All published updates

"Jingcai Science Popularization" Garden Fair Held at the Summer Palace

From September 24 to 26, the "Jingcai Science Popularization" garden fair, a key event of Beijing's 2026 National Science Popularization Month, was held at the Summer Palace. It was hosted by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology and the Beijing Municipal Forestry and Parks Bureau, and organized by the Summer Palace Management Office and the Beijing Science Popularization Culture Promotion Association. The fair created a science-themed experience route through the park, featuring a major national equipment exhibition area, AI interactive installations, a lifestyle innovation zone and immersive natural science workshops, alongside exhibits of Chinese Academy of Sciences achievem…

'3 Days Off for 13' Boosts Holiday Lodging as Huazhu Bookings Rise

With only three working days between Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day in 2026, the '3 days off for 13' leave strategy has created a super-long golden week, pushing the lodging market into an early booking boom. As of September 21, Huazhu Group data showed overall hotel booking rates for September 25 to October 7 rose about 2 percentage points year on year, with room nights up 22%. Top 10 first- and second-tier cities include Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing; top 10 third- and fourth-tier destinations include Luoyang, Yangzhou and Guilin; top 10 county destinations include Jiuzhaigou, Yangshuo and Antu.

Inbound Tourism Heats Up as Chinese Goods Appeal to Foreign Visitors

China's inbound tourism has continued to heat up this year, with foreign visitors spending actively. Visits to Beijing's Hongqiao Market, Silk Street and Wangfujing Dong'an Market found tech products and custom clothing favored, while commercial areas improved multilingual guides and departure tax refund services. Hongqiao Market averaged 8,000 daily visitors from January to July, with about 5,600 foreign visitors daily, roughly 70%. Silk Street recorded about 2 billion yuan in inbound visitor sales in the first half, hosted about 30,000 inbound tour groups and received over 160 groups daily. A centralized instant tax refund point recently opened at Hongqiao Market.

China Releases Measures to Boost RV Consumption

China's newly released Measures on Promoting RV Consumption call for strengthening RV tourism product supply and management services and implementing RV consumption promotion actions. Industry players said they will advance implementation based on local conditions. In Qiaojia County, Yunnan, more than 8,000 RVs from over 30 provinces entered last year; the county plans to integrate RV living with dining, homestays, agricultural products and sports events. Companies including CTS Self-Driving and Hainan Huatie Fengtu plan to integrate rental and destination resources, advance credit-based deposit waivers and one-way returns, and launch customized insurance. Experts suggest building a tiered…

2026 Beijing Culture Forum Focuses on Cultural Heritage and Mutual Learning

The 2026 Beijing Culture Forum, themed 'Cultural Heritage and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations,' was held in Beijing on September 22-23, with over 600 guests from 44 countries and regions. Discussions covered systematic heritage protection, international cooperation and ancient capital preservation. Beijing presented its regulatory planning system and Central Axis protection experience. National Cultural Heritage Administration data showed 7,188 registered museums in 2025, over 91% free to enter, receiving 1.56 billion visits, with national archaeological site parks increasing to 65. Participants also discussed heritage utilization, technology empowerment and balancing tourism developmen…

9th Beijing Hongqiao International Pearl Culture Festival Opens

On September 23, 2026, the 9th Beijing Hongqiao International Pearl Culture Festival opened at the Guantan Art Space in Hongqiao Market, Dongcheng District, themed 'Moon Viewing at the Altar, Pearls Connecting Five Continents,' focusing on the pearl culture industry. The festival features one opening ceremony, 14 themed salons, and 27 online and offline consumption promotion activities, along with the 'Symphony of Civilizations · Multi-National Traditional Costume Exhibition' featuring works from seven countries.

