BEIJING: As the Dragon Boat Festival holiday approaches, the tourism market across China continues to thrive. According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, this year’s festivities are set to be dominated by short-distance leisure trips, with theme parks and museums among the most popular destinations.
The Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival, falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. It will see a three-day break this year, starting on Saturday.
This year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday witnesses a heightened preference among travelers for two- or three-day short distance trips to nearby locales. According to data from China’s online travel agency Ctrip, domestic bookings for nearby getaways during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday have surged by 20 percent compared to last year.
A steady rise in tourism interest has been witnessed in Altay Prefecture in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, following the release of “To the Wonder,” a TV series adapted from Li Juan’s prose collection “My Altay.”
Altay, one of the pastoral areas in Xinjiang, is home to vast grasslands stretching between the Altay Mountains and the Junggar Basin.
Zhou Weihong, deputy general manager of Spring Tour travel agency, said that nowadays, travelers are increasingly inclined to visit destinations for the sake of a good meal or a popular film or TV series. Consequently, we are witnessing the rise of more newly emerging niche destinations.
The inquiries and bookings related to Altay have surged by over 200 percent compared to last year, Zhou added.
Passengers waiting for trains in the waiting hall of Nanning east railway station, Nanning, capital city of south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, June 7, 2024.Â
China will see a boom in railway trips during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday travel rush, China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (China Railway) said Friday.
Some 74 million railway trips will be made from Friday to Tuesday, with average daily railway trips reaching 14.8 million, the group confirmed.
Passenger flows will peak on Saturday, with about 17 million railway trips expected to be made.
China’s railways are elaborating holiday transport plans, increasing capacity, implementing measures to facilitate and benefit the people, and striving to provide guarantees for passengers to travel safely and orderly, the group said.
Nearly 70.38 million railway passenger trips were made nationwide during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday travel rush last year, according to China Railway.
People look at movie posters displayed in the movie theater, Shanghai, China, June 6, 2024.Â
Meanwhile, China’s Dragon Boat Festival box office (including pre-sale) surpassed 40 million yuan (around $5.5 million) as of 9:30 a.m. Monday, according to Chinese box office tracker Dengta Data.
Chinese drama “Wo cai bu yao he ni zuo peng you ne (I don’t want to be friends with you),” “Sao Hei Jue Bu Fang Qi (Walk the Line)” and “Gold or Shit” currently hold the top three spots in box office sales.
