China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

China saw a significant surge in domestic travel in 2024, with a total of 5.615 billion trips recorded, representing a 14.8 percent increase from the previous year, as reported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Wednesday.

Domestic travelers in China spent a record-breaking 5.75 trillion yuan (about 790 billion U.S. dollars) during the year, up by 17.1 percent from 2023, the ministry said.

According to the quarterly breakdown of domestic tourism data, the first quarter saw a remarkable 16.7 percent surge in travel, with 1.419 billion trips recorded. The second quarter followed with 1.306 billion trips, representing a year-on-year increase of 11.8 percent. The third quarter experienced another surge, with 1.512 billion trips, a growth of 17.2 percent compared to the same period last year. The fourth quarter concluded with 1.378 billion trips, a 13.2 percent increase from the previous year.

Urban residents made up the majority of domestic trips, with 4.370 billion trips taken, reflecting a robust 16.3-percent growth compared to 2023. Rural residents recorded 1.245 billion trips, showing a more moderate but still positive growth of 9.9 percent.

Accordingly on the expenditure front, urban residents were the primary drivers of domestic tourism, contributing 4.93 trillion yuan, an 18.0-percent increase year on year. Meanwhile, rural residents spent 830 billion yuan, reflecting a growth of 12.2 percent.

China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

China's domestic travel market sees strong growth in 2024

The Sanya branch of the Peking University (PKU) Hospital of Stomatology based in the tourist resort city of Sanya in south China's tropical Hainan Province -- the country's first national-level regional dental specialty center -- officially opened on Saturday, providing local residents and tourists with access to top-tier dental care without leaving Hainan.

As a key city in the Hainan Free Trade Port and a hub for both tourism and wellness, Sanya has seen rising demand for oral healthcare. Local resources, however, have long been strained.

The newly launched hospital aims to ease the situation. Both its management and medical teams come directly from the main campus of the PKU Hospita of Stomatology in Beijing, ensuring seamless integration and unified standards across diagnoses, treatment, and service quality. The facility comprises of nine specialized buildings, including an emergency outpatient complex and an international medical services building, covering all sub-specialties in dental medicine.

"Since the official start of Hainan Free Trade Port's island-wide special customs operations [on December 18, 2025], the very first zero-tariff items entering the region were advanced dental equipment for our hospital. This enables a wide range of patients in the Hainan region to access the world's latest dental treatment equipment and technology more quickly," said Deng Xuliang, president of the PKU Hospital of Stomatology.

Looking ahead, the main campus of the PKU Hospital of Stomatology will collaborate with medical universities in Hainan to jointly train more specialized professionals for grassroots-level healthcare institutions across the region. Through technical mentorship and integrated training programs, the initiative aims to leverage the policy advantages of the free trade port to build a high-level, comprehensive platform that integrates medical services, education, research, public health, and healthcare management, with particular attention on international patient services and comfort-focused treatment.

"The operation of medical care plus health and wellness programs and of medical care plus tourism projects has jointly contributed to the formation of an internationalized medical care platform in Sanya, which presents a major opportunity for both Sanya and the rest of Hainan, especially as the free trade port enters full operation, making more duty-free medicines and medical devices available locally," said Hu Yulei, director of the Sanya Municipal Health Commission.

Hainan's Sanya opens first national dental specialty center