Tourist attractions across China are seeing a surge in the number of visitors, as people go outing to enjoy spring scenery during the three-day Qingming holiday season which started on Friday.
Although the Qingming Festival, also known as the Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday, is a time-honored traditional event for Chinese families to pay tribute to the deceased and worship their ancestors by visiting tombs, increasing numbers of the people nowadays use the holiday season around it as an occasion to make spring outing and enjoy leisure entertainment.
At the Mount Wuyi National Park in east China's Fujian Province, the stunning natural scenery attracts tourists from all across the country. According to statistics, the park received 32,000 tourist visits in the past two days, a sharp year-on-year increase of 186 percent. The average occupancy rate of local hotels is above 80 percent.
"We've also visited the Mount Wuyi Scenic Area, which is very nice with beautiful natural scenery. This route allows us to experience a more pristine scenery," said Chen Yawen, a tourist. In addition to enjoying the natural scenery, tourists can also experience the local traditional tea culture by personally participating the whole process of tea making. A landscape live performance combining natural scenery and cultural performances attracted over 12,000 visits in the past two days.
In Shiyan City of central China's Hubei Province, tourists are seen flocking to a large cherry plantation known as the "Cherry Blossom Corridor", to feel the breath of spring and enjoy the pleasant time of flower viewing.
"The weather is very good today, and it is also the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, which can make us feel happier and make our life better," said Ma Mei, a tourist. In Xinghua City of east China's Jiangsu Province, a tourism route featuring water scenery connects many old towns and scenic spots. The beautiful water town scenery, combined with performances with local characteristics, have fascinated many tourists during the holiday.
Dunhuang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, renowned for its Mogao Grottoes, has become an even more vibrant tourist hotspot during the Qingming holiday.
In the past two days, Dunhuang received 174,000 tourist visits. The estimated number of tourist visits during the entire holiday season is expected to reach more than 280,000, an increase of 12 percent year on year.
The Yueyaquan (Crescent Spring) Scenic Area, located at the foot of the Mingsha Mountain of Dunhuang, held a kite flying competition during the holiday, which followed the local Qingming customs recorded in the Dunhuang murals.
At the historic Yangguan Pass, another popular tourism attraction in the province, visitors participated in a simulated construction of the Great Wall, and experienced military drills of old times to personally experience the culture and wisdom of the ancestors.
"We've particularly come to see the Yangguan Pass. I had learned about it in poems before, but this time I've seen it in reality, and it is indeed a very different experience," said Wang Qingqing, a tourist from southwest China's Sichuan Province.
China's tourism spots see surge in visitors during Qingming Festival holiday