China State Council: Building Integrated 'Travel-Shopping-Shipping' Scenarios, 883 Theme Post Offic…

On September 24, the State Council Information Office held a press conference. Zhou Zhaohua, Deputy Director of the State Post Bureau, said that express delivery services for the cultural and tourism industry are moving from 'behind-the-scenes support' to 'front-stage experience'. The State Post Bureau is building integrated 'travel-shopping-shipping' scenarios, setting up convenient delivery points and smart lockers in popular scenic spots, cultural districts, transport hubs, and even key hotels, offering luggage delivery services. Currently, 883 theme post offices have been built nationwide, with coverage of 5A scenic spots exceeding 63%. Tourists can stamp commemorative postmarks at the…

High Civil Aviation Travel Demand During Mid-Autumn Holiday: Domestic Ticket Bookings Exceed 3.66 M…

According to Umetrip data, domestic flight ticket bookings for the 2026 Mid-Autumn holiday exceeded 3.66 million, up over 15% year-on-year; international bookings were about 710,000, up over 3%. From 19:00 on September 25 to 3:00 the next day, about 3,000 'moon-viewing flights' are planned domestically, carrying over 210,000 passengers. VariFlight data shows over 40,000 domestic flights planned, with average one-way ticket price around 820 yuan, up 9% month-on-month.

Holiday Booking Data: Earlier Departures, Longer Trips, Multi-Country Outbound Travel Gains

Booking data from multiple travel companies show changed travel rhythms and preferences for the 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday: earlier departures, longer itineraries, deeper experiences and farther destinations. Tuniu data show that among users whose trips span Oct 1-7, over 35% departed before the National Day holiday and over 10% left before Mid-Autumn to avoid the first peak on Sept 25. Meituan data show over half of travellers chose to depart before Sept 30. Ctrip data show cross-province travel rose to 82% during the National Day golden week. Tongcheng data show bookings for domestic long-haul flights over 1,200 km rose 34% year on year, outbound travel search heat…

Beijing Cloisonne Court Art Exhibition Opens at Prince Gong's Mansion Museum on 25 September

From 25 September, the exhibition 'Resplendent Imperial Vessels, Glorious Revival: Beijing Cloisonne Court Art' will open in the East Zone 2 gallery of the Prince Gong's Mansion Museum, co-hosted by the museum under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Beijing Enamel Factory Co., Ltd. It displays replicas of representative Yuan, Ming and Qing cloisonne objects and nearly 58 original works by contemporary master craftspeople. Three sections trace the craft's development, and the exhibition runs until 6 December, closed on Mondays. Master lectures and hands-on craft experiences will also be offered during the run.

Daxing Airport Hosts 925 Aviation Carnival and Launches Seven New Service Measures

On September 24, 2026, Beijing Daxing Airport hosted the '925 Aviation Carnival' and launched seven new service measures, including early check-in for international flights, one-day advance check-in for domestic flights, paperless boarding with ID, and easy security channels. During the event, Daxing Airport signed a memorandum of cooperation with Hainan's tourism department and launched a China-Russia aviation product. For the Mid-Autumn and National Day holidays, Daxing Airport expects over 11,000 flights and 1.79 million passengers, with daily averages up about 11% and 10% year-on-year.

China Outlines 15th Five-Year Plan Roadmap for Culture and Tourism

At a September 24 State Council Information Office briefing on the 15th Five-Year Plan, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism set out its high-quality development agenda for culture and tourism. The ministry has drafted 15th Five-Year Plan programs for culture and tourism development and for building a tourism powerhouse, plus specialized plans covering the arts, public cultural services, intangible cultural heritage protection, and cultural industries, with deep culture-tourism integration as the main thread. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, national cultural industry revenue grew 8.4% annually on average, reaching RMB 20.8 trillion in 2025; domestic trips hit 6.52 billion and spending RMB 6.…

