Photo: Chen Tao/GT
A surge of travel across China during the Qingming Festival holiday has lit up social media with posts tagged "feels like 100 million people are here." As the first major outing opportunity since the Spring Festival,
MKsports the three-day holiday sparked a spring tourism boom - beyond traditional park strolls and countryside excursions, culturally immersive experiences like museum visits and regional heritage festivals have emerged as popular new options.
According to a report from thepaper.cn, even before the holiday began, tickets to many of China's most sought-after museums were already sold out. Museums such as the Palace Museum, Suzhou Museum, and Nanjing Museum reported fully booked reservations. On Friday, city museums such as the Kaifeng Museum and Luoyang Museum also announced that no more holiday tickets were available.
"Though the Qingming break is short, the integration of culture into tourism and consumer behavior is now an undeniable trend," Zhang Yi, CEO of the iiMedia Research Institute, told the Global Times.
Cultural celebrations across the country were vibrant during the long weekend. In Beijing, the Ming Cultural Festival was held in Changping district, Beijing during the holiday, featuring a reenactment of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) sacrificial ceremonies at the Changling Tomb, as well as performances portraying imperial guards.
"One of the highlights this year is the inclusion of new interactive programs like a nationwide Hanfu clothing contest and a quiz on Ming etiquette," Li Xinhui, a publicity manager for the event, told the Global Times. "The immersive stage play of Ming emperors, which debuted last year to great acclaim, has doubled its cast this time and added historical figures like famous ministers and scholars."
"Thirty international students from countries including Azerbaijan and South Korea joined the performances," Li added. "They learned about Ming Dynasty clothing, such as cross-collar and stand-collar robes, and took part in ceremonial guard drills. I could really sense their curiosity and appreciation."
"By grounding ourselves in historical perspective and staying committed to historical research and cultural restoration, we can allow participants and consumers of cultural tourism to truly feel the warmth and humanity of history," said Ji Enxu, director of the festival.
In East China's Jiangsu Province, the Maoshan Boat Fair, dating back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), was held in Xinghua. On Friday, more than 130 ceremonial boats gathered in the city on the day, drawing over 40,000 visitors.
Ahead of the holiday, villagers staged practice sessions for the festival, which commemorates fallen local heroes and honors unidentified graves scattered throughout the area. Li Xi, who grew up in Jiangsu, told the Global Times that although her village has merged with a neighboring one and now has fewer than 200 permanent residents, in 2025 they still managed to gather 32 people, her mother among them, to crew a ceremonial boat.
"That's why I bring my child every year here to let him experience the continuity of our heritage, and to cheer on his grandmother," Li said.
"I hope our hometown thrives."
The hope was also heard by another tourist who visited the "stone lock," a traditional Chinese weight made from a single block of stone and shaped like an ancient door lock that was first used for physical training among soldiers during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
"I was deeply impressed, and the event also sparked my interest in learning more about the culture and history of the boat festival," he told the Global Times.
A similar celebration took place in Dujiangyan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, where a traditional water releasing festival was held as usual. Symbolizing a prayer for a bumper harvest and national prosperity, the event also marks the beginning of the spring farming season.
The spectacle drew large crowds. Spectators watched as dam workers, clad in white vests, leapt onto a temporary barrier and, with axes in hand, severed the ropes securing a traditional wooden structure called a macha. Dozens of workers then hauled the structure down, releasing the Minjiang River's waters in a dramatic torrent that swept toward the Chengdu Plain. Visitors witnessed rituals including water offerings, prayers, and the symbolic act of unleashing the spring flood.
"I believe that in the future, traditional festivals like Qingming will increasingly drive interest in intangible cultural heritage," Zhang said.
"It won't just be domestic tourism; overseas travelers will also be drawn to these unique cultural experiences. That's where our cultural consumption trend is heading."
