Tourism destinations in China are still seeing sizable inflows of travelers, who choose to stagger their trips to avoid the peak season during the Spring Festival holiday and to benefit from better travel experience and lower costs.
In Taiyuan City, capital of north China's Shanxi Province, many potential tourists came to consult with travel agents to make a satisfactory travel plan. According to a travel agent, travel costs could be 20-30 percent lower during the post-Spring Festival off-season than the high tourist season.
"I did not travel during the Spring Festival holiday and now I can avoid the crowds. I want to visit the Yulong Snow Mountain in Lijiang and Xishuangbanna. Also prices these days are lower," said Yang Xubin, a potential tourist.
Travel agents said for travelers who intend to visit the hot destinations, their costs could be about 20 percent to 30 percent lower than the peak season.
This year, the southern part of China became a popular hotspot among off-season tourists, who said they are attracted to the region by the signature buildings and warmer weather there.
In Chaozhou City, south China's Guangdong Province, the iconic Guangji Bridge has been frequented by enthusiastic post-Spring Festival visitors.
"The buildings here are unique, and we've seldom seen such styles in Shanghai. The weather here is also warmer than Shanghai, which has been hit by a cold wave recently," said a tourist from the metropolis.
Travel agents in Huizhou City said Guangdong Province is typically a popular destination among travelers from north China, with some of them taking the opportunity to visit nearby Hong Kong and Macao.
"I am from north China and I came to Huizhou to visit my relatives. I also want to travel to Hong King and Macao as there are fewer travelers during this period of time," said a tourist surnamed Zhang.
Post-Spring Festival travel rush lingers on in tourism destinations
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
