province, in China's northwest, is marking the day with a five-day cultural festival that highlights nature-centric traveling that respects the environment.

"We need to develop our tourism industry with ecological protection as a priority," said Chang Hongan, vice director of Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism. 

As part of the activities taking place between May 19 and 23, experts and scholars will be invited to discuss the different ways of "building an international ecotourism destination" in Qinghai.

Other provinces like Jiangsu, Shandong and Jiangxi are also following suit, encouraging ecological tourism.

Another trend making a comeback is red tourism, whereby travelers visit sites and towns of great significance in the history of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The country this year is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the CPC foundation.

"Developing red tourism in an innovative way to satisfy more tourists is becoming an important direction and the main content of tourism development," said Dai Bin, the director of China Tourism Academy, a Beijing-based research institution.

(Cover image designed by Li Yueyun)