China has seen a tourism boom during the week-long National Day holiday, and traffic hubs in major cities including Shanghai and Shenzhen are facing much higher traffic volume than usual days.
Shanghai is one of the most attractive destinations during the holiday which started on Oct 1. The two major airports in Shanghai - Shanghai Pudong Airport and Hongqiao Airport, are expected to handle a daily average of 369,000 passengers during the seven-day holiday, a 14.4 percent increase year on year.
Train stations are also pulling in the numbers. Latest data shows Hongqiao Railway Station, one of Shanghai's four major train stations, expects to manage over 5 million passengers from Sept 30 to Oct 8, an increase of 5 percent year on year.
Tourists love the city for its prosperous commercial districts, and also for its history and culture. Hot spots include the iconic Bund, the historic building of Wukang and the Yuyuan Garden.
"I really like Shanghai after the five-day stay we had here, we are just leaving now. I really like the night cruises, the roof tops on all the buildings. Really the mix of styles is very cosmopolitan," said a foreign tourist.
"Shanghai is a city rich in cultural elements. Anfu Road, Wukang Road, there are old houses, and also modern buildings. So my friends like to come to Shanghai," said a local resident in Shanghai.
Data from the Shenzhen General Station of Exit and Entry Frontier Inspection, in south China's Guangdong Province, shows that in the first four days of the holidays, combined inbound and outbound cross-border passenger trips via Shenzhen Airport exceeded 57,000, with nearly 600 flight arrivals and departures, up 58.1 percent and 55.2 percent year on year respectively. With the continuous increase in inbound and outbound passenger trips, the total number of border crossings at Shenzhen Airport this year has exceeded 4 million, up 47.6 percent from last year.
Data shows that over the first four days of the holiday, the number of outbound passengers at Shenzhen Airport exceeded 33,000, with Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and Indonesia being the most popular destinations.
Major Chinese cities see travel boom during National Day holiday
