Spring Festival travel rush begins, 3.62bn trips expected

China witnessed the first day of its 2014 Spring Festival travel rush on Jan. 16. Over the following 40 days, some 3.62 billion trips are expected to be made across the country, with an estimated 258 million people traveling by rail. According to the Beijing railway authorities, an estimated 620,000 passengers departed the capital city in more than 31 passenger trains on this first day.

China's Spring Festival travel rush, Chunyun in Chinese, refers to the most crowded travel time period in China during the annual Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year, which usually falls in late January or early February, according to the Gregorian calendar. This year the holiday falls on January 31.

Source: china.org.cn

Winter in Jiuzhaigou Valley, Sichuan Province

Photos taken on January 12, 2014- Winter in Jiuzhaigou Valley, Sichuan Province



Source: (Xinhua)

A Trek Through Qingcheng Mountain in Sichuan province

Located to the southwest of Dujiangyan, Sichuan Province, Mount Qingcheng is a place with strong roots to China's Taoism. It is a famous historical mountain and one of the nation's major scenic areas.

The mountain faces the Chengdu Plain, with the Minjiang River running out back, and stretches out over an area of 200 square kilometers (20,000 hectares). It has 36 peaks, eight large and 72 small caves. Its main peak, Laoxiao Peak, rises up to 1,260 meters. Many temples can be found across the area.

In 2000, UNESCO included Mount Qingcheng, together with the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, on its World Heritage List.

Source: china.org.cn

How Pop Culture Influences Chinese Travelers

Where are Chinese tourists going to next? Pop culture may hold some clues, from blockbuster rom-com “Finding Mr. Right” to U.S. sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.”

China is the source of most of the world’s tourists as well as its biggest-spending travelers. In 2012 alone, 83 million Chinese went abroad and spent a whopping $102 billion, according to the most recent figures from the United Nations World Tourism Organization.

Now more than ever, popular culture is driving their decision making. Below are a few examples of how TV shows and hit movies are influencing Chinese tourists’ travel choices.

SEATTLE

Over the past two years, Seattle – that rainy city in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. – has seen a 90% rise in visitor numbers from China, local officials say.

The reason: the huge popularity of the Chinese romantic comedy “Finding Mr. Right,” in which a woman from mainland China travels to Seattle to give birth. Directed by Xue Xiaolu and starring Tang Wei, the film has grossed more than $85 million in China since its release last year. (The movie’s Chinese title translates literally to “Beijing meets Seattle.”)

The city has attracted so many Chinese tourists that CCTV, China’s state broadcaster, sent a journalist to cover the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations and a series of stories about the Pacific Northwest region.

LOS ANGELES

Los Angeles has long been a favorite destination for Chinese tourists visiting the U.S. but lately, they’ve been asking for detours to nearby Pasadena to pay homage to their favorite sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory.” Fans are requesting visits to places including the campus of California Institute of Technology as well as to a particular Cheesecake Factory outlet, which both figure prominently in the CBS sitcom that Chinese fans stream online.

“I’ve heard of tour guides being demanded by tourists that they go to those places,” said Sage Brennan, a Los Angeles-based retail consultant at China Luxury Advisors.

“The show has really taken off with the Chinese, and it has all these crazy repercussions. Brands can capitalize on this,” he added.

Officials said 708,000 travellers from mainland China visited the state in 2012, up from 517,000 the year before.

SOUTH KOREA

In the first 11 months of 2013, more than 4 million Chinese tourists visited South Korea, a 53% spike from the previous year due to the country easing visa restrictions to allow for freer travel from China.

But Wolfgang Arlt, of Germany’s China Outbound Tourism Research Institute, says the popularity of Korean television series and movies have also influenced travelers. Popular series in China include “The Heirs,” which featured South Korean heartthrob Lee Minho and last year became a huge hit on Youku, the Chinese equivalent of YouTube.

MAURITIUS

Thailand became a major destination for the Chinese in 2013, thanks in large part to the 2012 box-office hit “Lost in Thailand,” a buddy-comedy that smashed box office records. The tiny island country of Mauritius hopes it can similar buzz when the movie “Five Minutes to Tomorrow” is released later this year. A China-Japan co-production, the movie is about identical twin sisters who fall in love with the same man. In the first 10 months of 2013, more than 34,000 Chinese visited the country, an increase of 99% from the previous year. Mauritian tourist authorities hope the movie can spur 100,000 Chinese visitors “in the foreseeable future.”

EUROPE AND THE U.S.

The U.S., U.K., France and Germany remain the most frequented destinations for Chinese who travel to the West, but the sights they flock to within those countries often are unique to Chinese culture. For instance, Karl Marx’s birthplace in Trier, Germany, has long been a pilgrimage spot, while a willow tree in Cambridge, England, is a must-visit for bus tourists because of a well-known poem by Xu Zhimo, who studied at the city’s famed university in the 1920s.

“It’s like a parallel universe,” said Mr. Brennan in Los Angeles. “Pop culture comes up again and again when we do our research. But the Chinese interpretation is always different.”

Source: Wall Street Journal

Tibet's Potala Palace in winter

Photos taken on January 12, 2014- Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region


Source: Xinhua

Destruction caused by the great fire of Shangri-la

Photo taken on January 12, 2014 shows the fire site at the Dukezong Ancient Town of Shangri-la, a resort county in southwest Yunnan province. More than 240 houses were damaged by the fire that started in the early hours of Saturday. The fire has been extinguished and no casualties have been reported as of January 12. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Dukezong, meaning "town of the moon", was built 1,300 years ago and is one of the most renowned resorts in Shangri-la, known for its well-preserved ancient Tibetan dwellings


A man stands on a damaged house burnt during a fire at the Dukezong Ancient Town of Shangri-la, a resort county in southwest Yunnan province, January 12, 2014.


Source: Xinhua

Qingdao, a little slice of heaven

Stretching out across the Shandong Peninsula, Qingdao is a major seaport, naval base and industrial center of China’s Shandong Province. Translated as "Green Island," Qingdao is a place with splendid sea views, fresh breezes great seafood, and a Tsingtao beer



Source: china.org.cn