Crowds of tourists came to the ancient city of Kashgar in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to experience the desert fun and enjoy the magnificent desert scenery during the week-long National Day holiday, which started on Thursday this year.
At the Maigaiti National Desert Park, on the southwestern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, the park receives an average of 6,000 visitors per day during the National Day holiday.
Tourists can experience desert off-road vehicles racing between the dunes, surging up the peaks and plunging down, delivering a thrilling sensation.
Visitors can also stroll slowly across the sea of sand on camelback. In addition, the most common way to enjoy the park is to grab a sandboard and slide down the slopes.
Visitors can also enjoy performances of a national-level intangible cultural heritage and watch local painters using their brushes and bold blocks of color to depict the desert landscape.
Tourists enjoy desert fun in Kashgar during National Day holiday
Beijing's new-home market has seen a significant surge in property viewings and contract signings since September, driven by the implementation of various incentive policies.
In August, Beijing further loosened purchasing restrictions and raised maximum mortgage loan limits for buyers to stimulate market demand.
At a new home sales center in Shijingshan District, prospective buyers crowded the consultation area to speak with agents. The available units range from 70-square-meter two-bedroom apartments to 130-square-meter four-bedroom homes.
A quick count revealed that over 30 groups of clients visited the site within a single hour.
"Foot traffic has doubled compared to normal times. Our preliminary statistics show that about 40 letters of intent are signed each day during the National Day holiday. The project, which opened on Sept 22 with nearly 800 units, has already completed over 500 official online contract registrations," said Yang Zhenpeng, sales manager of a residential project in Shijingshan District.
The seven-day National Day holiday, starting Thursday this year, is a traditional peak sales period for China's real estate sector.
Developers have also ramped up the supply of new housing projects. Official data showed that in September, the supply of new commercial residential units in Beijing reached 5,350, up 53.34 percent month on month.
Notably, between Sept 1 and 20, the city issued 17 pre-sale permits for residential properties.
"Developers have capitalized on the traditional peak sales season of September and October to launch projects that offer prime locations, excellent amenities, and high-quality designs, which have won widespread favor among homebuyers," said Wu Jing, director of the real estate research center at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
Transaction data for new homes corroborates this trend. In September, Beijing recorded 4,557 commercial residential unit transactions, up 52.31 percent month-on-month. The total transaction area reached 533,200 square meters, up 47.58 percent month-on-month.
Multiple residential projects across Beijing have experienced significant increases in both foot traffic and transaction volumes recently, with the contract signing cycle noticeably shortened.
"We came here to sign the contract today since we have some free time during the National Day break. We really like this house and plan to use it to improve our living conditions," said a buyer.
Beijing's new home viewings, sales surge on policy incentives
