BEIJING: Lesser-known or small Chinese towns and cities with a strong festive ambience, as well as neo-Chinese-style destinations that blend contemporary and traditional Chinese culture, were popular choices for domestic and international tourists alike during the Chinese New Year holiday, which ended on Monday.
This year’s Spring Festival holiday, also known as the Chinese New Year holiday, began on Feb 15 and concluded on Monday. The nine-day holiday was the longest in recent years, as previous Spring Festival holidays typically lasted a week or eight days.
Sha An’na, from Beijing, enjoyed the picturesque lantern show at Datong, in North China’s Shanxi province, with her family on the night of Feb 17.
“It’s really stunning looking down at the lantern show from the ancient city walls,” she said. “I felt like I was traveling back in time.”
The city became an instant hit after the release in 2024 of the Chinese-developed video game Black Myth: Wukong , which features several game scenes closely related to ancient Buddhist and Taoist cultures.
Sha said she had hoped to experience lively and festive vibes of the Chinese New Year that were different from those in Beijing, leading her to plan the trip to Datong, a city that boasts a rich cultural heritage. “The food was also very delicious, especially the knife-cut noodles. The city left us with memories of historical legacies and a human touch, and we will come back next Spring Festival,” she said.
Lively discussions about Datong and many other niche but attractive towns and small cities circulated on the internet during the holiday. Their distinctive celebrations, mouthwatering foods and strong cultural vibes were a craze among tourists.
Figures from travel portal Tuniu show that the number of tourists to the Baoting Li and Miao autonomous county in South China’s Hainan province and the Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture in Southwest China’s Yunnan province — places with distinctive and exotic ethnic cultures — doubled compared with the previous Spring Festival holiday. Destinations including Chaozhou in Guangdong province and Shangrao and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province also saw tourist numbers double year-on-year. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