Beijing Implements 15th Five-Year Tourism Plan to Build Pioneer Zone

The 15th Five-Year Plan for Building a Tourism Power designates Beijing as a tourism hub city and a key inbound tourism city. The Party Group of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism said that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period it will focus on building a world-class tourism city and global tourism destination, improving five systems: public services, premium content creation, industry development, global promotion and market governance. Specific measures include facilitating inbound tourism customs clearance, payment, communications, accommodation, transport, reservations and guiding; focusing on centralized departure tax refund mechanisms; developing business and MICE tou…

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Four Municipalities Sign Cultural Market and Tourism Enforcement Cooperat…

The fourth Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei joint conference on comprehensive enforcement in the cultural market was held in Beijing on September 23-24, alongside parallel sessions on the online culture cooperation mechanism and tourism market enforcement. The three Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei jurisdictions signed three cooperation documents, including the 2026 work plan, introducing six measures such as expanding the list of minor first-time violations exempt from punishment from 36 to 61 items and piloting unified administrative penalty discretion benchmarks in copyright and performance. Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing signed a memorandum on tackling illegal online tourism solicitation and false…

CATA Aviation Conference Focuses on AI in Airline Service

The 4th China Air Transport Association (CATA) Aviation Conference, themed 'AI and Civil Aviation Integrated Development,' featured nearly 200 exhibitors. Airlines shared AI progress: China Eastern partnered with Qwen to enable one-sentence booking, seat selection and changes, and its transfer decision system cut batch rebooking time from 30 minutes to 5 minutes with an over-97% tight-transfer success rate; China Southern piloted AI check-in on international routes, cutting average check-in time per passenger from 3 minutes to under 1 minute, serving over 15,000 passengers, while its smart customer service handled 170,000 complaint cases, reducing average handling time from 3 days to 1.5 da…

Ninth Beijing Hongqiao International Pearl Culture Festival Opens

The ninth Beijing Hongqiao International Pearl Culture Festival opened on the evening of 23 September at the Guantan Art Space in Hongqiao Market, Dongcheng District, under the theme "Moon over the Altar, Pearls Linking Five Continents," drawing several hundred Chinese and international guests and residents. Built around five core themes — international cultural exchange, industry study, cross-border trade, jewellery innovation and intangible-heritage transmission — the festival features one opening ceremony, 14 themed salons and 27 online-offline consumption-promotion events, alongside a multi-country traditional costume and painting exhibition featuring works from seven countries.

Beijing Issues Holiday Travel Consumption Advisory

On Sept 22, the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau issued a Mid-Autumn and National Day holiday travel consumption advisory, recommending off-peak travel, monitoring scenic area visitor flows, and purchasing tickets for Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Badaling Great Wall via the 'Jingtong' mini-program. It also requires verifying operator qualifications before joining tours, warning against unlicensed entities organizing tours under the guise of 'conference services' or 'travel consulting', signing written contracts, and avoiding induced optional purchases. For outbound travel, travelers should check destination safety advisories and avoid high-risk countries and regions.

Tiananmen Square Giant Flower Basket Unveiled, All Works to Finish by End of September

On September 22, the main body of the giant Bless the Motherland flower basket was unveiled at Tiananmen Square, featuring roses, peonies, sunflowers and grapes symbolizing prosperity, with Bless the Motherland and Celebrate National Day inscriptions on both sides. The giant flowerbed at the base is expected to appear around September 25, and 10 three-dimensional themed flowerbeds along Chang'an Avenue between Jianguomen and Fuxingmen will be completed by the end of September for National Day.

Impact and considerations

Pre-National Day installations and subsequent crowds in central Beijing may affect movement along Tiananmen and Chang'an Avenue, so those travelling to Beijing in this period should note traffic controls and crowd management.

