112 Million Tourist Trips in China Over Qingming Festival

By Ryan Gandolfo, April 8, 2019

This year’s Tomb-Sweeping festival was a resounding success for the tourism industry.

Over the course of the three-day holiday from April 5-7, 112 million domestic trips were made in the Middle Kingdom, according to the PRC’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The number of domestic tourists went up by 10.9 percent compared to last year’s figures, with revenue from tourism reaching RMB47.8 billion. The ministry’s holiday report also noted that no serious or unusual travel safety ‘accidents’ or ‘complaints’ have been filed, a pretty impressive feat considering the massive influx of antsy tourists.

As is the tradition on Tomb-Sweeping Day, families gathered for the festival and paid visits to the graves of deceased kin. Others took advantage of the holiday time to hit tourist spots that they’ve been longing to visit.

This year, cultural venues were a major hit with Chinese tourists, with a significant proportion of people visiting historical spots, art venues, museums and other culturally rich sites. According to a survey compiled by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, 54 percent of those surveyed said they had visited a museum while 43 percent of participants went strolling through one of China’s many ‘historical and cultural blocks’ during the holiday period.

According to CCTV 2, Sanya, Guilin, Xiamen, Kunming and Zhangjiajie were the most poppin’ places around the country, while folks in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Chongqing were extra keen on taking a trip outside the city. CCTV also noted that Shanghai’s Disneyland was the most popular tourist site in the whole country, according to data compiled by the Chinese navigation giant Gaode.

Disneyland was made for three-day holidays... Image via @上海同城会/Weibo

If you thought three days was enough time to see the sights, just wait till China’s Labor Day holiday next month. The public holiday was recently changed to include four consecutive days off, giving everyone the chance to explore China and beyond.

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[Cover image via @青岛早报/Weibo]