英语新闻丨surge continues as festival spurs demand

An aerial drone photo taken on June 9 shows a nighttime dragon boat race held to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival in Sanxi village of Changle district, Fuzhou, capital of Southeast China's Fujian province.

6月9日，无人机航拍图展示了在中国东南福建省福州市长乐区三溪村举行的龙舟夜渡。

Dragon Boat Festival, which in 2009 became the first Chinese holiday inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, concluded with traditional festivities that added vibrancy to popular tourist destinations.

2009 年，端午节成为中国第一个被列入联合国教科文组织非物质文化遗产名录的节日。作为传统节庆活动，端午节也为热门旅行地增添活力。

Figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism showed a 6.3-percent year-on-year increase in domestic tourism during the three-day holiday period, which started on Saturday. Over 110 million tourist visits were recorded, generating about 40.4 billion yuan ($5.57 billion) in tourism revenue, an 8.1-percent rise compared with last year.

文化和旅游部数据显示，从6月8日周六开始的三天假期期间（6月8日至6月10日），国内旅游业同比增长 6.3%。游客人数超过 1.1 亿人次，旅游收入约 404 亿元人民币（55.7 亿美元），相较去年增长8.1%。

Travel agencies noted a slight decrease in overall crowds this year due to the scheduling overlap with China's crucial college entrance examination, or gaokao, which was held from Friday to Monday.

不少旅行社留意到今年端午节的游客总体人数略有减少，其原因可能与6月6日至6月8日的高考时间重叠。

However, destinations known for their traditional Dragon Boat Festival celebrations, particularly dragon boat races, remained popular.

然而，以传统的端午节庆祝活动（尤其是赛龙舟）而闻名的旅行地仍受广大游客欢迎。

"Guangdong province, renowned for its long history of dragon boat racing, saw a doubling of online searches for tour packages during the holiday," reported travel portal Qunar.

去哪儿旅行社公布：“以悠久的赛龙舟历史而闻名的广东省，端午假期中旅行套餐的在线搜索量翻了一番。”

Beyond the thrilling races, the festival is celebrated through various customs and activities, including preparing zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings), hanging mugwort for good health, and consuming medicinal liquor for blessings.

除激动人心的赛龙舟之外，人们还通过各种习俗和活动来庆祝端午节，如包粽子、挂艾草、喝药酒等，以此来祈福。

Shi Yuanyuan, a 28-year-old resident of Shenzhen, Guangdong, shared her experience.

"We brought our 3-year-old son to witness the dragon boat races in Foshan, another city in Guangdong. He was mesmerized by the boats. While he may not grasp the historical significance yet, experiencing the festive spirit and team energy is valuable," she said.

28 岁的石媛媛来自广东深圳，她分享了自己的经历：“我们带着 3 岁的儿子去广东佛山欣赏赛龙舟，他看得非常入迷。虽然他现在可能还没有领会赛龙舟的历史意义，但感受节日气氛和团队精神很有价值。”

According to travel platform Tuniu, the most popular domestic destinations during the holiday were Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou in Guangdong, Nanjing in Jiangsu province, and Chongqing.

根据途牛旅途网，端午假期中最受游客欢迎的国内旅行地是上海、北京、广州、江苏南京和重庆。

Shorter travel times due to the merely three-day holiday also enticed Chinese tourists to explore short-distance overseas options. "Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea were top choices due to their flight times," reported Fliggy, an online travel agency. Cross-border cruises also experienced a surge in popularity, with bookings jumping 14-fold year-on-year.

三天的端午短假也吸引了中国游客探索短途海外旅行。旅行社飞猪称：“航班时间较短的日本、泰国、香港、马来西亚和韩国是游客首选。”跨境邮轮也大受欢迎，预订量同比增长 14 倍。

Qunar highlighted the cost-effectiveness of traveling abroad during the Dragon Boat Festival, compared with the upcoming peak summer season.

去哪儿旅行社突出了端午节相较暑假旺季出国旅游的高性价比。

"International flight prices dropped 20 percent year-on-year, and overseas hotel rates remained around 70 percent of what they typically are in July and August," it said, adding that sales for international flights departing during the holiday increased more than 60 percent compared with last year.

去哪儿旅行社公布数据：“国际航班价格同比下降20%，海外酒店价格仍保持在7月和8月正常水平的70%左右。”端午假期中起飞的国际航班销售量相较去年增长了60%以上。

Ministry of Culture and Tourism 

n. （中国）文化和旅游部