2026 Beijing Culture Forum Releases 27 Major Outcomes and Secures 2 Signings

On the evening of September 22, the 2026 Beijing Culture Forum's special event for releasing major outcomes was held, unveiling 27 major outcomes and securing 2 significant signings. The outcomes feature three characteristics: exemplary leadership, cultural heritage continuity, and practical innovation, and include the '2025 Report on China-Foreign Cultural Exchange,' the 'Top Ten Events in Building the National Cultural Center in 2025,' the 'First Batch of the Beijing Archives Documentary Heritage List,' as well as the 'Return of the Chu Silk Manuscript from Zidanku, Changsha' and a 'Multilingual Corpus of Cultural Heritage.' On signings, the Italian Veneto Ancient City Walls Cities Allian…

PROMPERU Leverages Capital Museum Exhibition to Promote the Moche Route

PROMPERU's Beijing office hosted a media event at the Capital Museum on 22 September to promote Peru's tourism resources alongside the exhibition 'Gold, Power, Eternity: Ancient Peruvian Civilisation'. The exhibition, part of the 2026 Capital Museum season and the largest Peruvian artefact show in Beijing in nearly 25 years, brings together about 800 items from more than 20 museums in Mexico and Peru and runs until 18 October 2026. Counsellor Luis Cabello said that a decade after Peru's conditional visa-free policy for Chinese visitors took effect, Peru is becoming a leading long-haul South America destination for Chinese travellers. PROMPERU is also promoting the Moche Route linking archae…

2026 Beijing Culture Forum Held with 300+ Cultural Creative Products at Market

The 2026 Beijing Culture Forum was held in Beijing on September 22-23, co-hosted by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Beijing Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government. It comprised one main forum, five parallel forums, six professional salons and multiple ongoing activities at forum reception venues. The accompanying cultural creative market, coordinated by Capital Culture and Technology Group, gathered more than 300 cultural creative products and over 100 selected books, bringing together intangible-heritage creative items and time-honored brand products from the Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau, the Beijing Municipal Culture and Tourism Bur…

Inner Mongolia Holds Culture and Tourism Promotion in Beijing with 40+ Beijing Travel Firms

An Inner Mongolia culture and tourism promotion event was recently held at Beijing Jingyuan Art Center, centered on sharing tourism resources, co-building industry and converting collaboration results. It showcased 30 years of Beijing-Inner Mongolia tourism collaboration and invited more than 40 Beijing travel agencies and tourism companies plus multiple media representatives. Inner Mongolia's leagues and cities presented their distinctive resources: Baotou promoted industrial tourism, landscape ecology and grassland wellness routes; Hulunbuir presented cross-border tourism and immersive grassland experiences; Hinggan League focused on ecological leisure and red-heritage study tours; Tongli…

Scenic Area E-Cart Pricing Issues Raise Regulatory Questions

Scenic area e-cart rental services have drawn complaints over high prices, rounded-up overtime billing, restricted zones and insufficient return points. A visitor paid RMB 410 for 6.5 hours in Wenzhou; a Beijing Daxing park charges RMB 180/hour for four-person carts with RMB 2.5/minute overtime and RMB 100-200 dispatch fees. Experts note scene exclusivity and lack of government-guided pricing, plus overlapping regulatory duties. Recommendations include shorter billing units, fee caps and a joint recognition mechanism.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze Delta Hold Tourism Promotion in Suzhou

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Delta regional tourism promotion exchange event was recently held in Suzhou, Jiangsu, initiated by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism and co-hosted with tourism authorities of Tianjin, Hebei, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. During the event, tourism associations and travel agency representatives from both regions signed letters of intent on mutual visitor exchange, agreeing on joint route development, product co-creation, brand co-promotion and market expansion. Tongcheng Travel, together with the Beijing bureau, launched a "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei x Yangtze River Delta north-south mutual travel consumption feature" and platf…

2026 Industrial Culture and Tourism Event Releases 50 Outstanding Cases

The 2026 Industrial Culture and Tourism Development Exchange and Promotion Event released 50 outstanding industrial tourism cases and published remarks from leaders of five cases including FAW, Yili, the Tsingtao Beer Museum, Eastern Suburb Memory and the 798 Art Zone. The cases show industrial heritage revitalisation forming diverse formats through museums, factory tours, study programmes, cultural products and immersive experiences.