Tradition Chinese culture lights up Mid-Autumn Festival holiday

Ti Gong

Traditional Chinese culture glittered during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with a craze for traditional culture experiences witnessed among youngsters.

The COVID-19 pandemic resurgence in some cities in China significantly shortened the planning period of tourists, leading to short-distance trips, night tours and traditional folk culture activities gaining popularity during the three-day holiday, reports by travel operators revealed on Monday.

Nearly 40 percent of tourists made up their mind about destinations only one day before their trips, a report by Mafengwo, a travel service and social networking platform, revealed.

One-day tour orders accounted for 58.6 percent of the total under the "staycation" trend during the holiday, it said.

Amusement parks and cultural venues were favored by young people, with the Imperial Palace, Shanghai Disney Resort and Haichang Ocean Park some of the most popular options.

Gufeng (Chinese ancient style) touring experiences at parks have been gaining popularity among young people, who wore hanfu, the traditional clothing of the Han ethnic group, when they strolled amid pavilions and terraces, appreciated lanterns and enjoyed guochao (China-chic) music concerts, Mafengwo said.

Tang Xiaoqin, a hanfu club member in her 20s, toured the city's iconic Yuyuan Garden with her friend.

"I picked my favorite hanfu in red for the occasion of appreciating the moon and lanterns," she said. "I am fascinated by traditional Chinese culture, which is so beautiful.

"When I dined at a restaurant, I caught the attention of others, which helped promote hanfu culture."

Ti Gong

In Wuzhen watertown, neighboring Zhejiang Province, people made flower lanterns and sachets and took gufeng photos in a garden party, which introduced Chinese animation elements to lure young people.

"Animation and gaming are popular among youngsters, and the introduction of these elements into traditional tourist attractions will inject vitality into old scenic spots," noted Feng Rao, a tourism analyst.

Shanghai-based online travel operator Trip.com said its ticketing orders for tourist attractions during the holiday surged over 30 percent compared with the Dragon Boat Festival holiday this year.

Cultural and tourism attractions have been pursuing innovation and changes to revitalize the badly-hit tourism industry, it added.

A variety of activities such as moon worship ceremonies, garden parties, lantern shows and riddle guessing were held, blending traditional customs and guochao elements.

At the Xi'an Circumvallation scenic area, Shaanxi Province, a gufeng parade and hanfu interactive activities were held to mark the holiday.

Tour bookings were affected by the COVID-19 resurgence even as the local leisure tourism market witnessed strong tenacity, said Xie Xiaoqing, a tourism analyst.

Lvmama, another Shanghai-based online travel site, said micro-tours inside cities and camping tours were favored holiday options.

Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Beijing and Wuxi were the top destinations.

Micro-tours inside cities were particularly popular with young tourists born after 1990, it revealed.

A camping tour along rivers, cycling, and exhibition appreciation at museums and art galleries attracted many young people, while the Huangpu River, West Lake, Zhujiang River, Qinhuai River and Slender West Lake were popular moon appreciation spots.

A culture festival was held in Huzhou, Zhejiang, featuring traditional ceremonies of diancha, making finely ground powder from processed green tea, initiated by Southern Song people; traditional Chinese opera performance; arrow-throwing game (touhu) and folk music.

Huangxian Forest Park in Ningbo, Zhejiang, witnessed a 1,700 percent surge in tourists from the same period last year as it held a moon appreciation tasting event and a camping festival, according to Lvmama.

Tours ranging between one and two days were bestsellers, according to travel agencies.

Ti Gong