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If people spend in China, it's likely that they are traveling - businesses want a small portion.

According to founder Daniel Huang, 10 years after being the only hotel in a metropolitan city in China, Cavaliers Flying suddenly gained six new competitors in a year. He said his 26-room venue was booked for the May Labor Day holiday, which officially runs from Thursday to Monday.

"The hotels open everywhere in Datai," he said, noting that an unbranded operator raised the price of the holidays by more than five times a night, at 1,000 yuan ($140) a night.

Interest in history and culture surged. The popularity of the metropolitan Buddhist caves at UNESCO heritage sites about 1,500 years ago has soared after its statue was released last summer in the popular video game Black Myth: Wukong: Wukong.

According to state media reports, more than 43,700 people visited the cave on May 1 alone, an increase of 10% from the same period last year. Last year, the Grand Canyon had an average of 13,477 visitors per day.

Ashley Dudarenok, founder of Chinese marketing consulting firm Chozan, said the latest holidays show that young Chinese tourists are still very interested in museums and other cultural events.

“What it means to international brands or local brands is that working with these cultural icons is still a very, very important part of connecting with consumers,” she said.

China reported 314 million domestic travel trips during the Labor Day holiday nationwide, which has continued to grow steadily in recent years, far higher than the 195 million early stages in 2019. The government has extended the holidays in recent years, which gives locals more time, as businesses usually only provide some paid holidays for their employees.

Huang said China's recently built transportation infrastructure encourages locals to visit smaller cities such as metropolis. He noted that before the 19th pandemic, travelers had to arrive from the Beijing capital by six-hour train.

Now, a high-speed train between cities (about $20 per ticket) is less than two hours, with dozens of departure times throughout the day. The train route will be opened in December 2019.

Chinese tourists have been turning to more popular and farther destinations than visiting big cities. During the latest May Labor Day holiday, travel to rural areas increased by nearly 20% by a year ago, with interest in farm-themed accommodation surged, Booking Site Trip.com said.

Official data showed retail sales, including food, rose 6.3% during the holidays. Tourism revenue grew 8% to RMB 180.27 billion.

"Despite concerns about macroeconomic headwinds, the strength of travel numbers tells us that consumer sentiment is resistant," said Jacob Cooke, co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps foreign brands such as Vitamix and clinical sales online in China and other parts of Asia.

"Chinese consumers are prioritizing what is most important to them - now, including travel," he said.

According to a survey conducted in February by TD Cowen, a financial services firm, in which Chinese consumers were asked where they expected to increase spending, followed by groceries, followed by groceries.

But for the sake of lingering uncertainty, respondents had fewer respondents than last year, who had planned their travel plans over the next six months. The survey covered 2,000 Chinese residents.

Sales of retail merchandise have been growing, with sales up just 3.5% last year since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official data. Service sectors, including tourism, sports and parenting, accelerated growth by 6.2% last year. China began reporting on retail sales year-to-date in July 2023.

Meanwhile, Chinese cities have stepped up their efforts to attract tourists, whether through short videos on social media, experiences in virtual reality or elaborate light displays.

Dudarenok noted that some cities, such as the Panda Hub in Chengdu, have begun using drones to deliver food in scenic parks, or renting robot-powered hiking support.

“We will basically see a lot of the outlook for tourism, and China has conducted large-scale testing during this Mayday holiday,” she said.

For example, Chengdu claims that travel during the holidays increased by 62,520,000 year-on-year. As of 2023, that is nearly three-quarters of the city's 21.4 million people.

Huang said social media influencers and word-of-mouth comments about cleaning and safety are also helping Chinese cities attract foreign travelers.

Huang said his hotel mainly serves international tourists before Covid, with foreign guests returning moderately to about one-fifth of its customers. He said local tourists tend to travel in a concentrated manner during public holidays, while foreign tourists travel is more distributed.

Over the past two years, China has expanded its visa-free policy to attract foreign tourists. Citizens from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and 50 other countries can now stay in China for 10 days without a visa, while people from Japan, South Korea and several European countries can visit for up to 30 days.

Inbound travel to China around the Labor Day holiday in May increased by more than 40% compared to last year, according to Hotel World. Data shows that Chongqing, Yangxiao and Jilin soared in popularity with Beijing and Shanghai.

The United States and China will finally talk about trade. It wasn't a president's call, but both sides confirmed that Beijing's top Chinese economic and trade official Lifefeng will meet with his U.S. counterparts while visiting Switzerland later this week.

Ten people died after capsizing four tourist ships in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Guoqing visited the scene of the accident on Monday, and state media attributed it to "sudden strong winds."

China's National Health Commission is investigating the hospital scandal. The survey involved a senior physician at a prestigious hospital in Beijing who sparked discussions on Chinese social media about the potential role of connections in gaining sought-after health care positions.

Alibaba’s Taoguo e-commerce website has joined the on-demand delivery competition. With JD.com and food delivery company Meituan in the field, the company is launching food, clothing and other products on the same day. Taobao claims it received more than 10 million orders in one day.

Stocks in China and Hong Kong climbed Wednesday after the People's Bank of China and financial regulators announced plans to cut key interest rates to boost growth.

China will reduce the seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 10 basis points from 1.5% to 1.4%. The central bank will also reduce the reserve ratio by 50 basis points.

The CSI 300 in mainland China rose 0.44%, while Hong Kong's Han-Hong Kong index (including major Chinese companies) rose 1.5% as of 10:30 a.m. local time. The CSI 300 lost about 2.8%, while the Hang Seng index has risen 14.6% so far this year.

China's government bond yields fell slightly in the benchmark 10 years to 1.63%.

Offshore Chinese yuan strengthened its 0.18% championship in 7.2227.

May 7-10: President Xi Jinping pays a state visit to Russia

May 9: China's import and export data in April

May 10: China's Consumer Price Index and April's Manufacturer Price Index