A drone photo taken on Oct. 6, 2025 shows people visiting Shitang Town of Qianshan County in Shangrao, east China's Jiangxi Province. Tourists across the country show no sign of fading enthusiasm as the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday draws to a close. (Photo by Ding Minghua/Xinhua)

As China's eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays draw to a close, the nation's travel momentum has once again underscored the robust vitality of its tourism economy. The total number of cross-regional trips across the country is expected to reach 2.432 billion, averaging 304 million per day, up 6.2 percent year-on-year, according to China's Ministry of Transport.

Key provinces reported big visitor numbers: Hubei Province's A-level scenic spots welcomed over 18.6 million visitors, while Gansu Province received 3.31 million travelers. Shaanxi Province's museums and leisure streets stayed popular, while Anhui Province's scenic spots attracted 2.47 million visitors, boosted by ticket-based promotions. From mountains to beaches, the holiday period highlighted a nationwide appetite for travel and cultural experiences, according to CCTV News.

While the country's iconic attractions continued to draw crowds, the year 2025 saw a remarkable rise in the popularity of county-level "hidden gem" destinations. Data shows that county tourism bookings surged by over 40 percent compared with 2024, with travelers born in the 1990s and 2000s accounting for 45 percent of all bookings, per thepaper.cn.

A representative from travel platform Tongcheng Travel told the Global Times that during the holidays, the booking heat for high-end hotels in non-first-tier cities increased by over 90 percent year-on-year. Expenditure on both inbound and outbound group tours booked through the platform by users from non-first-tier cities rose by more than 33 percent compared with the same period in 2024.

Destinations such as Arxan in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Tengchong in Yunnan Province, and Pingtan in Fujian Province saw an explosive influx of visitors. Each of these small cities has its own appealing "treasures": unique landscapes, cultural depth, and a knack for creative tourism promotion. The new trend, dubbed "county travel ­fever," has become a buzzword online.

"This year's merged Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays created opportunities for themed tourism featuring moonlit landscapes and autumn scenery," the representative said. 

"The most searched destinations in these categories were the Kanas Scenic Area in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's Altay Prefecture and Wangxiangu in Shang­rao, Jiangxi Province."

Family-oriented attractions also flourished amid the festive mood. "Amid the atmosphere of family reunion, theme parks have been especially popular, with Fante Oriental Heritage Park in Jingzhou, Hubei Province topping the booking charts," the representative added.

Another defining feature of 2025's holiday travel was the rise of "film- and game-inspired tourism." Beijing and cities across Anhui and Sichuan provinces launched multiple movie-themed travel routes that allowed visitors to relive scenes from popular films, like ones for Mount Huangshan, the inspiration for Avatar's setting.

Following the success of the 2023 animated film Chang An, Ma'anshan in East China's Anhui Province, where Tang Dynasty (618-907) poet Li Bai, a household name in China as Shakespear in the UK, spent his last days, became a major holiday hot spot. According to CCTV News, the city has developed dedicated cultural routes such as Mount Hengshan and Danyang Lake.

Similarly, the global sensation of the video game Black Myth: Wukong has reignited interest in Datong, North China's Shanxi Province, whose ancient sites were heavily featured in the game. AR check-in boards are on site at the Huayan Temple's Mahavira Hall, one of the game's key locations, so visitors can take pictures as they pose in the Destined One's signature stance.

"Initially, I just wanted to see the Buddha statue, like when visiting the Yungang Grottoes," Ren Chao, a tourist from Beijing told the Global Times. 

"But discovering the game's set pieces was a pleasant surprise, and an experience combining culture with entertainment in a unique way."

Erica Tay, an economist with the Maybank Group, also mentioned this trend in a CNBC TV show, saying, "On the supply side, we are actually seeing tourism companies offer more 'value', so consumers are looking for more 'value.'" 

International tourism outlet Travel and Tour World has also highlighted the role of localized cultural experiences in boosting inbound tourism. "Activities like Mid-Autumn Festival events, including moon-viewing and traditional Chinese medicine wellness experiences were designed to showcase Chinese cultural practices and attract international tourists to look for unique and enriching experiences," the outlet reported.

This emphasis on cultural immersion was echoed across destinations nationwide. In Suzhou, for example, day tours featured performances and gaming events, while evening programs offered intangible cultural heritage shows such as iron flower displays and martial arts acrobatics. 

"These diverse offerings significantly extended visitor stays, with nighttime tourist traffic increasing by more than 53 percent year-on-year," the representative said.