BEIJING — China witnessed robust tourism during the five-day May Day holiday that ended on May 5 as COVID-19 has been brought under control and the vaccination rate is rising steadily in the country.
China saw a total of 230 million domestic tourist trips during the holiday, up 119.7 percent from last year, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Here is some specific tourism data.
BEIJING
Beijing's municipal parks and scenic areas received a total of 7.68 million tourist visits during the holiday, said the Beijing Gardening and Greening Bureau.
The figure represented a growth of 77 percent year-on-year. It was also 6 percent higher than the same period of 2019.
More than 68 cultural activities featuring flower exhibitions and folk customs have been launched in parks, and the city has seen 172 flower-themed zones pop up since the beginning of spring, each with an area of over 1,000 square meters.
SHANGHAI
Shanghai recorded 16.89 million tourist visits during the May Day holiday, up 138.88 percent compared with the same period of 2020, according to the city's culture and tourism bureau.
Consumption driven by tourism reached around 40 billion yuan (about $6.18 billion) during the holiday, data from card payment giant China UnionPay showed.
The 170 scenic areas in Shanghai had 6.64 million tourist visits, up 143 percent year-on-year. The key cultural sites in Shanghai received 1.65 million visits.
TIANJIN
China's northern port city of Tianjin received more than 6.4 million tourist visits during the holiday, up 15.1 percent from the same period in 2019, said the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.
Tourism revenue of Tianjin totaled 4.8 billion yuan during the holiday, up 30.5 percent from the same period in 2019.
The city also saw its consumption markets soar during the holiday, said the municipal commission of commerce.
Data from the commission showed that 191 commercial enterprises in Tianjin raked in a total of 1.26 billion yuan during the holiday, up 19.8 percent from the same period last year.
HUBEI
Central China's Hubei province saw 43.2 million tourist arrivals during the five-day holiday, up 13.53 percent from the same period in 2019. The province's total tourism revenue hit 19.8 billion yuan, an increase of 11.52 percent from 2019, according to the provincial department of culture and tourism.
The Yellow Crane Tower in Wuhan, Hubei's capital city, was the second most popular tourist attraction in China during the holiday, according to a report published by online life services platform Meituan.
JIANGSU
East China's Jiangsu province received over 35 million tourist visits during the holiday, up 154.2 percent compared to the same period of last year, said the provincial department of culture and tourism.
Rural areas in the province received more than 11 million visitor arrivals, up 126.37 percent from the same period last year. Tourism revenue totaled approximately 30 billion yuan, up 160.7 percent year-on-year.
SHAANXI
A total of 299,342 visitors traveled to Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, to see the famous Terracotta Warriors during the holiday, according to the museum.
YUNNAN
Southwest China's Yunnan province welcomed over 17.8 million visitor arrivals during the holiday, up 119.7 percent compared with the same period in 2019, said the provincial department of culture and tourism. Its tourism revenue topped 12.8 billion yuan, up 122.7 percent from 2019.
HAINAN
China's southern island province of Hainan raked in approximately 993 million yuan in offshore duty-free sales during the holiday, up 248 percent year-on-year, according to the Haikou Customs.
Duty-free shops in Hainan received 121,000 customer visits and sold about 1.35 million duty-free goods, up 141 percent and 229 percent year-on-year, respectively.
GUANGXI
South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region received over 22 million tourist visits during the May Day holiday, up 198.2 percent year-on-year. Tourism consumption totaled 18.3 billion yuan, up 261.6 percent year-on-year, said the regional department of culture and tourism.
During the holiday, bookings of rural B&Bs in hot tourist destinations such as Beihai and Guilin in the region increased by 220 percent year-on-year.