Mid-Autumn Festival 2025
Mid-Autumn Festival 2025: Chinese Travelers Set New Records
The 2025 National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday created the biggest travel wave China has ever seen.
Celebrating Mid-Autumn on the Move
This year, millions of Chinese people decided to spend the holiday traveling to new places, both at home and abroad. From October 1-8, an amazing 2.433 billion trips happened across mainland China. This was 6.3% more than last year, showing how much Chinese people love to travel.
Where Did Everyone Go?
Traveling Around China
Chinese tourists filled hotels across the country, with bookings up more than 20% compared to last year. People weren't just visiting the usual tourist spots – they explored cities in all the regions, including Hong Kong and Macau.
Major cities were especially popular, with Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province topping the list. But travelers also discovered hidden gems like Guiyang in Guizhou province, famous for its sour soup hotpot and stunning natural landscapes.
During the 8-day holiday, Chinese travelers made 888 million domestic trips, 123 million more than the previous year. And they spent big, too - 809 billion RMB ($113 billion) in total, 108 billion RMB ($15.2 billion) compared to the seven-day National Day holiday in 2024.
Going International
Chinese outbound travelers really made their mark this year. Flight bookings to other countries jumped by over 30%, and the younger generations led the way with bookings up more than 50%.
The top destinations for Chinese international travelers were:
- Japan
- Thailand
- South Korea
- Malaysia
- Vietnam
- Indonesia
- Australia
- Russia
- United States
- Singapore
South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and other nearby destinations were especially popular with Chinese outbound travelers. These countries are close to home, offer visa-free travel (in many cases) and welcome Chinese tourists.
Some unexpected destinations saw huge growth. Egypt's hotel bookings doubled, and Norway saw bookings jump by 120%. One small Norwegian island with a population of 20,000 people had traffic jams caused by Chinese tourists.
The Wuzhang Toll Station in Anhui Province also experienced a massive traffic jam that also went viral worldwide. This 36-lane toll plaza – China's largest – was completely overwhelmed as travelers headed home after the holiday. Some drivers waited six hours or more to get through the toll station, with over 120,000 vehicles passing through on the final day of the holiday.
While the traffic jams were frustrating for travelers, they also showed something positive: Chinese people's love for travel and exploring new places during holidays.
Welcome to China!
It wasn't just Chinese people traveling out – more international visitors came to China too. According to the National Immigration Administration, immigration inspection offices handled about 16.34 million inbound and outbound trips during the holiday, with a daily average of 2.04 million crossings.
International visitors to mainland China increased steadily, mainly from South Korea, the United States, Russia and Japan. These foreign tourists wanted to experience authentic Chinese culture, watch dragon dances, try martial arts and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with local friends and family.
As more countries offer visa-free travel and welcome Chinese tourists, the travel boom will only grow. The holiday travel rush is more than just numbers – it's about Chinese people embracing new ways to spend time with friends and family while exploring our amazing world.
Data sources: Civil Aviation Administration of China, Chinese Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Qunar travel platform