Consumption vouchers worth over 480 million yuan (more than 67 million U.S. dollars) in total have been issued in many places around China for a culture and tourism promotion month ahead of the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which starts from Wednesday.
Over 29,000 cultural and tourism events are set to take place across the country to offer diversified and more convenient travel experience to holidaymakers and at the same time help them save money.
With the 3rd Beijing Urban Regeneration Week launched on Sunday, residents in the Chinese capital will have the opportunity to go shopping in special markets and participate in art events from Sept 28 to Oct 8.
This year's urban regeneration week features a wide range of scenarios of shopping, cultural activities, and sports events, with five million yuan in consumption vouchers released for consumers from online platforms.
Zhejiang Province in east China will hand out vouchers worth 47.75 million yuan for culture and tourism of the season. The province has also launched special travel routes and 100 scenic areas across the province are to offer price cuts to tourists.
In northeast China's Dalian City, Liaoning Province, musical festivals are held for the holiday and a total of 15 million yuan will be offered in vouchers.
"I come to study in Dalian from other places and caught up with this musical festival at the beginning of the semester. I feel lucky to have the opportunity," said Yu Xiaotong, a student of the Dalian University of Foreign Languages.
In Huangshan City, an iconic tourism attraction in east China's Anhui Province, tourists can enjoy price cuts with their plane or high-speed train ticket stubs.
"We can enjoy price cuts in meals and sightseeing here with our high-speed train ticket stubs. This way we can save money and have a really good time. I think this novel way of ticket-stub economy is good to boost tourism," said a traveler.
Consumption boosted around China for eight-day holiday
A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
