Nighttime tourism booms in Chinese cities with cultural shows, drone displays

Nighttime tourism boomed in Chinese cities over the five-day May Day holiday starting from May 1.

In Xianning City of central China's Hubei Province, authorities launched a grand night tour around the Taiyi Lake, starting at 19:00 each night of the holiday. A procession of traditional Chinese flower deities, garlanded men, and a lantern-bearing honor guard moves slowly along the lake, with performers occasionally interacting with the crowd.

"I've taken my child here with me especially from Wuhan. We followed the 'flower deities' all the way. My kid was so happy - it felt like time travel," said Lei Caixia, a tourist.

After the parade, a spectacular live performance will take the center stage on the Taiyi Lake.

As music fills the air, aerial dancers will descend from above on wires, recreating graceful scenes such as "fairies scattering flowers" and "Chang'e flying to the moon."

On the lake, a giant 'Turtle Fish' and lantern would move fluidly, manipulated by craftsmen, creating a dreamlike blend of tradition and fantasy.

During the "waterfall fireworks" segment, a golden cascade will pour down from the sky, dazzling the night with flowing light and color.

"I saw the preview online and couldn't resist getting tickets immediately. I was absolutely amazed when the 'Turtle Fish' first rose out of the water," said Xiao Yue, a tourist.

The Taiyi Lake is a long-established scenic spot, previously focused on cave sightseeing and hot spring experiencing.

Since the start of 2025, the site has renovated cave lighting, trails and safety facilities to improve the night tour experience.

"Our main challenge was getting visitors to stay overnight. After the renovations, we've connected the Taiyi Lake, the Taiyi Cave, and the hot springs into a single night tour loop, which has successfully extended their stay. In the first three days of the May Day holiday, we recorded an average of more than 8,000 visits per day, with nighttime visits accounting for more than 40 percent. The night tour has truly revitalized nighttime consumption - we've seen a more than 50 percent increase in secondary spending on dining and accommodation," said Chen Jing, the scenic spot manager.

In Wuhu City of east China's Anhui Province, a stunning night sky spectacle unfolds every night during the holiday.

As night fell, over 1,000 drones will take off and form a shifting, creative light show against the urban skyline.

Before the afterglow of the technological display fades, a performance of Datiehua, or molten iron fireworks, an intangible cultural heritage, will take the stage.

The performers will fling 1,600-degree Celsius molten iron into the night air, instantly creating cascading sparks and flowing light.

Cheers rise from among the crowd as residents and tourists stop to watch and take photos, fully immersed in this feast of sight and sound.

Nighttime tourism booms in Chinese cities with cultural shows, drone displays

The on-site search for survivors has largely concluded following a deadly explosion at a fireworks factory in central China's Hunan Province on Monday, which killed 26 people and injured 61 others, local authorities said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The blast occurred at around 16:40 on Monday at a workshop of Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co., Ltd. in Liuyang, a county-level city under Changsha, the provincial capital.

Officials paused to mourn the victims at the beginning of the news conference. Among the injured, 55 with minor wounds have received treatment and are in stable conditions.

"More than 1,500 personnel from the fire, emergency response, public security and health departments have been deployed to carry out rescue operations, on-site response and medical treatment in an orderly manner. On-site search and rescue has now basically completed, and identity verification of the victims is underway. The leaders of the company concerned have been taken into legal custody. Real-time monitoring of air and water shows that the relevant environmental indicators are normal," said Chen Bozhang, mayor of Changsha City and deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Changsha Municipal Committee.

The Hunan provincial fire and rescue authorities dispatched 482 personnel, 116 fire trucks, 15 sniffer dogs, 18 drones, six robots and one robot dog to the scene, successfully pulling out seven trapped individuals.

"Next, we will concentrate the best medical resources to conduct case-by-case assessments of the injured, closely monitor their conditions, and dynamically adjust treatment plans to provide meticulous care. A special task force has been set up for follow-up assistance, adopting a 'one special team for one victim (family)' approach to proactively contact the families of the deceased and injured, and establish a closed-loop mechanism for learning about and addressing their needs," Chen said.

The mayor also vowed a full, transparent investigation into the cause of the accident.

"We will fully cooperate in the accident investigation, strictly adhering to the principles of seeking truth from facts and confronting problems head-on. We will carry out a comprehensive, in-depth and penetrating investigation to fully reconstruct the entire process and chain of the accident," he said.

Since 19:00 on Monday, all fireworks production enterprises in Changsha have suspended operations for safety rectification. Citywide safety inspections are underway to close regulatory loopholes, reinforce corporate responsibility and improve overall safety standards.

Death toll rises to 26 in central China fireworks plant explosion