Has China Forgotten COVID-19? ... 200 Million People Travel During Labor Day Holiday

On the 1st, the Great Wall of China in Beijing bustling with tourists.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jumi] During the Labor Day holiday (May 1st to 5th), major tourist attractions in China are bustling with crowds.

According to the Ministry of Transport of China on the 2nd, the number of travelers who moved using various means of transportation on the first day of the holiday, May 1st, reached 58.27 million. This is about a 119% increase compared to the same period last year when the number of travelers had decreased due to COVID-19.

At the Badaling (八達嶺) section of the Great Wall, a major tourist spot in Beijing, a red alert was issued by the management office at 11 a.m. on May 1st as visitors flocked in.

At Shanghai’s famous site, The Bund (外灘), the simultaneous number of visitors reached a peak of 61,000 on that day, with a total daily visitor count of 420,000, marking the highest Labor Day record ever.

Tourists visiting the Bund in Shanghai on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Forbidden City (Gugong Museum) in Beijing also opened 30 minutes earlier to avoid congestion caused by crowds. Additionally, tickets for all five days of the holiday at the Forbidden City are reported to have already sold out.

State-run CCTV reported, "Hotel room reservations in Beijing during this holiday period have increased by 60% compared to the same period in 2019."

According to local media China Securities Journal, the total number of passengers transported via railways, highways, and other means during this holiday period is expected to reach 265 million. This is a 120% increase from last year (121 million) and surpasses the pre-COVID figure of 257 million in 2019.

Passengers at Beijing West Railway Station Square on the 1st. [Image source=Yonhap News]

China expects that increased consumption in tourism, entertainment, and food service sectors during the holiday will help economic recovery.

Meanwhile, to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19, China had encouraged people to refrain from returning home or traveling during the Lunar New Year holiday in February this year. However, with zero locally transmitted COVID-19 cases recently reported excluding imported cases, travel restrictions have been significantly eased.