This year, the Golden Week takes place from October 1 to October 8, including China National Day (October 1) and the Mid-Autumn Festival (October 6) which is the longest holiday of the year in China.
China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism said that during the 8 days of the holiday, more than 12,000 cultural activities will be held across the country. Including more than 300 light shows and about 500 cultural heritage exhibition events.
According to data collected from trip travel platform, the number of domestic tourism service bookings for the Golden Week holiday increased by 45% compared to the same period last year.
The number of searches for hotels and motels in remote areas such as Taizong Wenzhou Autonomous Region, Northwest China, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwest China and Inner Mongolia and North China autonomous Region increased by 60% compared to the same period last year.
China Railway Group plans to have up to 219 million trips during the peak tourist season (from September 29 to October 10), and October 1 is the busiest day.
Free domestic road toll collection also boosted the wave of tourism among Chinese people during the Golden Week. China has exempted road toll collection during holidays since 2012 to promote tourism and consumption. According to SCMP, self-driving trips, including rented trips, are expected to reach 1.87 billion this year.
China's Ministry of Transport estimates that the number of passengers traveling nationwide could be more than 340 million on October 1 alone, and the total number of inter-regional journeys during the 8 days off is expected to reach 2.36 billion.
The number of tickets sold to attractions has skyrocketed, pushing many tourist attractions into overload. On September 30, Jiuzhaigou National Park announced that it had sold 41,000 tickets per day from October 1 to 6. The Thanh Do pandas Breeding Research Center also sold out tickets from October 2 to October 4, tickets on October 5 and 6 were only limited.
Major museums in China are also selling out, such as the National Museum, the Ancient Palace Museum, the Western Scenic Land History Museum, the Nanjing Museum, and the Hunan Museum.
The visa exemption policy for Chinese visitors in many countries also contributed to the wave of international tourism this year.
Data from China's travel technology marketing company Trading Desk shows that the total number of international trips departing from China is expected to reach 8 - 8.4 million. This is double the 3.8 million trips recorded during the 2024 Golden Week holiday.
China Trading Desk said international tourism demand is skyrocketing for destinations such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. These are already popular markets for Chinese tourists, and these three countries have eliminated visa requirements since the pandemic.
The Qunar tourism service platform sent data to the Global Times, this year Chinese tourists booked the highest number of hotel rooms in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia.
According to Fliggy, Alibaba Group's travel platform, there has been an increase in bookings in Russia for Chinese tourists after the visa exemption regulation was introduced in September.
China's domestic long-distance tours increased by 53%, car rental increased by 93% compared to 2024. Travel combined with family visits are also expected to increase. Notable is the type of multi-point, multi-vehicle tourism combining high-speed trains, airplanes, and trains.
