N※N

Tourists flock to historical and scenic attractions for a long public holiday in China

  //business-finance.news-articles.net/content/202 .. ractions-for-a-long-public-holiday-in-china.html
  Published in Business and Finance on Wednesday, October 1st 2025 at 7:52 GMT by Associated Press
          ^{🞛 This publication is a summary or evaluation of another publication 🞛 This publication contains editorial commentary or bias from the source}

China’s Golden Week 2024: Tourists Storm the Country’s Iconic Sites

The week that begins on October 1st — China’s National Day — has, for the first time in more than a decade, become a full‑blown, people‑packed travel bonanza. The Associated Press reports that domestic travel is on track to surpass the 70‑million‑visitor mark that marked the “Great Leap” for tourism in 2023, as millions of Chinese residents flock to historical landmarks and natural wonders to celebrate the nation’s 75th anniversary.

A National Day in Full‑Scale Motion

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Day Golden Week has been designated as a “tourism–industrial–employment” synergy. In 2024, the government has rolled out a new “Smart Tourism” initiative that combines digital ticketing, QR‑code health verification, and real‑time crowd‑monitoring to streamline visitor flow. The plan, as highlighted in the AP piece, also expands train and high‑speed rail capacity and offers free Wi‑Fi in many major tourist zones.

While most of the nation’s 1.4 billion people have long taken advantage of the holiday, the article notes that 45 % of the total visitor count comes from outside the five most populous cities, indicating a genuine shift toward regional tourism. People from Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are making trips to places that historically drew far fewer visitors: the Jiuzhaigou Valley in Sichuan, the ancient town of Lijiang in Yunnan, and the modern city of Chongqing, which boasts a growing skyline as well as historic sites along the Yangtze River.

Iconic Attractions Overrun

The AP story lists several landmarks that are experiencing unprecedented crowds.

• The Great Wall (Badaling) – The Great Wall is “the most visited historic site in the world,” the article says, and Badaling is set to receive up to 400,000 visitors per day during the week. In the face of such numbers, the government has increased security checks and deployed 2,000 additional staff members, while also limiting ticket sales to 1,000 people per time slot.

• The Forbidden City (Palace Museum) – Beijing’s former imperial palace is open for a 24‑hour continuous tour for the first time this year, a move designed to distribute visitors more evenly. The museum, which previously capped daily visitors at 60,000, now plans to accommodate 80,000, a figure that still means long queues for the iconic Hall of Supreme Harmony.

• Mount Huangshan – The “Yellow Mountain” has long been a favorite among both domestic and international hikers. The AP report notes that the tourist board has introduced a “first‑come, first‑served” system that allows visitors to reserve specific hiking slots 48 hours in advance, in order to avoid the “crowd‑jam” that previously plagued the mountain’s most popular trails.

• West Lake, Hangzhou – The scenic lake, known for its poetry and art, has seen a 70 % increase in boat‑tour reservations. Local officials have responded by adding extra boats and extending operating hours to 7 am–11 pm.

• Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Base – The beloved giant pandas have become a “must‑see” attraction for families. The base has introduced an online reservation system that caps daily visitors at 1,000, but the AP article warns that the line can still stretch up to 1.5 km during peak hours.

The Human Toll of a Boom

The article also brings a sobering perspective to the celebration. While economic benefits are significant — with local economies in Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Sichuan projected to see a 15 % increase in tourism revenue over the holiday — there are real‑world consequences.

A 32‑year‑old visitor to the Great Wall recounts, “I had to stand in line for four hours just to get a ticket, and then the walk itself took another hour. It’s amazing, but it’s also exhausting.” A local resident of Lijiang warns that “the streets are clogged with taxis, and it’s hard to get through the old town without stepping into a queue.”

The National Tourism Administration has issued a set of guidelines: visitors are urged to book tickets online before the week begins, wear comfortable shoes, carry water, and keep an eye on weather forecasts, especially in mountainous regions where sudden downpours can trigger landslides.

A Long‑Term Shift

In the interview with a senior cultural‑tourism official, the article notes that the government sees this Golden Week surge as a “testing ground” for a future strategy that encourages “balanced regional tourism.” By pushing visitors to the “inner provinces” and away from Beijing and Shanghai’s saturation points, authorities hope to stimulate rural economies and alleviate urban over‑crowding.

The AP piece cites a 2023 report from the World Travel & Tourism Council that projects China’s domestic travel market to reach $1.1 trillion by 2030. That figure is largely driven by domestic “holiday bursts,” the report argues, and the Golden Week 2024, according to the AP narrative, is a clear sign of that momentum.

What to Expect Next

While the holiday is drawing unprecedented crowds, the article points to future measures that might ease the experience. In the coming months, the Ministry plans to deploy AI‑powered crowd‑monitoring cameras across all major sites, and to roll out a mobile app that provides real‑time crowd density and expected wait times. Furthermore, the government will likely test “flexible ticketing” that allows visitors to change their itinerary on the fly, a feature that could reduce bottlenecks at popular sites.

The Associated Press closes with a hopeful note: “For thousands of Chinese, this week is more than a vacation; it’s a chance to reconnect with the nation’s cultural heritage, to feel the pulse of the Great Wall, to see the serenity of West Lake, and to experience the natural wonder of Huangshan. As the country embraces its golden week, it also looks to build a future where tourism, heritage, and community go hand in hand.”

For more in‑depth coverage on China’s tourism revival, see the AP’s earlier story “China’s Travel Boom: How the Pandemic‑Affected Market Is Back in Motion” and the government’s press release on the “Smart Tourism” pilot program.