In 2025, China's National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival coincided, resulting in an 8-day holiday in the country. This extended into a super-long vacation of 12 to 16 days, injecting significant momentum into the tourism market across China. Leading up to the dual holidays, cultural and tourism departments, publicity offices, travel websites, and scenic area teams across the country rolled out wave after wave of promotional campaigns, while people nationwide were busy planning their holiday getaways. Once the holidays began, scenes of overcrowded tourist spots and an endless stream of short travel videos flooded social media.
As the holiday period drew to a close, official reports from across the country consistently portrayed a scene of people actively participating in immersive travel experiences, embracing the festive atmosphere and, for a time, seeming to cast off the lingering weight of a still-recovering national economy. Amid this vibrant backdrop, researchers at ANBOUND Think Tank observe subtle yet notable shifts compared to previous years. These signs suggested the emergence of new trends in cultural and tourism consumption: some encouraging, while others raise questions that merit further analysis. Through first-hand travel experiences and on-site observations, the researchers aim to provide fresh perspectives and insights that can support the sustainable and balanced development of China's cultural and tourism sectors, both now and in the years to come.
First, local governments across the country placed great emphasis on organizing cultural and tourism events, but a clear pattern of homogenization has emerged.
With strong policy support, local government departments and tourist areas in many regions have organized a vast array of cultural and tourism activities. In the cities visited by the researchers, there were large numbers of cultural performances every single day. Especially in popular attractions and historic cultural districts, performance schedules were packed, with new shows happening every hour. This is a significant departure from previous years.
One clear impression is that the tourists do not have to worry about missing out. According to reports, the 2025 National Day Cultural and Tourism Consumption Month, which lasts from late September to late October, where there are over 29,000 cultural and tourism events held nationwide. During the double holiday alone, over 12,000 cultural activities took place across the country. These cultural feasts reflected the high enthusiasm and proactive attitudes of localities in promoting cultural and tourism events, leading to explosive growth in regional tourism markets.
However, under the pressure of intense competition among regions, a clear trend of homogenization has become apparent across many events. Innovation often remains superficial, which raises some concerns. In terms of so-called high-tech applications, the go-to choice everywhere seems to be drone light shows, with more drones meaning a more "spectacular" display. If one city uses 5,000 drones, another ups the ante with 8,000; if one puts on a show for three or five days, another extends it to seven or eight, even adding extra days for effect.
It is also worth noting that this year's float parades, while appearing unique on the surface, were largely variations of the same formula, albeit on a larger scale. As regional characteristics are increasingly replaced by standardized templates replicated across the country, differentiation is giving way to homogeneity. This trend places the cultural and tourism sector at risk of falling into a collective "innovation inertia trap". When novelty fades and repetition sets in, public interest naturally begins to wane.
Second, cultural and tourism activities across the country are increasingly urbanized and open, while rural areas seem to have fallen into silence.
In past major holidays such as National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, public cultural events in cities were often held indoors, in venues like theaters, concert halls, exhibition centers, and museums. Because of limited seating, these events typically required invitations or paid tickets to attend. However, according to researchers' observations, during the 2025 dual holiday, many cultural and tourism events in cities were held in historic districts, well-known parks, popular attractions, and cultural venues, i.e., all urban public spaces, and were often free and open to the general public, sometimes without even needing reservations. Even when tickets were required, prices were merely symbolic, around RMB 10 to RMB 20. Notably, there is a growing trend of increased frequency and scale of such cultural activities in cities, especially in larger cities where events are more densely packed.
As a result, urban public spaces became major focal points for tourists, with spectacular scenes resembling major pop concerts. For instance, in a northern Chinese city's historic cultural district, nearly ten floats paraded through the streets to upbeat music. In many well-known parks, youth bands held small-scale open-air concerts with minimal setup. Along riversides and waterfronts, fireworks displays, light shows, and other cultural tourism events lit up the nights. Urban cultural activities dominated official media and short-video platforms, capturing the Chinese public's attention.
However, cultural activities in rural areas across the country have fallen into silence. In previous years, many villages also organized various celebrations during major holidays. Under the organization of grassroots governments, locals would direct, perform, and sing in their own community-led events. But now, nearly all cultural activities are concentrated in urban areas, while rural events appear to be very few and far between. Whether looking at national media coverage or the countless short videos posted by social media users, there are very few traces of rural cultural events to be found.
