This photo, taken on April 6, 2025, shows visitors enjoying natural scenery at the Dawn Redwood Wetland of Hongze Lake in Sihong County, Suqian City, Jiangsu Province. (Photo/CFP)
During the Qingming Festival holiday, from April 4 to 6, Jiangsu Province experienced a significant increase in both visitor numbers and revenue compared to the previous year, according to the provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
Jiangsu's 644 A-level tourist attractions, 195 key rural tourism villages at and above the provincial level, 75 nighttime cultural and tourism destinations, and 84 museums reported a total of 20.46 million visitors and a tourism revenue of 9.266 billion yuan, representing year-on-year increases of 18.85% and 18.11% respectively.
Further analysis from the online travel agency Fliggy revealed a 5.7% increase in average spending per tourist during the 3-day holiday, and the number of international flight bookings by Jiangsu residents surged by 23%.
Cities and scenic areas featuring floral landscapes were especially popular, aligning with the tradition of spring outing during Qingming. The pear and orchid flowers in Suqian and rapeseed flowers in Yangzhou proved to be significant draws. Moreover, Fliggy’s data showed a nearly 20% rise in the popularity of tea-picking tours compared to the previous year.
Jiangsu’s cultural heritage was also a major attraction. Four of its museums - Suzhou Museum, Nanjing Museum, Yangzhou Museum of Guangling King's Tomb from the Han Dynasty, and the Yixing Ceramics Museum in Wuxi, were recognized in Tongcheng Travel’s list of China’s top 20 museums, with Suzhou Museum ranked fourth.
The average daily visitor count at the province’s renowned temples doubled during the holiday. Three temples - Hanshan Temple in Suzhou, Jiming Temple in Nanjing, and Daming Temple in Yangzhou - were featured on Tongcheng Travel’s list of top 20 temple attractions, celebrated for their cultural significance and vibrant spring floral displays.
The surge in tourism also brought profits to local accommodations. In Nanjing, star-rated hotels reached an average occupancy rate of 88.6% during the first two days of the holiday. Notably, 25 hotels in the city, including Shangri-La, Xuanwu Hotel, Kempinski, and Huangpu Hotel were fully booked during the period.
