Parks popular for Mid-Autumn Festival staycation
Visitors crowd Shanghai Zoo on Saturday.
A traditional dance performance is presented at Guyi Garden on Saturday.
Parks across Shanghai were crowded under the "staycation" trend on Saturday, the first day of the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday.
Gongqing Forest Park in Yangpu District recorded 41,800 visits, while Shanghai Zoo in Changning District welcomed 17,570.
Shanghai Botanical Garden in Xuhui District received 14,145, and Binjiang Forest Park in the Pudong New Area had 11,075.
As of 5pm, the Changxing Country Park in Chongming District recorded more than 10,000, and Guyi Garden in Jiading District had 2,944.
Lovebirds at Chenshan Botanical Garden on Saturday
Haichang Ocean Park in Pudong already recorded about 28,000 visits as of 1pm on Saturday.
"It took me over two hours driving from Putuo District to the park, which usually takes slightly over one hour," said Iris He. "It was followed by another 25 minutes to find a space at the parking lot.
"But it is still worthwhile since my daughter's school suggested we not travel outside Shanghai to prevent the spread of the virus."
Haichang Ocean Park welcomes visitors on Saturday.
A thrilling ride at Haichang Ocean Park on Saturday
Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said on Saturday bookings of staycation tours and trips to nearby cities accounted for more than 60 percent of the total during the holiday.
The figure is 80 percent in terms of ticketing.
The bookings of tickets to tourist attractions surged 46 percent on the first day of the holiday, compared with that on the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival this year, it revealed.
Let's pose.
Another online travel operator Tongcheng-eLong said camping, cycling and frisbee are some of the most popular activities during the holiday.
Night tours are also gaining popularity under the traditional custom of moon appreciation on Mid-Autumn Festival.
Short and medium-distance tours are still the mainstream of the tourist market at present due to the pandemic resurgence, said Cheng Chaogong, a tourism analyst with the travel operator.
