Cultural activities boost tourism and consumption during Spring Festival holiday

China's most important festival of the year – the Chinese Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival – has gotten a big boost this year. During the holiday season in 2024, the enthusiasm of the Chinese people who are paying visits to relatives or friends and enjoying the festival has never been higher in recent years, as seen in the increase in consumption demand.

Tourism and traditional cultural activities – including experiencing folk customs at traditional temple fairs, watching the lights at lantern festivals and buying new-year gifts at lively events – have proven to be big crowd-pleasers throughout the season.

Qinhuai River Lantern Fair in Nanjing, Yuyuan Garden Lantern Fair in Shanghai, and Xi'an City Wall Light Show showed a year-on-year increase of more than 50 percent in bookings in the first two days of the Spring Festival holiday which lasts from February 10 to February 17, according to Chinese travel search engine Qunar, as reported by China Youth Daily.

The annual lantern festival at Yuyuan Garden – boasting the title of one of China's oldest lantern fairs and showcasing a cherished form of intangible cultural heritage – has been running since January 21 and has attracted over 700,000 tourists during the first three days of the holiday, according to latest official data as reported by The Beijing News.

In Beijing, another hot tourist city during the Spring Festival holiday, temple fairs and parks received more than 2.6 million visits from February 10 to February 13, The Beijing News reported, citing official data.

Earlier, before the holiday, The People's Daily reported that China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that over 600 million yuan ($83 million) will be distributed in cultural and tourism consumption coupons, which can be used for activities like attending performances, visiting attractions and enjoying food during the Spring Festival period.