China Golden Week 2025 Holidays Kick Off: How Cities Celebrate the 8-Day Holiday

As the 2025 Golden Week holiday kicks off — merging both National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival — cities across China are rolling out dazzling spectacles, cultural immersions and travel surges. 

Record Travel, Record App Use

Railways shattered expectations on Day 1: 23.13 million trips were logged — an 8 % jump over last year, setting a new one-day record.

Meanwhile, Alibaba’s Amap (mapping & lifestyle app) clocked over 360 million daily users, its highest ever, as holidaymakers scouted routes, deals and destinations.

Cities Dial Up Their Festive Game

Beijing unleashed a “Cultural & Tourism Event Map” featuring 50+ events: lantern shows, immersive 3D projections on ancient walls, opera weeks, harvest fairs in suburbia, and moonlit celebrations at Lugou Bridge and Wanping Fortress.

In Haikou, Hainan, spirited Qilou street scenes, folk performances and market fairs became magnets for tourists.

Shenyang drew crowds with molten-iron fireworks over the Puhe River — an ancient art turned holiday highlight.

Tourism authorities say this year’s overlap of the two holidays is fueling experiential travel — visitors aren’t just watching, they’re diving in: martial-arts roleplay, treasure hunts, folk storytelling, hands-on cultural crafts.

National Flair Meets Local Twist

In Beijing, public squares and historical landmarks are draped in patriotic red. The city is also offering ride-hailing coupons, mapping overlays, and offline/online tourist maps to guide visitors.

Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, China’s coast guard staged a flag-raising ceremony near Scarborough Shoal — a move seen as both salute and assertion.

The Silver Side: Moonlit Reunion

October 6 — the festival’s peak — will bring traditional mooncake gift giving, lantern lighting, family dinners, poetry recitals beneath the full moon.

Cultural centers and local communities are also hosting moon-viewing parties, lantern parades, and folk music nights.

This year’s Golden Week isn’t just about a long break — it's a collision of national pride and cultural intimacy, with travel surges, tech engagement, and festive fusion.