South China's Wenchang, home to the country's first commercial space launch site, is drawing record crowds this summer as frequent rocket liftoffs turn the coastal city into a booming space‑themed tourist hub.
Official figures highlight the surge as Wenchang welcomed 5.36 million tourists in the first half of 2026, up 9.7 percent year on year. Major launch events have driven the spike in visitors, with the Long March‑10B carrier rocket liftoff in February alone drawing more than 70,000 spectators, sending local foot traffic and consumption soaring.
Crowds now flood the city on launch days, transforming liftoffs into mass spectacles that blend spaceflight with coastal tourism. For many travelers, the fleeting spectacle is worth long journeys, as their reactions show.
"It's so exciting! We traveled thousands of miles just for these few dozen seconds," said a tourist from east China's Shandong Province.
Since its maiden launch in November 2024, the Wenchang Commercial Space Launch Site has carried out a total of 20 launch missions. So far, the site's No. 1 launch pad and No. 2 pad have an annual capacity of 16 launches and the rapid development of commercial spaceflight is turning this coastal town into an emerging tourist spot for international visitors.
"It's the first time we come to China and the first time we see the rocket. China has great technology as we can see today. It's so exciting," said a tourist from Europe.
"Visitor volumes have kept rising steadily. Tickets for key launch events sometimes sell out one month in advance. Since the start of this year, the number of foreign tourists has been climbing, with roughly 100 international visitors turning up for each launch," said Huang Miaojing, on-site operation manager of the Wenchang Space Launch Viewing Center.
Rocket launches turn south China's Wenchang into booming space tourism hub
Rocket launches turn south China's Wenchang into booming space tourism hub
