Passengers enter the Beijing South Railway Station during the National Day holidays. Photo: VCG

China's recent seven-day National Day holidays set a new benchmark for domestic tourism, with some 826 million trips made during the period and domestic tourism spending exceeding 738 billion yuan ($110.11 billion), according to latest data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) on Friday.

On a comparable and averaged daily basis, the number of trips increased 6.3 percent and tourism spending was up 4.3 percent year-on-year.

Analysts said that this year's National Day holidays saw robust supply and demand, as well as coordinated growth across multiple sectors. From cultural and tourism experiences and brick-and-mortar commercial districts to big-ticket consumption, all areas saw strong momentum, reflecting China's consumption vitality, they said.

According to the MCT, tourism market supply continued to diversify during the holiday. Red tourism was highly popular, with 40 percent of tourists visiting revolutionary venues, watching national flag-raising ceremonies, attending patriotic performances, and taking part in other related activities.

Rural tourism continued to gain momentum, with autumn sightseeing, intangible cultural heritage experiences, farming and picking, nighttime rural tours, bonfire markets, and rice-field concerts widely welcomed, the ministry said. 

The performance market also boomed, with 180 large-scale performances held nationwide, including 125 concerts and 55 music festivals. Various localities across the country held a variety of cultural and tourism activities to attract tourists and distributed more than 310 million yuan in consumption coupons as a support measure.

National-level nighttime culture and tourism consumption clusters recorded a total nighttime footfall of 107 million, up 5.6 percent year-on-year.

The inbound tourism market was also active. Nationwide, 2.983 million inbound tourist visits were recorded, representing a year-on-year increase of 19 percent from 2024 and 6.5 percent from 2025.

Zhang Yiwu, a professor with Peking University, told the Global Times on Friday that the longer holiday period this year allowed many people to go on long-haul tours and people's choices of destination were also more diversified than before. Unconventional tourist sites and especially county-level attractions have become a highlight this year, Zhang noted.

According to data sent to the Global Times by domestic platform Tongcheng Travel, Urumqi, capital of Northwest China's Xinjiang, ranked top among domestic long-haul destinations.

With tourism supply seeing a marked improvement in quality in recent years, immersive travel experiences and service-related consumption have become the trending choice this year, Zhang said, noting that shows, sports events, concerts and cinema add more facets to the colorful holiday life of the people. 

Also on Friday, China's railway operator posted robust transportation data for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays.

China's railways recorded more than 302 million passenger trips from September 23 to October 8 during the 16-day railway travel rush for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, up 24.6 percent year-on-year, China State Railway Group Co said on Friday. 

During the period, 192 million tons of goods were shipped, up 5 percent year-on-year. On October 1, 25.2 million passenger trips were handled, setting a single-day record.