Platform data show China holiday travel shifting to multi-city “city-hopping”
In short
During China's combined Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday, a travel pattern dubbed “跳城游” — stringing two or more cities into a single trip — drew wide attention. Platform data cited by Yicai and China News Service showed bookings for flights to two or more destinations up 70% year on year and multi-city trips combining flights and high-speed rail up 14%; Qunar reported multi-city hotel orders up 30%. New high-speed rail lines, expanded airport capacity and a shift toward experience-led travel were cited as drivers, while China News Service warned that some smaller cities struggle to absorb sudden inflows of visitors.
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During China's combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, a travel pattern known as “跳城游” drew attention: tourists linking two or more cities in a single trip. Platform data cited by both Yicai and China News Service showed that bookings for flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year, and that travel combining flights and high-speed rail across multiple cities rose 14%. [ 1 , 2 ]
Qunar data cited by Yicai showed hotel check-ins peaked on 1 October, with bookings in popular cities up about 20% year on year. About one fifth of tourists had already checked into a second city, orders covering two or more cities' hotels rose 30% year on year, and tourists staying in four or more cities rose 53%, with an average hotel stay of 3.2 days. Nearly 70% of these multi-city travellers came from tier-one and new tier-one cities, while the share of destinations at tier-three level or below rose to nearly 40% from 25% two years earlier. [ 1 ]
Yicai linked the trend partly to transport capacity. Four high-speed rail lines opened on 28 September, spanning north China, the northeast, southern Shaanxi and western Hubei. The Civil Aviation Administration's 2025 statistical bulletin, cited by Yicai, counted 270 certified transport airports in mainland China, 266 with scheduled flights serving 261 cities or regions, and passenger throughput of 1.529 billion trips, up 4.8% from the previous year. The Ministry of Transport said on 24 September that highway traffic could reach 71 million vehicles on the holiday's first day, including 17.8 million new-energy vehicles, 1.8 times the usual level. [ 1 ]
Yicai gave examples of the pattern: Ms. Zhou, from Wuhan, flew with her family of three to Xiamen, toured Xiamen and nearby Zhangzhou, took a train to Shantou, then high-speed rail to Guangzhou and returned to Wuhan by high-speed rail that night. Some air passengers chose multi-leg itineraries to sightsee during layovers, with Xi'an, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Wuhan and Lanzhou among the popular transit cities. Meituan data cited by Yicai showed county-level destinations such as Hejiang in Sichuan, Dafang in Guizhou, Luoning in Henan and Shexian in Anhui absorbing more holiday demand. [ 1 ]
China News Service said the pattern resulted from three overlapping factors: the length of the holiday, which some extended to 13 days with leave; an improved transport network that lowered the time and cost of moving between cities; and a shift in consumer preferences from checking off destinations to seeking experiences. [ 2 ]
The outlet also noted downsides, saying some tourists rush between cities and end up exhausted, and that some smaller cities lack the capacity to handle sudden arrivals, risking weaker service and improper commercial practices. It suggested tourism authorities integrate resources and offer combined itineraries, and that smaller cities develop distinctive offerings rather than copy one another. [ 2 ]
Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Economic Restructuring Research Association, told Yicai that travel concepts and interests have changed, with many young people seeking smaller and more distinctive experiences, and that the popularity of small-city travel helps enrich tourism products and support more balanced development of the industry. [ 1 ]
Why it matters
The figures suggest holiday travel demand is spreading beyond a handful of leading destinations toward smaller cities and transit points, which affects where tourism spending lands. Both outlets point to transport investment — new high-speed rail lines and airport capacity — as an enabler of that shift, and China News Service flags service capacity in smaller cities as an unresolved constraint. Platform statistics are the main evidence in the documents, and neither gives national totals for the holiday.
Key facts
- Platform data cited by two outlets showed bookings for flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year during the combined Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday, while trips combining flights and high-speed rail across multiple cities rose 14%. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Qunar data showed hotel check-ins peaked on 1 October, orders covering two or more cities' hotels rose 30% year on year, and the number of tourists staying in four or more cities rose 53%, with an average hotel stay of 3.2 days. [ 1 ]
- Four high-speed rail lines opened on 28 September: the Xiongan–Shangqiu section of the Beijing–Hong Kong line, the Xi'an–Ankang section of the Xi'an–Chongqing line, the Yichang–Xingshan line and the Harbin–Yichun line. [ 1 ]
- The Civil Aviation Administration's 2025 statistical bulletin, cited by Yicai, counted 270 certified transport airports in mainland China, 266 with scheduled flights serving 261 cities or regions, and passenger throughput of 1.529 billion trips, up 4.8% from the previous year. [ 1 ]
- The Ministry of Transport said at a State Council Information Office briefing on 24 September that highway traffic could reach 71 million vehicles on the first day of the National Day holiday, including 17.8 million new-energy vehicles, 1.8 times the usual level. [ 1 ]
- Nearly 70% of multi-city travellers came from tier-one and new tier-one cities, and the share of destinations at tier-three level or below rose to nearly 40% from 25% two years earlier. [ 1 ]
- China News Service attributed the trend to the length of the holiday, improvements in the transport network, and a shift in consumer preferences from checking off destinations to seeking experiences. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Platform data cited by two outlets show that bookings for flights to two or more destinations rose 70% year on year during the combined Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday, and that multi-city trips combining flights and high-speed rail rose 14%. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Travellers are linking two or more cities within a single holiday, a pattern the outlets call “跳城游”. [ 1 , 2 ]
- An improved high-speed rail, highway and air network is cited as a factor behind the multi-city travel pattern. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- Which platforms provided the statistics China News Service described only as “平台数据”. China News Service does not name the platforms, while Yicai attributes its figures to Meituan and Qunar.
- The total size of holiday travel and tourism spending nationally. Neither document gives national totals for the holiday, only platform-level and transport figures.
- Whether smaller cities can cope with the visitor volumes. China News Service raises capacity shortfalls and possible service and consumption problems as a concern without data, and no other document addresses it.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Ministry of Transport says at a State Council Information Office briefing that highway traffic could reach 71 million vehicles on the first day of the National Day holiday, including 17.8 million new-energy vehicles. [ 1 ]
- Four high-speed rail lines open simultaneously, spanning north China, the northeast, southern Shaanxi and western Hubei. [ 1 ]
- Qunar data show hotel check-ins reaching their holiday peak, with about one fifth of tourists already checked into a second city. [ 1 ]
- Yicai publishes its report on the “多城串游” trend. [ 1 ]
- China News Service publishes its analysis of “跳城游”. [ 2 ]