October 1st marks the first day of China's National Day holiday, bringing a peak in travel across the country. Tongcheng Travel and Baidu Maps jointly released big data on nationwide tourism and travel on the first day of the National Day holiday. According to relevant data, on the morning of October 1st, there was a surge in self-driving travel across the country, with major highways in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Liaoning, Hebei, and other regions seeing a sharp rise in congestion indexes. The flow index at key scenic spots across the country also soared significantly.
● High Popularity at Attractions like Yellow Crane Tower
Data from the Tongcheng Travel platform shows that on the first day of the holiday, the most frequently booked attractions include: Emei Mountain Scenic Area, Mount Tai Scenic Area, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, Guilin Elephant Trunk Hill Scenic Area, Kaifeng Mansion, Hanshan Temple, Qingxiu Mountain Scenic Area, Changbai Mountain Scenic Area, Yellow Crane Tower, and Zhenjiang Jinshan Scenic Area.
On the morning of the 1st, the demand for car-hailing around popular scenic spots nationwide tripled compared to usual, resulting in “difficulty getting a taxi” near some attractions. Baidu Maps data further shows that the congestion index on roads near popular attractions on the first day of the holiday has risen sharply, with the increase reaching over 10-fold in some areas compared to usual.
● Difficult to Get Museum Reservations
On the first day of the holiday, museums all over the country ranked among the top of all cultural tourism consumption themes in terms of popularity. According to Baidu Maps’ flow data and Tongcheng Travel platform's search and reservation data, the museums with high popularity on the holiday's first day include: the Palace Museum, Shaanxi History Museum, National Museum of China, Qin Shihuang Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Shaanxi Nature Museum, Shenyang Imperial Palace Museum, Hebei Museum, and Sanxingdui Museum. Among these, the visitor index at the Palace Museum surged by 146.28% compared to usual. In addition, Suzhou Museum, Nanjing Museum, and Luoyang Museum were fully booked around the Mid-Autumn Festival during the extended holiday.
● Suburban Trips Around Cities Grow by Over 100%
On the first day of the holiday, local leisure and suburban vacation consumption in major cities across the country kicked off with a “good start”. Baidu Maps data shows that on the holiday’s first day, the visitor flow index at core business districts in cities like Shenyang, Changchun, Beijing, Chengdu, Xi'an, Chongqing, and Zhengzhou all saw significant increases compared to usual.
According to Tongcheng Travel platform data, demand for local and surrounding tours in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou more than doubled on the first day of the holiday. Strolling through historic and cultural neighborhoods or core business districts to soak up the holiday atmosphere has become the first choice of many citizens for the first day. At the same time, suburban rural resorts and homestays near major cities also entered a full peak in visitor reception.
● Over 330 Million Cross-Regional Movements in One Day
On the first day of the China National Day holiday, it is expected that the total cross-regional movement of people will exceed 330 million, a year-on-year increase of 1.7%. According to the Ministry of Transport, rail passenger volume reached 23 million, up 7.2%; waterway passenger volume reached 1.22 million, up 11.2%; and air passenger volume was expected to reach 2.48 million, up 3.4%.
As for road travel, including private non-operational vehicles on highways and ordinary national/provincial roads, as well as road commercial passenger operations, the figure is expected to reach 310 million, an increase of 1.2%. Among these, road commercial passenger volume is estimated at 41.47 million, up 3%.