Travel demand stays high across China as multiple scenic spots impose visitor limits amid ongoing National Day holidays
Visitors tour Qingdao city in East China's Shandong Province on October 3, 2026, during the National Day holidays. (Photo: VCG)
Travel and spending during China's National Day holidays remained strong into the third and fourth days, with sustained passenger demand prompting transport operators to add capacity, popular scenic spots imposing visitor limits, and duty-free shopping recording growth, according to media reports.
Railways in the Yangtze River Delta were expected to handle 3.84 million passenger trips on Sunday, the fourth day of the holidays, following 3.729 million trips on Saturday, CCTV News reported on Sunday, citing China Railway Shanghai Group.
The railway operator planned to add 104 trains and couple 294 high-speed trainsets on Sunday to expand capacity. Tickets for some peak-hour services on popular routes had sold out.
The regional figures followed heavy travel demand nationwide.
China's railways recorded 18.162 million passenger trips on Saturday, the fourth straight day above the 18-million mark.
The continued travel rush has kept major tourist attractions busy, with scenic areas across multiple provinces issuing capacity alerts, suspending ticket sales or introducing visitor controls, Chinese media outlet thepaper.cn reported on Saturday.
Mount Emei in Southwest China's Sichuan Province had sold out tickets for both Saturday and Sunday, while the Yungang Grottoes in North China's Shanxi Province had fully booked Sunday admissions, thepaper.cn reported on Saturday evening.
Reservations for Beijing's Palace Museum were also full from Sunday to Tuesday. In East China's Jiangxi Province, Sanqing Mountain and Huangling in Wuyuan reached their reservation limits for Saturday, said the report.
In Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, the Laoshan scenic area announced on Saturday that reservations for its Taiqing and Yangkou sections were full for Sunday and visitor restrictions would be implemented.
Shopping provided another indicator of holiday consumption demand. In South China's Hainan Province, offshore duty-free purchases reached 358 million yuan ($53.4 million) during the first three days of the holidays, up 8.85 percent from the same period in 2025, CCTV News reported on Sunday, citing Haikou Customs.
As of 3 pm on Saturday, 200 key tourist attractions monitored across East China's Shandong Province had received 4.878 million visits and generated 270 million yuan in operating revenue that day, up 12.3 percent and 8.9 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to local media outlet iqilu.com.