With summer just around the corner, Chinese travelers are flocking to parks, mountains, and flower festivals during the tomb-sweeping day holiday.

The three-day break, traditionally a time to honor ancestors, has also become a prime occasion for spring outings, with tourism platforms reporting spikes in short-distance travel, nature-themed activities, and flower-viewing tours.

According to a report by travel giant Trip.com, bookings for flower-viewing tours have surged 55% year on year, with seasonal activities like mountain climbing and nature walks also reporting stronger growth. On online travel platform Tongcheng, searches for terms like “spring outing” and “flower viewing” have jumped 46% compared to last year.

Passengers on their way to a platform at Shanghai Railway Station, April 4, 2025. VCG

Springtime hotspots such as Wuhan’s East Lake Cherry Blossom Park, Luoyang’s Peony Festival, and Wuxi’s Yuantouzhu Cherry Blossom Valley remain among the most-visited. On the home rental platform Tujia, top travel cities this holiday include Nanjing, Luoyang, Beijing, Qingdao, Suzhou, and Chengdu.

Industry experts say there’s growing demand for more immersive travel experiences — combining spring blossoms with food, heritage, and local stays — that could turn short-term visits into longer-term tourism flows.

This year’s three-day tomb-sweeping day holiday, which runs from Friday to Sunday, is expected to see about 760 million trips, slightly up from last year, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Tourists at the Slender West Lake scenic in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, April 4, 2025. VCG

With the short break limiting long-distance travel, nearly 90% of tourists are staying within 500 kilometers of home. Trip.com data shows bookings for nearby getaways have jumped 136% year on year.

Despite the short duration, travel demand remains strong. As the first major public holiday since the Spring Festival in January, the three-day break offers many a long-awaited chance to step away from daily routines.

More than 70% of people expressed plans to travel during the holiday, according to Dai Bin, director of the China Tourism Academy. “Daily trips during the holiday will exceed 40 million,” he told local media.

(Header image: Tourists at the Guniujiang Scenic Area in Chizhou, Anhui province, April 4, 2025. VCG)