China has seen a robust tourism market during the week-long National Day holiday that started on October 1.
The National Day holiday, also known as "golden week," is usually one of the peak seasons on China's domestic tourism calendar.
Many places across China upgraded services at scenic spots and launched distinctive tourism projects to stimulate consumer activity.
In Shanghai, Visitors could admire the architectural landscape along the banks of the Huangpu River and capture memorable photographs at the Oriental Pearl Tower, all while enjoying stunning views of the city.
"Standing here, I still find it quite impressive," said a tourist.
During the first five days of the holiday, the Oriental Pearl Tower register a total of 135,000 visits, marking a 4 percent increase compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, the Happy Valley scenic area in Shanghai's Sheshan National Tourist Resort received a total of 78,000 visitors, a 2.5 percent increase year on year. To manage the massive influx of visitors, the scenic areas not only extended their opening hours and equipment operation times but also added more performances.
Over 750,000 visitors visited Taining County in Sanming City of east China's Fujian Province in the first four days of the holiday, a 13.64 percent increase from the previous year.
Many tourists visited the Shangqingxi scenic area in Taining to ride bamboo rafts and experience the magnificent Danxia landform.
"We sat on the bamboo raft, enjoying the scenery along the way, which was very pleasant and relaxing," said Deng Xianpeng, another tourist.
The Jiulongtan scenic area in Taining introduced a “day tour and night tour” model, which proved popular among visitors. Tickets for the night tours were sold out for four consecutive days, and it was anticipated that the number of visitors during the seven-day holiday would exceed 50,000.
While enhancing services in scenic areas, local authorities in Taining also organized a variety of vibrant cultural activities to enrich visitors' experience.
Laoshan Mountain, a famous scenic area in Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province, experienced its peak tourism season during the holiday.
Visitors can enjoy the stunning autumn scenery of the scenic area while sipping tea, and they also had the chance to get up close to steep peaks and uniquely shaped rocks, experiencing the joy of mountain climbing.
China sees robust tourism market during National Day holiday
The heartbreaking story of 96-year-old Peng Zhuying, one of the last living survivors from the Japanese military's "comfort women" system in the Chinese mainland, has been shared in a moving documentary produced by the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
Peng remains one of only seven registered survivors in the Chinese mainland of the Japanese military's "comfort women" system, a brutal state-enforced regime of sexual slavery during World War II, victimizing over 400,000 women across Asia.
She is also the only living survivor who is officially documented as a victim of both sexual slavery and of Japan's chemical warfare during the Japanese militarists' war of aggression against China.
Eight decades on, Peng has bravely shared the story of her horrifying experiences in the CGTN original documentary "Last Daughters," which reveals the deep scars left by war and captures the quiet strength and warmth that endured, even in the darkest depths of human suffering.
Blinded by mustard gas at age nine and mutilated at 14 before being forced into a military brothel during the war, Peng was able to survive despite facing these unimaginable hardships in her young life.
Nowadays, Peng lives in a narrow alleyway, a humble dwelling with one room and one kitchen in central China's Hunan Province. Her door opens directly in front of a refurbished public toilet.
Born by the Yangtze River, Peng lost her eyesight as a child when Japanese mustard gas bombs fell on her hometown.
"I lost my eyesight when I was nine. The Japanese army struck Yueyang with bombs carrying poison. After I inhaled the mustard gas, I developed a fever, and then lost my eyesight," said Peng.
In the summer of 1938, Peng's mother and infant brother died from the killer gas. Her 13-year-old sister, Peng Renshou, was betrayed to Japanese soldiers while fleeing.
Before she passed away, Peng Renshou said the Japanese soldiers threatened to burn down a house with 50 people inside unless she surrendered. She had no choice. Brutally gang-raped until left unconscious, she survived but became infertile.
Three years later, the then 14-year-old Peng Zhuying suffered the same fate.
"It began with my sister's suffering. She was only 13. When my time came, I was 14, maybe 15. When they came for me, I resisted and refused to go. The Japanese broke two of my toes with sticks. After my toes were broken, I was dragged to the 'comfort women station' in Guozhen Town. I was violated there," said Peng.
After her release, with the help of villagers, when troops marched on Changsha, Peng bled relentlessly from her severe injuries.
"After I returned, I began having gynecological issues. I had persistent bleeding and none of the treatments helped. I was filled with hatred. I thought to myself, I've gotten this illness and it won't get better, so I would rather die. Later on, I received treatment from a doctor named Liu from the Red Cross. The doctor gave me pills and injections, and eventually my bleeding stopped," she said.
A CT scan taken last year revealed a calcified fetus in her womb, which had remained inside Peng Zhuying's body for 80 years.
Survivor of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, chemical attacks bravely shares story in CGTN documentary
