China's combined Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day break — the country's biggest travel window — has produced some eye-catching numbers. Fliggy, Alibaba's online travel platform, says fulfilled hotel room nights beat previous records for four days straight, with average daily room nights up nearly 70% on the year. More than 100 Chinese cities doubled their hotel bookings compared with last year's holiday.
The spending is clearly skewing upmarket. High-end hotels saw room nights climb more than 80% year on year, and members of Alibaba's 88VIP loyalty programme spent 34% more per head on hotels than the platform average. Over 70 hotel brand flagship stores on Fliggy doubled their bookings, and hotels new to the platform in 2026 averaged 135% more daily room nights than they managed during the May Labour Day peak — a sign that Golden Week remains in a league of its own.
But the more interesting story for visitors is what Chinese travellers are actually booking. Immersive, hands-on experiences are the fastest-growing category. Bookings for historic village experiences jumped over 90%, nature and village trips rose more than 40%, and intangible cultural heritage workshops — think craft and cooking sessions with local practitioners — more than doubled. Role-play and immersive attractions grew 60%, as venues shift from things you look at to stories you can step inside. Even factory tours are having a moment: Fliggy now sells visits to shipyards, car plants and beverage producers.
AI is quietly reshaping how these trips get booked. Interactions with Fliggy's agentic AI assistant rose 158% during the holiday, AI-assisted hotel and flight bookings grew 110%, and nearly double the number of service tasks — check-ins, booking changes and the like — were completed through the assistant.
Why does this matter if you're not booking on a Chinese platform? Two reasons. First, if you're travelling in China during Golden Week (typically early October), expect intense demand and book accommodation far ahead — the record numbers apply to you too, and prices follow. Second, the experience trend is contagious: heritage workshops, village stays and behind-the-scenes tours are increasingly available in English on international platforms too, and China's historic villages are some of the most rewarding places to try them. If you want the atmosphere without the crush, the shoulder weeks either side of the national holiday deliver the same scenery with a fraction of the crowds.
