Immersive cultural tourism has become a major draw in Kaifeng, central China's Henan Province, where daily crowds of up to 90,000 flock to Millennium City Park to experience Song-dynasty themed performances and interactive heritage programs.
Inspired by the Song-dynasty masterpiece "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," Kaifeng’s Millennium City Park offers visitors folk performances, traditional crafts and interactive scenes of ancient life.
The festivities continue after dark, with night shows and cultural programs such as fish-lantern parades, enriching the holiday experience for tens of thousands of people daily.
The surge in immersive experiences has spilled beyond Kaifeng's streets and parks into museums and study tours, where interactive performances and hands-on programs are drawing new audiences.
During this year’s Spring Festival holiday, the beginning of the Chinese New Year, Henan welcomed 62.81 million tourist visits and generated 37.63 billion yuan (about 5.44 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, reflecting strong momentum of the province's cultural tourism market, authorities said.
Henan's booming tourism market reflects a wider national push. In a government work report delivered last week at the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, China emphasized high-quality development of cultural and tourism industries, highlighting integration with sports, commerce and other sectors as a key driver of economic growth.
Tourists flock to Henan's ancient-themed park as holiday crowds soar
More than 10,000 Chinese travelers have safely and orderly returned from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.
Guo said the Chinese government has endeavored to assist nationals stranded in the Middle East to get away from the conflict and reminded Chinese people to avoid travel to affected areas.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked with the Civil Aviation Administration of China for days to arrange domestic airlines to increase capacity by a big margin and urgently dispatch flights to the Middle East to take Chinese travelers stranded there back home. The related embassies and consulates have pushed the local authorities to facilitate direct flights from China, promptly issuing safety alerts and flight schedules, and providing more care and guidance to stranded travelers. Thanks to the joint efforts of all parties, more than 10,000 Chinese travelers have safely and orderly returned from the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Saudi Arabia and other countries," Guo said.
"As the United States and Israel's military actions on Iran are lingering on, some airports in the Middle East have not yet fully resumed normal operations. The Foreign Ministry once again reminds Chinese nationals not to travel to countries and regions around Iran that have been affected by the military conflict for the time being. The Chinese embassies and consulates in relevant countries will do their best to provide necessary assistance to Chinese nationals in need there," he said.
Over 10,000 Chinese travelers safely return from Middle East: spokesman
