SZ draws 3.2 million visitors in Qingming holiday tourism

Shenzhen recorded 3.216 million tourist visits and generated 2.12 billion yuan (US$290 million) in tourism revenue during the three-day Qingming Festival holiday (April 4-6), according to Shenzhen Municipal Culture, Media, Tourism and Sports Bureau’s preliminary estimates.

Visitors crowd the Soft Baking Festival at the Uniworld shopping mall in Longhua District on April 4. Photo by He Long

The city’s tourism sector benefited from overlapping holiday schedules in Hong Kong and Macao, as well as China’s “spring break” travel policies, which helped drive visitor numbers and spending.

Data from Alibaba-backed travel platform Fliggy showed Shenzhen ranked fifth among China’s most popular domestic destinations during the holiday, behind Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

Booking data from Tongcheng Travel indicated strong demand for higher-end accommodation in Shenzhen, with reservations for upscale hotels rising 190% year-on-year. Popular attractions including Window of the World and Happy Valley Shenzhen also saw increased bookings, with bundled hotel-and-ticket packages selling out ahead of the holiday.

Children play snow at Qianhai Snow World during the Qingming holiday. Photo from Shenzhen Special Zone Daily

Theme parks and cultural attractions were among the main draws. Window of the World hosted its “World Culture Festival” event, featuring live music, intangible cultural heritage displays and international-themed performances. Splendid China-China Folk Culture Village launched its flagship 2026 “Guochao Festival,” alongside upgraded nighttime programming branded as “Splendid Starlight Night,” combining traditional Chinese culture with modern entertainment formats.

The broader Guangdong also saw strong tourism growth. Fliggy data showed travel service bookings for destinations across the province exceeded levels seen during the same period last year, while car-hailing and transport-related bookings rose 2.5 times year-on-year.

Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai remained the most popular destinations in the province, while smaller cities such as Maoming, Jieyang and Yunfu recorded some of the fastest growth.