DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Tuesday, May 11, 2021 | 17 LIFE

Clockwise from top left: Huashan Mountain in Shaanxi province, People’s Park in Xi’ning, Qinghai province, Xiangyang Ancient Town in province, and Mingsha Sand Dunes in Dunhuang, Gansu province, were crowded with visitors during the May Day holiday. XINHUA PHOTOS AND PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Scenic sites enjoy May Day boom

Surge in domestic holiday bookings suggests rebound in confidence, Yang Feiyue reports.

hough Bai Fenglun had a tir­ their families and friends. 9.3 billion yuan during the holiday Those born in the 2000s were interest­ ing May Day holiday, he felt According to figures from the Minis­ period, an increase of 120 percent over ed in destinations with historical sites happy and fulfilled. During try of Culture and Tourism, China’s the same period from last year. or offering challenging experiences. the five­day break, Bai only tourism market witnessed a strong Wangfujing, and Theme parks were also successful in Tslept three to five hours a day. During rebound with a total of 230 million The Shichahai were ’s most popular attracting the vacationers. the day, the 36­year­old tour guide domestic trips made during the holi­ improvement tourist attractions during the holiday, Shanghai Disneyland, Shanghai took tourists to meet Yang Jide, one of day, a year­on­year rise of 119.7 per­ totaling 3.6 million visits. Haichang Ocean Park, Guangzhou’s the locals who first found the Terracot­ cent. in the pandemic In , capital of prov­ Chimelong Safari Park, and Beijing ta Warriors in Shaanxi province’s The figure also represented a 103 situation and the ince, He Chengyu stayed home during Happy Valley were especially favored Xi’an, and relive the memories of percent recovery of the tourism indus­ the holiday. by travelers born in the ’80s, according Yang’s discovery. Then, they would go try. popularity of The 19­year­old gave up going out to booking statistics from Trip.com. deep into rural areas to experience dis­ Tourism revenue during the holiday vaccinations during the holiday after going to a The management at Haichang Ocean tinctive folk customs and savor gour­ reached 113 billion yuan ($17 billion), local popular restaurant for lunch, Park says its hotel rooms were fully met food. The itinerary started at 7 am up 138 percent year­on­year. have fueled the where she found there were about 200 booked during the first four days of the and ended at 9 pm. Travel website Trip.com saw a 270 enthusiasm of tables ahead of her. holiday. Its entrance ticket bookings “It was the best May Day holiday we percent rise in bookings, which was a “I might as well come back for din­ were more than doubled when com­ have had over the years,” says Bai, who 30 percent increase from the 2019 May the May Day ner,” she says jokingly. pared with the same period in 2019. has been working as a tour guide in his Day holiday period. holiday Changsha’s 39 major tourist attrac­ “The improvement in the pandemic hometown Xi’an for over a decade. Air ticket bookings via travel web­ tions received 1.69 million visitors, up situation and the popularity of vacci­ Bai works with about 120 tour site Qunar increased by 30 percent travelers.” 130.3 percent year­on­year. nations have fueled the enthusiasm of guides in the city and they offer cus­ from 2019, while hotel reservations Li Peng, marketing It also made its way to Trip.com’s the May Day holiday travelers,” says Li tomized tours to families and friends jumped by 40 percent. officer with Shanghai most popular destinations nationwide Peng, marketing officer with Haichang traveling in groups. During the holi­ Figures from Qunar also showed Haichang Ocean Park and ranked second for night tourism. Ocean Park. day, they gave tours to 700 to 1,000 that average traveler expenses hit Many visitors showed a preference Zhang Zhining, deputy director of tourists each day. 1,700 yuan, a record high compared toward exploring the urban landscape Trip.com’s strategic studies center, “Usually, we will see a surge in travel with the same holiday period in previ­ of Changsha at night, especially those says the recovery of the domestic tour­ inquiries a few days ahead of the holi­ ous years. offering snacks and drinks in the late ism market suggests a rebound in day, but this year it began in early Beijing topped the most popular hours. tourist confidence. April,” Bai says. He even received late destinations list in Trip.com. Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, “The traveler demographic is get­ night calls from potential travelers The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Hangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan man­ ting obviously younger,” Zhang says. who were not able to procure tickets Culture and Tourism says the capital aged to attract large numbers of tour­ With summer vacations approach­ for transport or to scenic spots during welcomed more than 8.4 million tour­ ists during the holiday. ing, Zhang predicts that travel packa­ the holiday. ists during the holiday. Those born in the 1980s and in the ges featuring family, thematic and He believes this business boom is The figure marked an 81.9 percent 2000s made up the biggest groups of rural experiences will be quickly partly due to the fact that many trav­ surge over the same period last year tourists during the holiday. As many booked up. elers want to avoid traveling with a and a 98.4 percent recovery from people from the ’80s generation have big group of strangers and prefer­ 2019. become parents, family­oriented desti­ Contact the writer at ring intimate and quality time with Beijing’s tourism revenue raked in nations were extremely popular. [email protected] Ice pops find sweet spot in tourists’ hearts

CHANGSHA — In a bid to Other tourist destinations from contributed to the boom in cultural enhance visitor experience as large Wuhan’s to a tourism in recent years. groups of tourists swarm scenic Catholic church in Shandong prov­ “The trendy, unique and creative spots during the May Day holiday, ince’s Qingdao soon followed the cultural products like the ice cream popular tourist areas have gotten social media trend with their own have won over many consumers in creative with their icy cool offerings. offerings, attracting tourists to take the younger generations,” says Zhou Though summer is still a month pictures of the sites together with Yunqing, a sociology professor at away, travelers at tourist hot spots their ice pop miniatures. Wuhan University. “It is also a sign are snatching up ice pops shaped “I would visit these scenic sites of China’s growing cultural confi­ like local landmarks or iconic trea­ just for these ice cream bars,” writes dence.” sures to mark their visits. a netizen on social media platform China’s tourism market has seen a The sweet tooth trend began Sina Weibo below a flurry of ice strong comeback during the May when some tourists posted pictures cream photos. Day holiday thanks to the effective of ice cream bars in the shape of two At Tower, a tourist mag­ control of COVID­19. According to millennia­old bronze masks net along in Hunan wisdom and life philosophy that the official data, the total passenger unearthed from the legendary Sanx­ province, more than 22,000 ice pops building stands for,” says Li Caixia, trips made during the May Day holi­ ingdui Ruins on social media during in the shape of the ancient building director of the Yueyang Tower tour­ day reached 230 million, represent­ the first day of the May Day holiday. were sold during the five­day holi­ ist site management. ing a significant increase as The ice cream is sold at the Sanx­ day. The ice pops are priced at 18 Chinese tourist sites and cultural compared with the same period last ingdui Museum in Sichuan province, yuan ($2.80) each. institutes have invested heavily in year. Tourists hold ice pops shaped like such landmarks as Yueyang and comes in two flavors — “bronze” “We hope the ice cream can give the development of creative cultural Tower (left) in Hunan province and the (above) matcha and “excavation” chocolate. visitors a better ‘taste’ of the ancient products, which is believed to have XINHUA in Beijing during the May Day holiday. XINHUA PHOTOS