Short trips gain popularity during China's weeklong national holiday

Short trips to suburban or neighboring areas became particularly popular during the weeklong national holiday in China, said China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Located in Xushui district, Baoding city, north China's Hebei Province, an orchard that features fruit-picking, sightseeing and cuisine attracted many tourists. According to Zhao Chen, a manager at the orchard, 980 tourists visited on Oct. 5, more than double the same day last year.

Tourists go camping in Nanchuan District of southwest China's Chongqing, Oct. 2, 2022. (Xinhua/Qu Mingbin)

"I didn’t want to travel too far during the holiday, so I brought my family here to have fun and relax," said Wang Lei, a resident of Baoding, who bought two dwarf apple trees growing in pots from the orchard.

"Many tourists came here to pick apples during the holiday because our apples are really sweet," explained Zhao. "Our orchard selected high-quality apple varieties, and made sure there was enough water, fertilizer and sunlight. Also, as they grow in containers, the trees can absorb the fertilizers more effectively, and therefore produce apples with a better taste," Zhao added.

Another popular choice for tourists is camping. According to China's online travel agency Ctrip, bookings related to camping increased more than tenfold compared to the same period last year, with nearly 80 percent of orders placed by people living nearby.

Two neighboring villages in central China's Hunan Province, for example, jointly run a camp near Miluo River, with one village providing the venue and the other earning a revenue from fruit-picking, catering, farm produce and intangible cultural heritage experience.

Tourists can enjoy the beautiful scenery, local cuisine and have a go at walking on stilts, which is a local intangible cultural heritage at the camp, which has an area of some 70 mu (about 4.7 hectares) and more than 20 tents, said Liao Can, an executive of the camp.

High-quality homestay hotels in the countryside were also favored by many. One called "Yuanwozi" located at the foot of the beautiful Tiantai Mountain near Qionglai city, southwest China's Sichuan Province, includes an alcohol factory. This means the hotel is not only a good place for visitors to relax and enjoy the landscape and local food, but also allows them to try making alcohol.

"We received bookings as early as two weeks before the national holiday. And our revenue during the holiday increased nearly 30 percent year on year," Gao Wanju, head of the homestay hotel, said with satisfaction.

Similarly, another homestay hotel in Qionglai called "Shouzhuo" was fully booked during the holiday, according to the hotel's executive Huang Xin. "Visitors can enjoy the fresh air and get close to nature," Huang said.