China's three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, which ended on Sunday, served as a prelude to the upcoming weeklong National Day holiday starting on Thursday, with travel agencies and industry insiders reporting robust bookings across both breaks.
Some people have combined the two holidays by taking several days of leave in between, creating what they called the "longest consecutive break of the year" — a stretch of up to 13 days that has fueled demand for both short — and long-haul trips.
Symbolizing harvests and family reunions, Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Chinese calendar. Traditions such as enjoying the full moon and eating mooncakes have driven strong demand for destinations with a rich traditional Chinese atmosphere.
Online travel agency Qunar said that flight bookings to domestic destinations had surged more than 60 percent year-on-year on Friday, calling the holiday the "most booming" Mid-Autumn Festival break in recent years.
Night-tour bookings on its platform more than doubled compared with the same period last year. Nanjing in Jiangsu province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province were top choices for night tours to appreciate the full moon from a boat on Nanjing's Qinhuai River or on Hangzhou's West Lake.
Wang Luying, 28, a Shanghai resident who spent the holiday in Hangzhou with her boyfriend, said that despite sweltering weather and large crowds, they walked along the West Lake and looked up at the moon as illuminated boats floated on the water. "It was poetically beautiful," she said.
Demand has also grown for travel related to appreciating the autumn scenery, with travelers seeking out forests and grasslands, as well as ancient villages.
Travel portal Tuniu reported surging visitor numbers to Huangshan in Anhui province, Shangrao in Jiangxi province, which is known for its well-preserved ancient villages and harvest views, and Altay in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, famed for its mountain and grassland scenery.
Outbound travel has also benefited from the extended break, with many people opting to take longer overseas trips.
Qunar said that as of Sunday, the final day of the Mid-Autumn break, more than 20 percent of passengers who had booked departing flights on its platform had yet to book return tickets — a sign that many were still extending their trips.
London and Los Angeles joined Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Istanbul and Sydney among the top 10 overseas destinations for the holiday.
"The idea of extending the break to 13 days has greatly sparked people's passion for travel, so we've seen both short-distance and long-distance tours surge, especially trips to places that require long traveling hours," said Qi Chunguang, vice-president of Tuniu.
He added that the popularity of tours to appreciate the autumn scenery at destinations rich in Chinese culture is expected to continue rising next week.
