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Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

China

China

China

Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

2024-10-03 15:14 Last Updated At:18:47

Towns with charming ancient streets and intangible cultural heritage have mesmerized holidaymakers across China during the week-long National Day holiday.

The National Day holiday period, which runs from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7, is a peak travel and tourism season in China.

As ancient towns become popular destinations for visitors, local governments across the country have staged intangible-cultural-heritage-themed events to enthrall tourists with immersive cultural experiences.

In southwest China's Sichuan Province, streets of Luocheng Ancient Town, which still retains the cultural charm of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties have been adorned with national flags, exuding a strong festive atmosphere.

The splendid performance of the intangible cultural heritage, such as the kirin lantern dance, a traditional Chinese cultural practice involving elaborate lantern displays and dance performances, martial arts, and Sichuan opera, have attracted numerous tourists.

"I have a quite good impression of this place. It has the rustic charm," said a tourist.

In east China's Jiangxi Province, the tea-picking opera fascinated tourists. The interaction with players and the role-playing not only allowed visitors to have a deeper understanding of the story, but also gave them a chance to experience the beauty of traditional opera.

"The performance has a lot of interaction with visitors, so that we have much participation in it. Hope that we can see more and more folk cultural programs with our own cultural features in the future," said Lin Wei, a visitor.

The Shuidong ancient street, a thousand-year-old ancient town in Xuanzhou District of east China's Anhui City, has been bustling with tourists seeking leisure time during the National Day holiday.

Activities such as honey-date making, shadow puppetry, land-boat dance, sparked laughters and cheerful moments.

The Zhuxi ancient town in Yancheng, a city in east China's Jiangsu Province, provided visitors a tapestry of cultural and tourism activities.

The themed parade brought visitors back to ancient time. The performance of chime bells and bamboo flutes were pleasing to the ear. The magic drama that cleverly integrates classical literature with modern magic gave visitors a fresh experience.

"The activities held in the Zhuxi ancient town are new for kids. They have preserved the charm of traditional culture while incorporating modern elements," said Bai Hailu, a visitor.

Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

Ancient towns across China allure holidaymakers during National Day holiday

The 2025 Longines Hong Kong International Races were held Sunday at the Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong, drawing a record-breaking 13,300 visitors in a single day.

As one of most popular sports in Hong Kong, horse racing is not only a unique cultural symbol of the city, but also reflects its professionalism as a host of major international sporting events.

Against the backdrop of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government's active push to develop horse-racing tourism, this year's international horse races have attracted an unprecedented number of visitors from across the world.

Just three months into the 2025-2026 racing season, the accumulated number of visitors has already surpassed 110,000.

"I used to watch horse racing on television, but being here in person is a completely different feeling. With the Year of the Horse coming up next year, we also hope more people will fall in love with the sport," said a tourist from the Chinese mainland.

Sunday's event saw 10 races, including four Group 1 races boasting a total prize of 16.7 million U.S. dollars. Of the 45 horses taking part, 20 were previous Group 1 winners, and 19 were overseas horses.

Hong Kong int'l horse races draw record visitors to racecourse

Hong Kong int'l horse races draw record visitors to racecourse

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