China embraces National Day holiday with travel rush, colorful events

Tuesday marks the first day of China's National Day "golden week" holiday, which will end on October 7 this year. China's railway network is expected to handle 175 million passenger trips during the holiday travel rush, according to data from the national railway operator.

The country's railway sector is expected to handle 21 million passenger trips on Tuesday, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.

China also plans to schedule an additional 1,476 passenger trains on Tuesday to meet the rising travel demand. During the holiday period, an average of more than 12,000 passenger trains are scheduled to be operated daily.

Travel rush

According to data from Ctrip, China's leading online travel agency, tickets for many domestic scenic spots were sold out on the first day of the holiday, and the orders of domestic scenic spot tickets increased by 37 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, data also showed that the number of outbound travel orders on the first day increased by nearly 40 percent year on year.

Driven by multiple factors such as long holiday travel, family visits and cross-city trips, the popularity of this year's National Day holiday is expected to hit a new high.

In terms of destinations, nearly half of tourists chose long-distance travel on the first day, and the proportion of long-distance travel showed a year-on-year increase of six percent.

This year, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou are among the most popular destinations for tourists on the first day of the holiday, according to Fliggy, one of the country's leading travel platforms.

The number of car rental orders for travel on the first day increased by more than 40 percent year on year. One month ahead of the holiday, the booking volume of international cruises increased by more than 130 percent compared with the same period in 2019, said Fliggy.

Box office bookings for the holiday have already exceeded 200 million yuan ($28.52 million), according to online box office tracking platform Maoyan. Historical war film "The Volunteers: The Battle of Life and Death," science fiction adventure "Bureau 749," and an action crime film "Tiger Wolf Rabbit" lead the chart.

Colorful events

Across the country, National Day is celebrated with a variety of activities, from festive events and exhibition visits to travel.

In Fuzhou City, southeast China's Fujian Province, the city has collaborated with various counties and urban districts to carry out 232 cultural activities, including 95 holiday theme activities, and 137 cultural exhibitions and artistic performances.

In Beijing, focusing on themes including the National Day and guochao, a trend of a surge in interest in domestic brands and products that incorporate Chinese traditional style and culture, nearly 400 special activities have been provided.

In east China's Zhejiang Province, the rippling green waters and picturesque mountains of Yanglou Village in the city of Huzhou are captivating visitors.

"The visitor's impression is the result of Huzhou's consistent focus on ecological preservation for over a decade," said Pan Ming, director of the ecological environment bureau in Huzhou.

A series of "country walk" activities were held in southwest China's Guizhou Province, covering parent-child interaction, folk customs, farm entertainment and rural markets.

The province has also offered a variety of sports activities to tourists, including paragliding, jumping rope on a paddle board, fencing and table tennis, aiming to provide a diversified and joyful experience to tourists.