Tian'anmen Square during the National Day holiday in Beijing, China. (Photo: CFP)

The National Day holiday in China came to an end on Friday. Over the past seven days (October 1 to 7), the country saw 422 million domestic trips, an annual decrease of 18.2 percent, data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed.

Online travel platform Ctrip said that local and short-distance tours were the most popular this year.

The most popular destinations for short-distance tours were Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Changsha, Suzhou, Hefei, Wuhan, Ningbo, Xi 'an, and Jinan.

Camping seems to be gaining popularity, as well as hiking and trekking trips.

The Ctrip report shows that during the National Day holiday, orders for camping increased more than 10 times year on year, with orders from locals accounting for nearly 80 percent and those by out-of-towners making up 15 percent.

On average, camping costs about 650 yuan (about $91) per person, which is about 30 percent higher than the average camping expense during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

During the National Day holiday, outdoor trips around Zhejiang Province, Beijing Municipality and Guangdong Province increased by 222 percent, 100 percent, and 70 percent respectively compared with the same period last year.