Concerts, exhibitions spurring holiday travel boom

The first three days of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day holiday travel period recorded 395 million domestic tourists, a year-on-year increase of 75.8 percent, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Data also shows that the domestic tourism revenue exceeded 342 billion yuan ($47 billion), a year-on-year increase of more than 125 percent.

Trips coinciding with music festivals and art exhibitions are most popular this year. The ministry has been supporting the development of "one-stop" integrated cultural, commercial and tourism complexes that combine "watching performances, savoring cuisine, shopping and enjoying scenic beauty", People's Daily reported.

Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month each year and is a one-day statutory holiday, while National Day falls on Oct 1 and is a seven-day holiday. This year, the two holidays have coincided, creating an eight-day travel period since Friday.

Last week, the General Office of the State Council issued a notice on measures to release the consumption potential of tourism and promote the high-quality development of the tourism industry.

The notice mentioned that in order to further enrich the supply of high-quality tourism, release the consumption potential of tourism, and promote the integration of culture and tourism, measures will be taken to promote the healthy development of formats such as drama festivals, concerts, art exhibitions and cultural tourism exhibitions.

During this holiday period, various provinces and cities are increasing their supply of cultural and tourism products, striving to provide tourists with high-quality and diverse experiences.

Beijing has launched 30 themed boutique tour routes, such as "Strolling Beijing", and six Beijing "microvacation" destinations, offering high-quality cultural and tourism products to stimulate consumption, according to People's Daily.

During the first three days of the holiday travel period, Beijing's key tourist attractions received more than 6.8 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 60.6 percent, and a 31.8 percent increase compared with 2019. The total operating revenue exceeded 418 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.2 percent and an 89.4 percent increase compared with 2019.

Wang Jiawen, who traveled from Changshu, Jiangsu province, to Beijing with her daughter, said they wanted to make the most of this long holiday period because they didn't have many opportunities to travel in the past few years.

"Although it is very crowded during this time of the year, I decided to bring my daughter to Beijing. Cultural tourism helps children broaden their horizons," Wang said.

Concerts and performances are being held in various places in the capital to offer visitors a memorable experience.

From Thursday to Tuesday, the National Grand Theater hosted the opera Minning Town, while on Saturday and Sunday, a National Day concert titled For Our Motherland, We Sing was held at the same venue.

The China Radio National Orchestra will perform a concert at the National Grand Theater on Thursday based on the Mogao Grottoes. The Silk Road and the Dunhuang murals will be used to portray the grand theme of the era — the sta-bility of the country is the happiness of the people.

Shanghai has lined up a string of music festivals, and the Cadillac Shanghai Concert Hall alone is hosting 13 concerts during the holiday period.

Guangzhou, Guangdong province, has launched offline and online cultural tourism activities, including a concert by Jacky Cheung. According to online booking platforms such as Damai and Ferris Wheel Ticketing, seats for the concert are sold out.

Sports and art tourism are drawing visitors to many cities.

Chen Ting, from Guangdong province, said she is participating in a yoga camp in Xiamen, Fujian province. "I'm usually very busy with work, so having a long holiday is a rare opportunity. I want to spend it on learning and self-improvement," she added.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which always encourages rural tourism, has launched 149 high-quality national rural tourism routes, themed "Orange, Yellow, Orange, Green — Beautiful Countryside Scenery", to offer visitors a closer look at village life.

In Jingdezhen, a city in Jiangxi province with a rich history of ceramics, activities such as mid-autumn garden parties and intangible cultural heritage tours have become a crowd magnet.

Zibo, a city in Shandong province famous for its barbecues, is hosting a grand fair, theater shows and feasts to attract tourists.

Anji county in Zhejiang province is hosting special markets to feature local specialties such as white tea and bamboo fans, as well as intangible cultural heritage arts such as sugar blowing and fan painting.