Night tours enchant tourists with shows, snacks across China during holiday

China

Night tours enchant tourists with shows, snacks across China during holiday

2025-10-05 14:20 Last Updated At：20:27

The ongoing National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, running from Oct 1 to 8, has seen thriving nighttime tourism across China, with visual spectacles and local snacks drawing millions of visitors.

In Nanchang City of east China's Jiangxi Province, a stunning fireworks gala was staged Wednesday along the Ganjiang River. Drones and fireworks lit up the starry sky, drawing in over 1.2 million visitors.

A total of 5,000 drones, as well as a 1,300-meter-long fireworks display, created a dazzling scene along the river, with the vibrant reflections dancing on the water.

At the Xinzhou ancient city in north China's Shanxi Province, a mix of intangible cultural heritage and folk performances, such as molten iron fireworks, fascinated the tourists. The snack streets were bustling with crowds eager to sample local delights.

"This place is very lively, featuring unique snacks from various districts and counties in Xinzhou. They are affordable and delicious," said Yuan Pengtao, a tourist.

As of the third day of the holiday, the average foot traffic in the ancient city has surpassed 110,000 visitors.

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village in Leishan County, southwest China's Guizhou Province, was decorated with lights to celebrate the holiday, drawing in throngs of tourists.

As the local stilt houses nestled among the mountains and rivers illuminated the night, tourists, dressed in traditional Chinese costumes, eagerly captured the breathtaking scenery on their phones and in their memories.

"The views in the Miao village are stunning in the daytime, and the atmosphere at night is even more enchanting. The lights are vibrant and beautiful," said a tourist.

The village's dining scene has also received a massive boost, with long lines forming in front of stalls as tourists eagerly wait to taste authentic Miao cuisines.

Xuyi County in east China's Jiangsu Province launched a night tour market, showcasing intangible cultural heritage products and local snacks.

"There is delicious food and fun entertainment, as well as spectacular performances. The atmosphere is lively and festive," said a resident.

U.S. stocks close mixed following steep declines

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Friday following the market's steepest declines in a month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 309.74 points, or 0.65 percent, to 47,147.48, marking its second straight drop but still notching a weekly gain. The S and P 500 slipped 3.38 points, or 0.05 percent, to 6,734.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 30.23 points, or 0.13 percent, to 22,900.59, snapping a three-day losing streak.

Seven of the 11 primary S and P 500 sectors finished lower, with materials and financials leading the laggards, down 1.18 percent and 0.97 percent, respectively. Energy and technology outperformed, advancing 1.37 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively.

The tech trade regained some footing after several days of pressure. AI leaders Nvidia and Oracle rebounded from their losses in the prior session, as did Palantir Technologies and Tesla, both of which had dropped more than 6 percent on Thursday.

Those sharp declines had briefly put the Nasdaq on course to break its seven-week winning streak, but Friday's recovery lifted the index back into positive territory for the week. Concerns about the sustainability of the AI rally have intensified, with the recent rout in cloud-computing giant Oracle heightening worries over stretched valuations, heavy reliance on debt financing, and soaring capital expenditure plans across the sector.

"AI is truly testing the limits of Wall Street spreadsheets right now," David Krakauer, vice president of portfolio management at Mercer Advisors, told CNBC, adding that investors pricing in "so much of this future growth that they really can't measure yet" just spurs an "environment of swings."

Adding to the market unease, traders continued to assess the Federal Reserve's upcoming policy decision. Market pricing now puts the odds of a quarter-point rate cut in December at below 50 percent, which is sharply lower than the roughly 95 percent probability seen a month ago, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.