The Mafengwo Data Research Center has released a holiday travel guide.

    On the eve of the May Day holiday, Mafengwo, China’s largest travel social media platform, released the latest data report to guide upcoming May Day travel plans. The data provides a detailed reflection of changes in destination popularity and travel guide download volumes in the week leading up to the holiday, highlighting trends such as a stronger focus on domestic over international travel, and short-distance over long-distance trips. In response, Han Dahei, a travel guide expert at Mafengwo, explained that this is due to the general principle of independent travel: “The farther you go, the earlier you prepare.” As May Day approaches, Mafengwo’s overseas destination guide downloads have seen a year-on-year decline over the past two weeks, while downloads for destinations near major cities have increased significantly.

　　According to the data report provided by Mafengwo, compared to last week’s guide download volumes, the destinations with the highest growth in downloads this week (April 15–21) are Zhangjiajie, Yangshuo, Dali, Beihai, and Qingdao. Additionally, destinations within a 200-kilometer radius of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou—reachable by car in about 3–5 hours—have also become focal points of user interest in recent weeks. Examples include Fengning Bashang and Mulan Weichang, which have seen the most rapid increases, followed by Panjin and Xingcheng. Based on historical data, Han Dahei predicts that as May Day draws nearer, destinations such as Jiankou Great Wall, Qinhuangdao, and Beidaihe will see the largest spikes in download volumes.

　　Due to the impact of the Sichuan earthquake, Chengdu has led to a sudden drop in download volumes across the entire region: Jiuzhaigou, Kangding, Siguniang Mountain, and Mount Emei. In contrast, ancient towns and temples have begun to attract more attention, with Qingyan Ancient Town, Labrang Monastery, and Dunhuang all seeing increases of over 30%.

　　Overseas destinations have gradually stabilized this week, with little noticeable increase or decrease, clearly indicating that many travelers are close to departure. It is also worth mentioning that themed guides such as “Travel Gear” have seen a significant surge in downloads. Han Dahei analyzed that, with the May Day holiday approaching, many tourists are nearly ready to depart, leading to a growing demand for practical equipment-related guides.