The Whole World Knows When China Rests: National Day Holiday Begins

The area around the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, is packed with people so tightly that there is barely room to stand.

Crowds are packed so densely on a street in Chongqing famous for its night view that it is difficult to walk, and at Mount Huangshan in Anhui Province, people going up and down the mountain are tangled together, making it hard to take a step.

This is what tourists looked like during China's National Day holiday last year.

In China, a week-long National Day holiday begins tomorrow.

During this period, Chinese tourists will flood not only domestic destinations but also overseas locations. According to foreign media reports such as Reuters, the number of outbound travel bookings by Chinese citizens for flights, hotels, and more has reached 880 million.

Tourism consumption spending exceeds 800 billion yuan, which is more than 160 trillion won in Korean currency.

Because of this, a saying is even circulating on Chinese social media: "The whole world knows when China rests."

From European tourist destinations like Italy and Switzerland to Southeast Asia, Chinese tourists are expected to form massive crowds.

Chinese media reported that the majority of tourists visiting the Swiss Alps and diving in Palau are Chinese, and that Chinese tourists are flocking to the grasslands of Africa and the seas of Bali as well.

They reported that Chinese tourists are visiting every corner of the globe, sparing no expense for tourist spots near volcanoes in Iceland and aurora viewing in Finland.

In particular, they noted that two-thirds of visitors to Mount Bromo in Indonesia during the National Day holiday are Chinese.

The number of Chinese tourists visiting South Korea, including Seoul and Jeju Island, is estimated at 120,000, a 1.5-fold increase compared to last year.

On the other hand, tourist visits to Japan have plummeted as China-Japan relations have deteriorated following remarks hinting at potential intervention in a Taiwan contingency by Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi last year.

Reported by Han Sang-woo | Video by Park Choon-bae | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.