Spring breaks spark early tourism surge across China

With spring break getting underway in several regions in China, the extended time off has triggered an early surge in domestic tourism, prompting many destinations to roll out student-friendly ticket discounts and enhanced services.

In some areas, the spring break will take place just before the three-day Qingming Festival in early April, while in others it extends into the five-day May Day holiday, allowing students to combine leave into six- to eight-day mini-breaks.

East China's Jiangsu Province kicked off its inaugural spring break on Wednesday, which, together with the Qingming Festival holiday from April 4 to 6, will last for a total of six days.

In the provincial capital Nanjing, popular attractions such as Hongshan Forest Zoo, Xuanwu Lake, and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum have seen a visitor peak over the past two days.

The city responded by providing free bus and metro rides for primary and secondary students and increasing transport capacity around major attractions.

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, the extended holiday has led to busy scenes at Guiyang North Railway Station, with many parents traveling with their children.

"I am a teacher myself. I think the spring break allows children to go out into nature and relax. They can return to school with renewed energy. It is very beneficial," said Wu Wenlan, a resident who traveled with her son.

"Having spring break makes me feel even happier than summer vacation because we suddenly get an extra holiday," said Zhang Can, a seventh-grader from Zhijin County No.5 Middle School in Guizhou.

At the Xiaoqikong Scenic Area in Libo County, Guizhou, a special promotion ran from April 1 to April 20, allowing one student to receive free tickets for two direct family members.

"We happened to know this ticket discount policy, where one child can bring two adults in for free. We're really happy about it. The scenery at Xiaoqikong is truly beautiful," said Feng Ke, a tourist from south China's Guangdong Province.

Meanwhile, peak passenger flows are also expected at Shenzhen's various border crossings in the coming days.

Spring breaks spark early tourism surge across China

Impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is pushing Gulf countries to revisit costly plans for pipelines to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, so that they can continue to export oil and gas, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Thursday.

"Officials and industry executives say new pipelines may be the only way to reduce Gulf countries' enduring vulnerability to disruption in the strait, even though such projects would be expensive, politically complex and take years to complete," said the report.

"Previous plans for pipelines across the region have repeatedly stalled, undone by high costs and complexity," it said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital global energy corridor bordered by Iran to the north.

Around a fifth of global liquefied natural gas supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which also carries about one quarter of global seaborne oil trade.

Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities on Feb. 28, killing Iran's then Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes against Israel and U.S. assets in the Middle East, while tightening control over the Strait of Hormuz by restricting passage to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States.

Gulf countries consider new pipelines to avoid Strait of Hormuz: Financial Times