Hangzhou sees record-breaking 13.51m visitors during Chinese New Year holiday

Hangzhou's scenic spots received a total of 13.51 million visitors during the Chinese New Year holiday from Feb 10 to 17, a staggering 53.9-percent year-on-year increase, local authorities announced.

Total tourism-related consumption in the city reached 10.7 billion yuan ($1.5 billion), a 65.7-percent increase compared to the same period last year.

Throughout the holiday, Hangzhou offered a diverse array of cultural and recreational activities, including traditional markets, lantern shows, exhibitions, intangible cultural heritage experiences, lectures, and salons.

The tourism market in Hangzhou got off to a bustling start on the first day of the Chinese New Year, with a noticeable increase in the proportion of visitors from outside the province compared to the New Year's Day holiday. Starting from the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Hangzhou International Airport witnessed sustained high traffic, transporting 140,000 passengers per day for five days in a row. Local accommodation facilities hosted 1.9 million overnight visitors, representing an increase of 60 percent.

In addition to popular scenic spots such as Xianghu Lake Scenic Area and Xixi National Wetland Park, cultural venues such as the Zhejiang Natural Museum (Hangzhou Branch) and Zhejiang Geological Museum were also popular among tourists. These cultural venues collectively received over 89,000 visitors during the period.

The city also embraced the theme of the Chinese dragon during the holiday, introducing various innovative cultural and tourism activities. For instance, 12 distinctive loong dance teams from Xiaoshan district, Chun'an county, and Linping district performed traditional loong dances in front of iconic buildings and scenic spots throughout Hangzhou.