BEIJING: This year’s eight-day holiday, celebrating China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, has sparked a lively boom in domestic travel. Traditional tourism remains popular, with crowds filling natural and cultural sites, but a clear new trend has emerged: many young people are traveling mainly for anime and game exhibitions.
They dress up as their favorite characters, spend money on their hobbies, gather with like-minded friends, and release their energy through socializing around what they love. Today, the number of fans in China’s “Animation, Comic, Game, Novel” (ACGN) industry is growing and the industry continues to expand steadily. Anime and game exhibitions have brought fresh, vibrant energy to the holiday.
This National Day holiday, many anime and game exhibitions took place across the country, sparking a new wave of tourism.
On October 2, the Asia Game Festival (AGF) and China International Comics Festival (CICF) opened at the Poly World Trade Expo Center (PWTC) in Guangzhou City. As China’s largest comprehensive anime and game event, the joint CICF and AGF drew many tourists who traveled from different cities to visit.
Long lines formed in front of booths selling badges and figures of popular IPs, while related products, such as published books, co-branded coffee, and photography gear, were also available. On the other side of the event, the new exhibition zone for independent games and the WeChat mini-game testing area offered dual benefits: they helped small- and medium-sized game teams connect with resources while also providing more interactive experiences for visitors. This event was not only a professional anime and game celebration but also a “booster” for Guangzhou’s tourism consumption.
In east China’s Shanghai, Wonder Festival 2025 (WF 2025) – the world’s largest figure and model exhibition – has become a benchmark for attracting young tourists. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
