*Chinaiswitnessingatravelboomduringthisyear"sfive-dayMayDayholiday,thefirstsuchholidaysincethecountryoptimizeditsCOVID-19responsemeasures.

*BelowaresevenChinesecitiesthatareamongthetopholidaytravelchoicesfortourists.Apartfromfirst-tiercities,suchasBeijingandShanghai,smalleroneslikeZiboofShandongProvincearegainingprominenceduetotheirvariousattractions.

*TheholidaytravelspreeinChinashowsthatthetourismsectorisrecoveringatfulltiltinthepost-epidemicera,andtheworld"ssecond-largesteconomyisregainingitsvitality.

(相关资料图)

BEIJING,May1(Xinhua)--Chinaiswitnessingatravelboomduringthisyear"sfive-dayMayDayholiday,thefirstsuchholidaysincethecountryoptimizeditsCOVID-19responsemeasures.

Domestictravelbookingsfortheholiday,whichstartsonApril29thisyear,havesurgedmorethan700percentfromlastyear,thelatestdatafromonlinetravelagencyTrip.comGroupshows.

BelowaresevenChinesecitiesthatareamongthetopholidaytravelchoicesfortourists.Apartfromfirst-tiercities,suchasBeijingandShanghai,smalleroneslikeZiboofShandongProvincearegainingprominenceduetotheirvariousattractions.

PeopletakeselfiesattheTempleofHeaveninBeijing,capitalofChina,April29,2023.(Xinhua/JuHuanzong)

BEIJING

Asahistoricandculturalcity,theChinesecapitalisundoubtedlyoneofthemostpopulardestinations.Thisyear,Beijingrecommends16tourismrouteshighlightingthecity"sancientrelics,royalgardens,parks,museumsandvenuesfortheOlympicGamesandWinterOlympics.TheGreatWall,thePalaceMuseum,theSummerPalace,theTempleofHeavenandtheNationalStadium,alsoknownasBird"sNest,arecoveredbytheroutes.

Nearly300playsand1,170performanceswillbeputonduringtheholiday,includingsymphoniesanddancedramas,providingaculturalfeastforaudiencestoenjoyinthecountry"sculturalcenter.

TouristsvisittheBundineastChina"sShanghaionApril30,2023.(Xinhua/XinMengchen)

SHANGHAI

BoastingtheBund,theOrientalPearlTowerandShanghaiDisneyResort,Shanghaiislistedamongthetop10destinationsbymultipleonlinetravelplatforms.

AsanemergingmeansoftravelfollowingCOVID-19,moreandmoretouristspreferacitywalk,enjoyingthehistoricbuildingsandstreetviewsalongvariousinterestingroads,suchasWukangRoadandAnfuRoad.

LocatedinthecoreareaoftheYangtzeRiverDelta,Shanghaihasalsowitnessedagrowthinregionaltoursradiatingoutfromthecity.TrainticketsfromShanghaitonearbytouristcitiessuchasSuzhou,whichisfamousforitstraditionalgardens,andHangzhou,whereWestLakeislocated,havealmostsoldout.

ThisaerialphototakenonApril30,2023showstouristsvisitingtheancientcitywallscenicspotinXi"an,northwestChina"sShaanxiProvince.(Xinhua/LiuXiao)

XI"AN

Xi"an,acitywithover3,100yearsofhistory,ishometotheTerracottaWarriors,WeiyangPalaceandtheancientcitywalloftheMingDynasty(1368-1644).

Aftervisitingtheculturalruinsinthedaytime,touristscandressintraditionalChinesecostumestoimmersethemselvesinthehistoriccityintheevening,strollingthroughancientbuildings,havingatasteoflocalsnacksandwatchingtheacrobaticsandlion-danceshowsinthestreetimitatingtheancientstreetscenesoftheTangDynasty(618-907).

GUANGZHOU

ThesoutherncityofGuangzhouattractstouristswithitslandmarkGuangzhouTower,oldandfamousCantoneserestaurants,streetnightmarketsandnight-cruisetoursalongtheZhujiangRiver.

