Chinese tourists did not waste the opportunity to enjoy their warm bright spring holiday time after three years of hard fight against the COVID-19 epidemic.
During this just-concluded four-day May Day holidays, the cultural and tourism industry in China showed a strong momentum of recovery, with a stable resurgence in the national holiday market.
According to data from the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the total number of domestic tourists reached 274 million, a year-on-year increase of 70.83 percent, and a comparable caliber recovery of 119.09 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
Domestic tourism revenue reached 148.056 billion yuan ($22.73 billion), a year-on-year increase of 128.90 percent, and a comparable caliber recovery of 100.66 percent compared with the same period in 2019.
Chinese tourists’ enthusiasm for travel has reached a surprising level.
On April 28, a day before the holiday began, the Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai announced that tickets had been sold out.
At the Crescent Moon Spring scenic spot of Mingsha Mountain in Dunhuang, Northwest China’s Gansu Province, camels carrying tourists formed a line on the sand dunes, causing “traffic congestion.”
“On every inch of beach and every bit of reef stood a tourist. I brought my daughter to catch crabs, but I bet there were more people than crabs on the beach,” Li Chenlin, a Beijing resident who visited Qingdao, a coastal city in East China’s Shandong Province during the holidays, told the Global Times. “But I am still very happy to relax here,” she said.
As for overseas travel, this year’s May Day holidays outbound tourism made a strong comeback. According to WeChat Pay’s overseas consumption data, the most popular destinations outside the Chinese mainland during the holidays were the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, and Singapore.
The East Lake in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei Province shimmers with sunlight, and tourists sit enjoying the scenery on April 27, 2023. Photos: VCG
A large number of tourists visited Hong Kong Disneyland on April 28, 2023.
The city of Chongqing in Southwest China is crowded with tourists on April 29, 2023.
Tourists watch a fire-breathing performance in Bijie, Southwest China’s Guizhou Province on May 2, 2023.
Actors perform at the Nanhu Theater Arts Festival in Meihuazhou scenic area in Jiaxing, East China’s Zhejiang Province on May 2, 2023.
Tourists riding camels crowd at the Crescent Moon Spring and Mingsha Mountain scenic in Dunhuang, Jiuquan of Northwest China’s Gansu Province on May 1, 2023.
(Global Times)
