Qingming Festival holiday drives tourism surge

The Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls on April 5 this year. It is a traditional Chinese festival when people pay tribute to the deceased and honor their ancestors. The holiday also provides a short break for outdoor activities and sightseeing.

Blooming flowers and trees across the country have created viral spring scenes on social media, driving rapid growth in tourism consumption.

The overlap of student spring breaks in multiple Chinese cities with the holiday has created extended the travel period, creating a key new growth opportunity for the tourism market, according to travel agencies.

Bookings have risen sharply for theme parks such as Shanghai Disney Resort, Zhuhai Chimelong International Ocean Resort and Universal Beijing Resort, as well as botanical gardens, museums and science education venues.

Cross-border travel via China's ports is also expected to surge during the holiday, with daily crossings projected atop 2.3 million, up 11.1% from a year earlier, according the National Immigration Administration (NIA).

Passenger traffic at major international airports in Shanghai, Beijing, southwest China's Chengdu, and Shenzhen and Guangzhou, both in south China, is expected to increase during the holiday, the NIA said.