On April 3, the day before the Qingming holiday, China's cultural and tourism market kicked off early with strong momentum, as the spring break coincided with the Qingming holiday period.
Visitor numbers at Huangshan and Jiuzhaigou increased by 200% year-on-year. Data released by Huangshan Scenic Area on April 1 showed that daily visitor reception increased by 200% compared to the same period last year, marking a successful start to the spring break. Jiuzhaigou Scenic Area reported receiving 20,816 visitors on April 2, a 214.63% increase from April 1. The scenic area noted that with the surge in family travel during the spring break, scenes of parents traveling with children were widespread.
Data from Meituan Travel indicated that from April 1 to April 6, national flight and train ticket bookings increased by 44% year-on-year. Nanjing, Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Luoyang ranked as the top travel destinations during the Qingming holiday.
Driven by the spring break, family travel demand surged during the spring season. Meituan Travel data showed that from April 1 to 6, family homestay bookings from Nanjing residents increased more than tenfold year-on-year, while bookings from Chengdu residents grew over sevenfold. This trend of family outings has even extended to the upcoming Labor Day holiday, with advance bookings from Hangzhou residents also increasing more than tenfold.
Notably, changing consumption habits among younger generations have led to new travel trends characterized by decentralization, experiential focus, and diversification. Taking advantage of the Qingming holiday for ancestral worship and spring outings, travel patterns have shifted toward suburban areas and lesser-known cities. Young travelers are increasingly opting for "reverse tourism" to avoid overcrowded popular destinations, steadily energizing the broader tourism market.
Data from Meituan Travel showed that during the Qingming holiday, tourism demand in destinations such as Shangrao in Jiangxi and Wuxi in Jiangsu increased significantly, with overall cultural and tourism bookings (including flights, trains, hotels, homestays, and attractions) rising by 102% and 52% year-on-year, respectively. Popular spots included Huangling Scenic Area, Wunvzhou Resort, and Sanqingshan Scenic Area in Shangrao, as well as Yuantouzhu Scenic Area, Yixing Yaohu Town, and Lingshan Scenic Area in Wuxi.
Thanks to the extended holiday, travelers' itineraries expanded considerably. Meituan Travel data indicated that since April, interprovincial travel accounted for 63% of total travel demand, sparking a "cross-province visiting" trend. Among travelers, those born after 1995 made up 48% of the total.
According to Meituan Travel data, medium- and long-distance trips accounted for nearly 40% of travel during the Qingming holiday. Popular destinations included Beihai in Guangxi, Yibin in Sichuan, and Nanjing in Jiangsu. In terms of interprovincial travel flows, "mutual tourism" within regional city clusters was prominent: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui were top choices for cross-province travel, with active travel within the Yangtze River Delta region. Chengdu and Chongqing saw significant two-way travel, while travelers from Guizhou preferred visiting neighboring Guangxi and Yunnan for unique spring scenery.
Spring Study Tours Experience Explosive Growth Meanwhile, the spring study tour market also saw explosive growth this year. Data from Guangzhou Travel Service under Lingnan Holdings showed that study tour bookings in Guangdong during the 2026 spring season increased by over 100% compared to the same period in 2025.
The implementation of spring and autumn breaks has given schools greater autonomy and flexibility. Sun Huyi, Vice Principal of Guangzhou No. 86 Middle School, stated that the school adopted a "staggered and personalized" approach for the spring break, with different grade levels taking holidays based on teaching schedules to optimize cost control and enhance the study tour experience. For students opting for self-directed study tours, the school also provided "Self-Directed Study Tour Guidelines" to encourage personalized exploration in family or small-group settings.
"We are exploring the use of spring and autumn breaks to divide the academic year into relatively independent learning phases, helping students establish a progressive path from short-term goals to long-term academic growth, enabling self-adjustment and optimization of learning rhythms," Sun Huyi said.
On the Meituan platform, search volumes for keywords such as "family travel" and "study tours" easily exceeded millions. Meituan data showed that in the past week, searches for "Chengdu one-day study tours" tripled year-on-year, while searches for "children's outdoor study tours" nearly doubled. Chengdu, Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Tianjin were among the top cities for study tour searches.
Wu Chen, Chairman and President of Guangzhou Travel Service, emphasized that the implementation of spring and autumn breaks not only provides students with valuable opportunities to step out of the classroom, connect with nature, and understand society but also serves as a new engine for the tourism industry to revitalize off-peak resources and promote balanced, healthy, and sustainable market development, with significant growth potential.
"We have already observed positive market feedback from the implementation of spring and autumn breaks. Moving forward, Guangzhou Travel Service will continue to innovate and standardize offerings for this market and advocate for further implementation of staggered paid leave policies for employees, benefiting more families," Wu Chen said.