A large number of people, in fact, still live in rural areas, especially a significant elderly population who reside there year-round. During such major holidays, their cultural needs are being forgotten, and there seems to be little public attention paid to them. This phenomenon is closely tied to the current trend where cultural and tourism events are primarily aimed at stimulating consumer spending, rather than genuinely enriching people's cultural lives. Although the cultural gap between urban and rural areas has always existed, this gap is now visibly widening, and may continue to do so in the future, which is cause for concern.
Third, while cultural and tourism activities nationwide have boosted consumption to some extent, there is a clear trend toward cost-conscious, value-driven spending per person.
Given the still sluggish economic conditions, local governments across the country invested significant funds and manpower to actively organize various cultural and tourism events, with the goal of attracting crowds and stimulating consumer spending. In addition to offering a rich array of cultural events, many regions also distributed large quantities of consumer vouchers to further encourage spending. Thanks to policy support and the intense promotion of cultural tourism activities, travel figures during this year's "double festival" hit a new record. According to estimates from the Data Center of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, over the 8-day National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, domestic trips in China reached 888 million, an increase of 123 million compared to the 7-day National Day holiday in 2024. Total domestic tourism spending hit RMB 809.006 billion, up by RMB 108.189 billion from the same period last year.
Although this surge in travel numbers did contribute significantly to overall consumption, average spending per tourist fell short of expectations, with most tourists focusing on basic needs and high value-for-money options. According to the same data, the average per capita spending during the holiday was only 910 yuan. Data from Ctrip showed slightly higher per capita spending, around RMB 1,200, but 75% of ticket bookings were for low-cost attractions priced under RMB 300.
In terms of transportation choices, although civil aviation passenger volume was expected to reach 9.62 million trips (a year-on-year increase of 5.0%), second-class seats on high-speed trains remained the dominant travel option, along with low-cost options such as red-eye flights and overnight buses. In accommodation spending, bookings for county-level homestays increased by 30% year-on-year, and budget chain hotel bookings far outpaced those for high-end star-rated hotels. Some travelers even brought their own tents for camping. As for spending at tourist attractions, in places like Xi'an's Datang Everbright City, which received 100,000 visitors in a single day, most tourists preferred to stroll through free-access areas and spend on affordable snacks under RMB 50. These trends show that tourists prefer to focus their limited budgets on essential experiences, cutting out unnecessary expenses such as brand premiums and scene-based markups.
With the support of favorable policies, various cultural and tourism activities have been organized with great enthusiasm across the country during the recent holiday periods, creating a scene almost to the point of a nationwide tourism frenzy. On one hand, acknowledgment must be given to the proactive enthusiasm of local governments in organizing cultural and tourism events, as well as a trend toward urbanization and openness in cultural activities. This has helped create a festive environment and, to some extent, boosted consumer spending among the general public. On the other hand, there are clear signs of homogenization in these cultural and tourism activities across regions, with insufficient attention paid to local cultural identity and distinctiveness. Additionally, the urban-rural cultural gap is widening and may continue to do so, and a new trend has emerged in which the cost-effectiveness of per capita cultural consumption is becoming increasingly prominent.
Against the backdrop of ongoing economic stagnation, researchers at ANBOUND believe that while emphasizing the importance of cultural and tourism consumption and encouraging regional competition, greater efforts should be made to highlight local characteristics and avoid uniformity. The essence of cultural tourism is not about replicating popular trends, but about activating what is unique that creates unforgettable and deeply personal experiences. At the same time, investment in cultural resources should aim to maintain a relative balance between regions and between urban and rural areas. This helps alleviate the multiple pressures brought by excessive concentration, such as those related to safety and management. It is important to harness the strength of rural communities, especially by encouraging middle-aged and elderly individuals to participate in cultural activities, fostering grassroots-led performances and self-expression. Building on the above two points, it is essential to continue leveraging the guiding value of culture. Only in this way can we truly enhance the long-term value of cultural and tourism consumption and achieve a qualitative leap in its development.
Final analysis conclusion:
During the recent double holiday period in China, cultural and tourism consumption across the country showed signs different from previous years. On one hand, there was clear enthusiasm from local governments in organizing cultural and tourism events, with activities becoming more urbanized and open, creating a vibrant festive atmosphere and driving overall consumption. On the other hand, there were noticeable trends of homogenization in these activities, a widening urban-rural cultural gap, and relatively low per capita cultural spending. Therefore, cultural and tourism activities nationwide should continue to embrace openness, focus on local cultural uniqueness, and promote a balance between urban and rural cultural development in order to achieve a qualitative leap in cultural and tourism consumption.
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Xia Ri is an Industry Researcher at ANBOUND, an independent think tank.
