China’s Golden Week starts with soaring hotel bookings, packed flights, autumn tourism, and rising inbound visitors, marking one of the busiest holidays.
China’s National Day holiday began on October 1, and this year it overlaps with the Mid-Autumn Festival. The two holidays create an eight-day “Golden Week,” one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
Travel Demand Soars
Hotels and flights saw a booking peak before the holiday. According to online travel platforms, Beijing hotels ranked first among Chinese cities, ahead of Shenzhen and Shanghai. Coastal destinations also attracted large numbers of visitors. Bookings for homestays rose by more than 30 per cent compared with last year. Smaller cities such as Qinzhou in Guangxi, Longnan in Gansu, Taizhou in Jiangsu, and Xiaogan in Hubei reported the fastest growth.
Chasing Autumn Colours
Autumn scenery is another big draw. Visitors are heading north to see maple leaves in Benxi, Liaoning, and the Red Leaf Valley in Jilin. Others travel to Altay in Xinjiang or Arxan in Inner Mongolia for forests and grasslands. Tourist numbers in these destinations rose by more than 11 per cent from last year. Data also shows that nearly 60 per cent of these “autumn tourists” come from southern China.
Foreign Tourists Explore Everyday China
Inbound tourism is also rising. The number of foreign visitors grew by 17 per cent compared with the same period last year. Many are choosing to experience daily life in China. Parks and food markets have become new hot spots. In Shanghai’s Yu Garden, Hangzhou’s West Lake, and Beijing’s Sanyuanli Market, foreign visitors made up about 16 per cent of the crowds.
Box Office Breaks £11M.
China’s cinema market is also booming during the holiday. By 9:31 a.m. on October 1, box office sales had already passed 100 million yuan (about £11.3 million). Films of many genres are competing for audiences, from fantasy and action to history, comedy, and animation. The variety is expected to appeal to viewers of all ages.
Written by Chen Wang, additional reporting by CCTV.com, CNS.
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