Hunan receives over 13 million tourists during Dragon Boat Festival holiday

According to the big data modeling analysis of mobile phone signaling, Hunan Province received 13.6881 million tourists during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday this year, an increase of 23.7% over the same period last year. Among them, there were 8.5648 million overnight tourists, accounting for 62.57%, and 5.1233 million one-day tourists, accounting for 37.43%. There were 937,400 tourists from outside the province, accounting for 6.85%, and 12.7507 million tourists from within the province, accounting for 93.15%.  According to Unionpay business big data modeling analysis, the average daily expenditure of tourists in the province was 523.88 yuan. It’s estimated that the total spending of tourists in the province reached 9.681 billion yuan during the three-day holiday, an increase of 25.34% over the previous year’s Dragon Boat Festival holiday.

Dragon boat races held across the province

During the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, all parts of the province deeply explored cultural tourism, and carried out colorful and distinctive folk festivities, with dragon boat racing the grandest event.

The 2024 Dongjiang Lake Traditional Dragon Boat Racing was held in Dongjiang Bay, Zixing City, Chenzhou City.

Wangcheng District of Changsha City held the Dragon Boat Culture Festival from June 8 to 10, and about 100 dragon boat teams nationwide competed here, bringing a wonderful folk culture feast. 

The launching ceremony of the China “Our Festival—Dragon Boat Festival” Themed Cultural Activities was held at Miluo River International Dragon Boat Race Center, Yueyang City on June 10. 

There were 13 dragon boat races in the whole Loudi City, including 5 races with tens of thousands of people. 

Such folk activities as the Lanxi dragon boat race and the duck catching activity in Fenghuang Ancient Town with local characteristics were held. 

About 20,000 people participated in the dragon boat race in Youxian County, Zhuzhou City.

38 dragon boats took part in the invitational tournament in Anhua County, Yiyang City. The number of dragon boats attending the race in Wanlou Scenic Spot in Xiangtan City was 16, and about 100,000 people watched the race, ushering in a small peak of tourism.  Cultural tourism integration 

Various places in the province enriched cultural and tourism products to meet the new cultural and leisure needs of the public. New products and formats such as immersive performances, interactive experiences and smart tourism constantly emerged. 

Several students experienced intangible cultural heritage projects such as drawing fans, dyeing handkerchiefs and weaving colorful ropes at Hunan Provincial Library of Juveniles and Children.

The Hunan Museum provided daily explanations, audio guide services, educational activities and other volunteer services in an orderly manner, with 57 batches of manual explanations, a total of 7,382 rentals of audio guide machines, and 29 educational activities. 

The Hunan Cultural Center held an exhibition and experience activity of Hunan’s intangible cultural heritage projects, with six special activity areas, fully showcasing the rich cultural connotations of the traditional Dragon Boat Festival. 

The Chengtoushan Scenic Area in Lixian County of Changde City launched a series of performance activities to promote excellent traditional Chinese culture. The “Chengtoushan Cup” Sports Dance Competition was held, fully presenting the unique regional culture of Lixian County. 

The 2024 Dragon Boat Festival Concert was held in Changsha Concert Hall on June 10. 

The Datiehua, or strike iron flower in Tongguan Kiln, a bamboo raft-poling competition in Huangdu Dong Cultural Village of Tongdao County, a Chinese-style performance in Miluo Quzi Cultural Park, etc., created a strong festive atmosphere, which are deeply loved by tourists.  Rural tourism favored by tourists

Fruits like bayberries, plums, mulberries and peaches were ripening during the Dragon Boat Festival holiday. Picking fruits and vegetables, eating farmhouse meals, and staying at farmhouses to relax themselves became fashion travel choices for tourists.

For example, the Nanxi Flower Sea Scenic Area in Dong’an County was full of blooming verbenas, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, sunflowers. Apart from admiring the sea of flowers, tourists could also have a barbecue, make farmhouse dishes, and explore in the stone forest.   Preferential measures for culture and tourism 

Cultural and tourism institutions at all levels in the province launched nearly a thousand activities, including art performances, cultural and museum exhibitions, and intangible cultural heritage promotion activities.  The Tea-Horse Ancient Road Scenic Area provided a travel package for tourists who could enjoy unique projects such as off-road riding and caravan hiking experience with one ticket.

The Biancheng Chadong Scenic Area of Xiangxi Prefecture launched an activity to collect stamps of the eight scenic spots like Cuicui Isle, Baita Family and Xibian Family, attracting more and more tourists with a more in-depth tourism experience. 

The Baishuidong Scenic Area in Xinshao County of Shaoyang City held the Dragon Boat Festival themed event, where students taking the college entrance examination could enter the park for free with their exam admission tickets.