Dragon boat races drew large crowds and strong participation across China during this year’s Dragon Boat Festival, with events held nationwide despite heavy rainfall in many areas.

The three-day public holiday, which ran from Saturday to Monday, also fueled a surge in cultural tourism, as cities known for dragon boat heritage reported sharp increases in race-related travel and spending.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, 122 national and local dragon boat races were held during the holiday, drawing more than 5.7 million participants from across the country.

Online travel platforms reported a significant rise in interest tied to the festivities. According to online travel platform Qunar, searches for terms such as “Dragon Boat Festival” and “dragon boat” rose 220% month-on-month between May 10 and 16, reflecting growing enthusiasm for culture-focused getaways.

Trip.com reported strong demand in Foshan, a southern Chinese city known for its elaborate dragon boat events, with year-on-year increases of 167% in bookings, 145% in hotel stays, and 110% in flight reservations.

Across its platform, local and short-haul trips made up about half of all bookings during the holiday. The festival’s overlap with Children’s Day helped boost demand for family and pet-friendly travel, while concerts and music festivals drove hotel traffic in smaller cities.

Interest in dragon boat-related travel extended well beyond a single city. Meituan Travel reported that since early May, searches for terms such as “dragon boat base” and “dragon boat culture park” more than tripled, with top destinations including Foshan, Guangzhou, Dongguan, Wenzhou, Hangzhou, and Nanjing.

Meituan also described a broader rise in what it called the “dragon boat economy,” as holiday demand for food, lodging, transportation, shopping, and entertainment jumped. As of May 21, overall tourism bookings on its platform were up 63% year-on-year, with five-star hotel bookings doubling.

A separate survey by Nankai University found that younger travelers are helping drive the trend. Among Gen Z respondents, 68% said they valued in-depth cultural experiences over visiting landmarks, while 42% said they would plan trips around traditional festivals or intangible cultural heritage.

Despite strong domestic demand, interest in outbound travel remained high, with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and other short-haul destinations among the most popular among Chinese travelers.

(Header image: A dragon boat competition in Foshan, Guangdong province, May 24, 2025. VCG)