TheGuangzhouChimelongTouristResortisamust-seedestinationforfamilieswithchildren.Notonlycanvisitorsfindsome20,000preciouswildanimals,includingthegiantpandatriplets,inthesafaripark,buttheycanalsowatchaninternationalcircusattendedbymorethan300performersfrommorethan20countries.AfairfeaturingChinesetraditionalcostumesandanelectricmusicnightpartyarealsoheldintheresortduringtheholiday.

TouristswatchliondanceattheHong"anancienttowninXiushanTujiaandMiaoAutonomousCounty,southwestChina"sChongqing,April30,2023.(PhotobyHuCheng/Xinhua)

CHONGQING

Knownasa"mountaincity,"ChongqinginsouthwestChinaattractspeoplewithitsbeautifulscenery,suchasunevenroadsandarchitecturebuiltonhillsandalongtheYangtzeRiver.AmongthefamousdestinationsaretwoUNESCOWorldHeritagesites:theWulongKarstScenicAreaandtheDazuRockCarvings.Theformerisfamousforitsgiantsinkholes,naturalbridgesandcaves,whilethelatterfeaturesanexceptionalseriesofrockcarvingsdatingfromthe9thtothe13thcentury.

Inthecityproper,theancienttownofCiqikou,datingbacksome1,000yearstotheSongDynasty,thetemplefairandnighttoursallowtouriststoenjoythecultureinthe"mountaincity."

SANYA

Nicknamed"OrientalHawaii,"Sanya,intheislandprovinceofHainan,haslongbeenonthelistofhotdestinationsfortouristsinChina.

Inthepast,thesitemainlyreliedonitsseaviewstoattractvisitors,butnowadays,itoffersavarietyoftourismprograms,asSanyaincreasinglylookstorefineitstourismsector.Touristscanrideamotorboatonthebluesea,sipcoffeewhilereadinginaseasidebookstore,enjoyacandlelightdinnerandsimplyunwindwithsomeself-brewedteaonthebeachunderthestarrynightsky.

ZIBO

Zibo,ineastChina"sShandongProvince,hasbecomeanewchoicefortravelersduetoitsiconicbarbecues.

Thecityshottonationalfameearlierthisyearaftersocialmediainfluencershypeduptheuniquelocalbarbecue--grilledmeatwrappedinpancakeswithshallots.Initiallypopularamongcollegestudentsduetoitsuniquetaste,DIYstyleandaffordability,thedishhasnowattractedswarmsoftouriststothecity.

Whilesparingnoeffortstoreininhotelpricehikesandimplementtourist-friendlypoliciestocatertotheholidayfervor,thecity"sauthoritiesissuedaletternotingthattheinfluxoftouristshasexceededthereceptioncapacityandaskedtouriststotraveloff-peakorconsiderothercitiesinShandong.

PassengershavetheirticketscheckedattherailwaystationinHuzhou,eastChina"sZhejiangProvince,April29,2023.(PhotobyYiFan/Xinhua)

Inadditiontotheabove-listedcities,touristsalsoflocktoChengdutowatchgiantpandas,toXiamentoheartheseabreezelyingonthebeachatGulangyuIslet,andtoChangshatotastetheyummysnacksatthenightfair.

Somenetizenssaidtheywouldliketotraveltoanydestinationforwhichtheycansecureaplaneortrainticket.

RailwaytripsinChinahitarecordhighof19.66millionpassengertripsonSaturday,thefirstdayoftheholiday.About120milliondomestictripsareexpectedtobemadebyChineserailwaypassengersfromApril27toMay4,anincreaseof20percentfromthe2019level.Meanwhile,thenumberofflightbookingsfortheholidayhasalreadyexceeded6million,generallyequivalenttothelevelregisteredduringthesameholidayin2019.

TheholidaytravelspreeinChinashowsthatthetourismsectorisrecoveringatfulltiltinthepost-epidemicera,andtheworld"ssecond-largesteconomyisregainingitsvitality.(Videoreporters:MaXiaodong,ChenAiping,ChenZhihao,LiYanan,CaiXinyi,ZhuXiaoguang,FengYuanyuan,YangJinxin,ZhangHaoran,SongLifeng;videoeditors:ZhangQiru,LiQin,LiuYutian)■