China expects to make about 250 million domestic trips during the upcoming May Day holidays from May 1 to 5. Admission to tourist attractions, air and train tickets, and hotel reservations have increased as people make travel plans ahead of the holidays.
Tourist attractions across the country have adjusted their ticket purchasing policies to prepare for a tourist boom amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets for the famous Palace Museum in Beijing, also known as the Forbidden City, were sold out in 10 minutes after they could be purchased.
In southwestern China, in the Sichuan province, the Sansindui Museum will limit the number of daily visitors and require online booking in advance. And the museum’s box office will manage only free and discounted tickets, not regular entrance tickets to reduce the number of collections. The museum has become very popular since the end of March after the announcement of new finds in archeological excavations dating back 3,000 years.
Meanwhile, road services are preparing for active medium- and long-distance car travel during the holidays, as the number of cars registered in the country has reached 229 million by the end of March. Traffic volumes on major road networks will increase, and traffic jams on highways will increase by 10 percent compared to the same period last year.