Scenic areas across China offered a mix of cultural, leisure and adventure experiences during the five-day May Day holiday ending Tuesday, reflecting tourists' varied tastes from lakeside picnics to aerial views and nighttime spectacles.
In Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, the Jiuru Mountain Waterfall Group Scenic Area introduced more than 20 hands-on craft activities, from dried-flower photo frames and nutshell wind chimes to lipstick‑shaped soaps. The site also opened a forest pool where visitors could wade and play in the water.
In Nanchang, east China's Jiangxi Province, a lakeside park has reopened after a comprehensive upgrade, allowing locals to stroll along the lakefront walkways and pitch tents on the lawns for picnics to unwind amid the city's greenery during the holiday.
"Scenic spots are usually overcrowded during the holiday, so picnicking near home might be more comfortable and relaxing, because we don't need to rush. I think it's very nice to just walk by the lake and set up a tent nearby," said Mr. Xiao, a Nanchang resident.
In Beijing's Miyun District, tourists can enjoy the magnificent view of the iconic Miyun Reservoir from a helicopter or the peaks of surrounding mountains.
For those craving more active pursuits, the tourist attraction also features jungle off-road driving, mountain camping, outdoor archery, and a chance to taste local cuisine, such as handmade sweet potato noodles.
"We have invented five flavors: hot and sour, numbing and spicy, rattan pepper, tomato, and a spring-limited Chinese toon flavor. We are selling about 1,000 bowls of sweet potato noodles a day during the May Day holiday," said restaurant owner Tian Xinboya.
The Simatai section of the Great Wall in Miyun has staged themed light shows that combine modern lights, waterborne performances, and thousand-year-old intangible cultural heritage molten iron fireworks to create a visual feast for nighttime visitors.
During the holiday, the Tangmo scenic area in Huangshan City, east China's Anhui Province, has held Ao Fish (a mythical giant fish in Chinese culture) lantern performances and parades of Huizhou fish-shaped lanterns, attracting flocks of visitors and bringing income to nearby villagers.
China's scenic sites draw crowds with diverse May Day holiday activities
All the people injured in the fireworks plant explosion on Monday in central China's Hunan Province have been sent to local hospitals for treatment, according to authorities.
The accident has left 26 people dead and 61 others injured, according to officials speaking at a press conference on Tuesday.
The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon at the plant of Huasheng fireworks manufacturing and display company in Liuyang, a county-level city in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan.
"When I arrived at the scene, I saw everything was flattened. Everything. Look at me. I'm all covered by mud and sand stirred up by the explosion," said local villager Wu Yuliang.
Following the explosion, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for all-out efforts to locate those still unaccounted for and to treat the injured. The person in charge of the company where the accident occurred has been detained by police.
More than 480 rescuers, organized into five teams, have been deployed, along with three rescue robots to support operations.
At Tuesday's press conference, local officials said the situation remains challenging, with difficulties in controlling the fire, extinguishing the blaze, and carrying out search and rescue operations.
"A large quantity of explosives stored in the warehouse area could not be moved immediately, posing a direct threat to the safety of our rescue personnel. Second, the accident site was chaotic since basically all buildings' walls, beams, columns, and roofs have collapsed, creating extensive rubble. People were buried under the debris, passageways were blocked, and our rescue efforts were severely hampered," said Ding Weiming, Party secretary and political commissar of Changsha's fire and rescue team.
The injured have been rushed to two hospitals for emergency treatment after the explosion, with most suffering from bone injuries.
A medical task force of leading experts in burns, intensive care, and trauma surgery has been assembled.
The People's Hospital of Liuyang received 25 of the injured people.
"She has fractures in both legs. The doctor won't allow her to walk or get out of bed. She can only use a wheelchair to get around. I have to carry her to the bathroom," one victim's son told reporters at his mother’s bedside in hospital.
All patients are reported to be in stable condition, though doctors say they will require further observation for more than 24 hours.
"For now, we don't recommend that they rush to be discharged, as there is still some psychological trauma and stress that we need to monitor," said Ding Shengqiang, head of the hospital's medical department.
After all of the city's fireworks enterprises were shut down on Monday night, local officials said a large-scale safety inspection will be carried out to address regulatory gaps and strengthen overall safety standards.
All injured hospitalized after central China fireworks plant explosion
