bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Zhang Tong

China is on track for a bumper travel season with transport authorities reporting a big rise in sales of train and plane tickets for the holiday after National Day on October 1.
China Railway said train tickets for the “golden week” went on sale on Friday, attracting record interest on the official booking platform 12306.
The passenger and freight rail operator reported “a new single-day record in ticket sales”, selling 22.9 million tickets on Friday alone, according to state news agency Xinhua.
China Railway predicts around 190 million railway trips will be made during the 12-day travel rush from September 27 to October 8.
That is roughly double the 72 million trips made during the same holiday last year and well above the 138 million trips made in 2019 before the Covid pandemic.
“To cope with this year’s peak transport period, the railway department has added 320 extra train services,” China Railway said.
“The technical team at 12306 has also made advance preparations to handle the extremely high volume of traffic on the site.”
Major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xian are expected to be among the busiest transport hubs, according to 12306.
This year the Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day break, making it a longer holiday than usual and giving people a greater chance to travel.
Thailand soothes fears over visa scheme for Chinese visitors
The official holiday starts on September 29, a Friday, and runs until October 6.
Jin Junhao, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said on Friday that airline tickets were also selling briskly, with more than 21 million people expected to travel by air during the holiday.
“There is a significant increase of 18 and 17 per cent in the daily average number of domestic flights and passengers, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019,” he said.
Shopping platform Meituan, which also sells tickets for transport and tourist attractions, said Wuhan, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Changsha, and Chengdu would be among the top destinations for train travellers.


Hangzhou, which is gearing up to host the Asian Games, is also listed as one of the hotspots.
Qunar’s Big Data Research Institute said travellers were also being lured to lesser known centres.
“Young people are developing a preference for ‘small towns’ such as Handan, Luoyang, Liuzhou, Huaian, and Yichun that have airports. Convenient transport and comprehensive facilities and services are attracting tourists,” the institute, part of the online travel service provider, said.
Interest in overseas travel has also risen after outbound restrictions were relaxed.
Bangkok, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore were the most-searched overseas destinations over the past week, according to Qunar.


China’s expat pilots arrived on a red carpet – now, they’re taking a red-eye out

As diplomatic row drags on, how is Japan coping with a fall in Chinese tourists?

China’s visa-free waivers spark Korean travel boom, underpin tourism revival

Here are 5 ways to enter China without a visa – by land, sea or air

China travel

China expects ‘golden week’ holiday journeys to beat pre-pandemic figures

Ticket sales for the National Day holiday are on course to beat pre-pandemic levels. Photo: Xinhua

‘Total humiliation’: Chinese visitors made to give seats to foreigners at tourist  site prompts apology after online outrage

The Shengshi Tangcheng site made a public apology less than nine hours after the influencer’s video appeared online. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock/Weibo

The influencer claims more than 1,000 local tourists gathered to see the performance were made to wait for foreigners arriving late to the show. Photo: Huanqiu.com

A foreign tourist and local people of the Li ethnic group perform a bamboo dance at the Nanshan scenic area in southern China. Photo: Xinhua

Thailand offers Chinese tourists visa-free entry to  boost its travel-based  economy to pre-Covid levels

Chinese tourists pose on a beach in Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Natural disasters that shook the tourism industry to its core, from 2023 Rhodes wildfires to 2019 Venice floods to 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Wildfires rage in Gennadi village, on the island of Rhodes, Greece, on July 25, 2023. The Greek government is now working with the tourism sector to rescue the season after the natural disaster. Photo: AP

Tourists carry their luggage as they wade through water during floods in Venice on December 23, 2019. Photo: AP

The 2004 tsunami swept train wagons around 50 metres from their tracks in Seenigama, a popular tourist destination near Galle, Sri Lanka. This photo was taken on December 27, 2004. Photo: EPA

Flooding persists nearly one week after Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, on September 25, 2017. Photo: TNS

Pakistani army soldiers take part in rescue works amid heavy snowfall in Murree, Pakistan on January 8, 2022. Photo: EPA

The Northern Lights are seen above the ash plume of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano on April 22, 2010. Photo: Reuters

Rescuers clear snow from the site of an avalanche that hit the Gangtok-Nathu-La road in India’s northeastern state of Sikkim on April 4, 2023. Photo: AFP

News

China

China Railway said it had recorded a record single day’s sales, with 22.9 million tickets being bought in one day
Airline tickets are also selling well as the National Day holiday coincides with Mid-Autumn Festival


China Railway said it had recorded a record single day’s sales, with 22.9 million tickets being bought in one day.


Tourism

Golden week

Mid-Autumn Festival

China Railway