Parents use the summer vacation as learning tool

At a Korean ethnic folk park in Northeast China's Jilin province, Feng Yu turned a family trip into an immersive cultural lesson on ethnic heritage.

She and her kids slipped into traditional Korean outfits for photo shoots, learned to make Korean rice cakes, and took a shot at traditional archery.

"I used to take my children on trips only to view beautiful scenery and taste local delicacies," Feng says. "This time, I hope they can learn about ethnic culture firsthand; trying on traditional attire, touring ethnic architecture and watching folk shows offer lessons no textbook can provide."

With schools across China on summer vacation, the country's two-month travel rush comes alive. Feng is among a growing number of parents opting for cultural journeys, hoping to help their children forge a deeper connection with the nation's rich and diverse heritage.

The Korean ethnic folk park that Feng toured has so far received an average of 20,000 tourists a day during the summer travel season, according to Zhu Baokun, operations director of the park.

To satisfy family travelers, the park has introduced new activities like paper crafting and incense-making workshops, along with performances of Korean ethnic folk music.

"These laid-back settings enable children to absorb ethnic cultural knowledge effortlessly amid a lighthearted and enjoyable environment," says Zhu.

Statistics from Tongcheng Travel, an online Chinese travel agency, show that families and students have remained the two dominant traveling groups this summer. Family travelers account for about 38 percent of domestic air passengers, while students make up roughly 29 percent.

Alongside ethnic culture-themed trips, red tourism, which centers on revolutionary-era historical sites, has also been a popular choice for family travel this summer. In Ruijin, a city in East China's Jiangxi province and the starting point of the Red Army's Long March (1934-36), a 500-seat local theater was packed with audience members during a recent performance.

When the scene of Red Army soldiers bidding farewell to local residents played out on stage, 7-year-old Wu Yawen gripped her grandfather's sleeve tightly.

"When the Red Army departed, local residents stayed up all night making straw sandals and boiling eggs. They pressed these supplies into the soldiers' hands, hoping the troops would return soon," her grandfather, Wu Song, told her.

"The older generation knows well that today's happy life is hard-won," says Wu Yong, Yawen's father. He drove hundreds of kilometers from neighboring Fujian province to Ruijin with his family in the hope that the trip would help his daughter remember the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the country.

The growing popularity of cultural and educational travel also reflects broader policy support. China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) calls for the well-regulated development of study tours alongside themed tourism products, including red tourism and other cultural travel experiences.

Building on that policy support, China launched a national summer holiday cultural and tourism consumption campaign in July, with more than 450 million yuan ($66 million) worth of consumer vouchers to be distributed. The campaign is expected to feature more than 30,000 activities nationwide, catering to popular travel demands including study tours.

XINHUA