New consumption frontiers energize Chinese market during Qingming Festival

There was a lot of traveling in China during the three-day Qingming Festival, which ended on Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, a total of 126 million domestic trips were made across the country during the holiday, up 6.3 % year-on-year, and total domestic travel spending reached 57.549 billion yuan (about US$7.9 billion), up 6.7 % from the same period last year.

Demand for taxis during the holiday season increased 14 percent year-on-year, according to data from Chinese mobile ride-hailing platform DiDi Chuxing. At peak times, demand exceeded 110,000 orders per minute.

Meanwhile, the country's border control authorities recorded a total of 6.21 million cross-border trips - an average of 2.07 million trips per day, a 19.7 percent increase year-on-year, the National Immigration Service said. The number of such trips by foreigners reached 697,000, up 39.5 percent from 2024.

Short trips and local tours have also become a popular choice during this holiday. According to online travel platforms, bookings for short trips increased by 136 percent, with more than 70 percent of tourists travelling for less than three days and 44 percent opting to travel by car.

Blooming spring farm

Consumption during the holiday season was boosted by new scenarios that provided new experiences for tourists. In particular, flower appreciation, hikes and outdoor sports boomed, boosting the 'spring economy'.

A sharp increase in flower appreciation across the country has boosted the development of urban recreation and rural tourism. Data from online travel platforms showed that the number of searches related to "flower viewing" increased 2.2 times during the holiday season compared to the same period in 2024.

For example, the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan has launched helicopter tours so that tourists can appreciate the flowers from above.

The Cherry Blossom Festival kicked off in East China's Shanghai, where visitors enjoyed a night tour of cherry blossoms in a romantic and enchanting atmosphere. Combined with traditional Chinese cultural activities and demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage, the festival has become an unmissable attraction for tourists.

Thanks to the sunny weather over the holidays, the outdoor campgrounds were also a hit with visitors, leading to a continued increase in "camp fever."

At the base camp in Wuyi County, East China's Zhejiang Province, tourists enjoyed the various activities the base provided, such as meditation, rowing a boat, and watching movies.

A representative from one of the camping bases told China Media Group (CMG) that about 5,000 to 6,000 people a day usually come to the site on the weekend, and it reached a small peak during the Qingming Festival.

Meanwhile, the "camping fever" has also boosted the production and sales of outdoor leisure product companies.

"Compared to last year, the order volume has increased by about 20 to 30 percent, and our orders are now scheduled through May," Wang Xueming, director of a leisure products company in Zhejiang province, told CMG.

While the vitality of traditional culture is being activated, new frontiers of consumption are breaking down boundaries and bringing new impetus to the culture and tourism market, said Shen Jiani, senior research fellow at the Ctrip Research Institute's Strategic Research Center.

CMG/gnews.cz-jav