During the recent Spring Festival holiday, East China's Fujian province witnessed an unprecedented surge in cultural and tourism activities, hosting a staggering 32.57 million visitors and generating tourism revenue of 27.72 billion yuan ($3.85 billion). This exceptional performance has not only delivered substantial economic gains but also laid a robust foundation for the province's cultural and tourism development in the coming year.

This year marks the longest Spring Festival holiday in history, and Spring Festival travel has gradually rebounded.

Fujian meticulously orchestrated a captivating cultural and tourism spectacle for the Spring Festival, featuring temple fairs, ancient town tours, and intangible cultural heritage folk performances, igniting widespread enthusiasm for travel.

With 1,500 performers in 30 different formations, the culture-defining folk custom known as "cai jie", a type of festive parade in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian province, resumed on Feb 15 after a two-decade hiatus, bringing audiences 30 kinds of performances that have been listed intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items, drawing an audience of over 300,000 people.

Folk activities are staged during the "cai jie" parade. [Photo/WeChat ID: qztour]

The province also enlivened the holiday experience with diverse nighttime attractions such as night tours, performances, and shows, including Nanhou Street's night performance in Fuzhou's Three Lanes and Seven Alleys and Putian's Datiehua, a grand folk fireworks display, which captivated numerous visitors.

Fujian Putian's intangible cultural heritage Datiehua performance. [Photo by Yao Wenfeng/people.cn]

In addition, outbound tourism from Fujian thrived during the Spring Festival holiday, with the launch of a direct charter flight between Fuzhou and Male, capital of Maldives. This initiative has fostered an influx of international visitors to Fujian through the Maldives, which welcomes nearly two million overseas tourists annually. This strategic move aims to elevate Fujian into a globally-renowned tourist destination.

Furthermore, during the holiday, Fujian emerged as a sought-after off-season travel destination. Cities like Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou have become top preferences for holidaymakers seeking a taste of summer during the Spring Festival holiday, earning them the distinction of being favored "winter escape" cities for tourists from the north. These cities have secured spots among the top ten domestic hotspots for "off-season travel destinations" during the Spring Festival holiday.