On May 31st, Hexing Village, Xiaogang Street, Beilun District was bustling with activities including Dragon boat races, wedding on water performances, Duanwu Festival garden parties, and markets. More than 20 dragon boat teams cut through the waves, with cheers and encouragement echoing from both banks of the river.

"The scene was too awe-inspiring. So exciting!" Shanghai tourist Huang Jie exclaimed sincerely after watching the dragon boat race. For the next two days, he also plans to visit Xiangshan's "Running Park" for an immersive experience of famous TV show scenes.

For Duanwu Festival holiday, Ningbo carefully planned a series of distinctive, connotative, and high-quality cultural tourism activities, from traditional folk customs to trendy experiences, from lakes and mountains to market life, offering citizens and tourists a feast intertwined with culture and joy.

According to statistics from the Ningbo Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau, Ningbo received 1.1509 million tourists across the city on the first day of the Duanwu Festival holiday, a year-on-year increase of 7.96%; total tourism revenue reached 1.324 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.12%.

Experiencing the Charm of Folk Customs in the "Old Days"‌

In Qiantong Ancient Town, Ninghai County, colorful folk customs experience activities like sprinkling realgar wine, painting the character “王” “means king” on children's foreheads, wrapping zongzi attracted numerous tourists. On the first day of the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, Qiantong Ancient Town received a small peak in visitor numbers, over 5,000 tourists.

"This Duanwu Festival, the scenic area also specially launched a series of cultural tourism benefits for the people, such as eating all the ancient town's delicacies for one yuan and experiencing intangible cultural heritage for ten yuan, creating a joyful and harmonious festival atmosphere," said Luo Pei, General Manager of Ninghai Qiantong Ancient Town Tourism Development Co., Ltd.

Duanwu Festival customs have a history of over 2,000 years. Duanwu Festival is not only a traditional festival but also carries rich cultural connotations and the national spirit. During this holiday, major scenic areas and cultural relics museums in Ningbo actively explored regional characteristics, transforming traditional customs into experiential scenes, forming a unique cultural attraction.

The Cicheng Ancient County Town scenic area launched the "Duanwu Festival Folk Customs Tour", with immersive scenario dramas, folk song performances at Cihu Lake, children's opera flash mobs, and other wonderful performances taking turns to stage. A "dragon boat dock, drumming and cheering" checkpoint was also set up at Shuijie Square, full of ceremonial sense.

"The scenic area received over 40,000 tourists on the first day of the holiday," said the relevant person in charge of the Cicheng Ancient County Town scenic area. In addition, the scenic area also prepared activities such as making wind chimes and sachets for the Dragon Boat Festival, integrating traditional crafts into interactive experiences, leading citizens and tourists to have an immersive experience of the characteristics of the Duanwu Festival in the regions south of the Yangtze River.

The Tianyi Pavilion Museum was also packed with visitors: festival stories and customs from ancient books were "brought" into the garden. A graceful "Qu Yuan" wandered among the visitors, reciting Chu Ci with them and posing for photos. Visitors could also participate in unique experiential activities such as tasting zongzi, braiding bracelets, making round fans, and preparing medicinal drinks.

"During the Duanwu Festival holiday, the scenic area integrated the champion culture and launched activities such as 'The Quixing Points to the Scholar,' treasure-hunting quizzes for scholars, and cuju (ancient football) matches. The visitor flow on the first day increased significantly compared to the same period last year," said Lv Bo, the person in charge of the Zhaobao Mountain scenic area.

Parent-Child Family Tours

This rare holiday is a good time for families to travel together, who are usually busy with work and study.

At the Ningbo Daren Village scenic area, the "Children's Duanwu Festival, Double the Fun" theme event allowed both children and adult visitors to enjoy happiness. Wonderful live shows include "the Legend of Shen Nong," acrobatic performances, and Daren Circus performances. There were also fun activities such as the Ice and Snow Kingdom, Sand Tire Park, and Animal Tribe.

On the first day of the Duanwu Festival holiday, the scenic area received over 5,000 tourists, a year-on-year increase of 50%. "During the holiday, the scenic area offered free tickets for children under 1.5 meters in height, attracting more families to travel together and driving secondary consumption," said Lou Jinjie, the person in charge of the scenic area.

This Duanwu Festival holiday coincided with "June 1st" Children's Day, making parent-child families the main force of travelers. According to Tuniu data, parent-child travel accounted for nearly 40% of Duanwu Festival holiday travelers.

Revolving around "folk customs experience + parent-child entertainment + benefits for the people," a holiday revelry colliding tradition with trends and suitable for all age groups is being staged in Ningbo.

Ningbo Fantawild launched the "Super Children's Day", where visitors could encounter cute Capybara characters during the day and watch close-up interactive performances by the forest animals; at night, they could immerse themselves in the "Boonie Bears Sky Musical," with thousands of drones painting dreams in the night sky, creating a "double festival" experience full of childlike fun and fantasy.

The traditional popular scenic area Dongqian Lake was also lively, with activities such as fish and shrimp catching contests, sand sculpture creativity contests, and parent-child relay races held at Suifeng Beach; Ningbo Wildlife Zoo specially launched special tickets for the "double festival" and also had fun contests such as "Piggy Race," inviting everyone to enjoy parent-child time.

"Next, Ningbo will fully utilize the opportunity of the 'holiday economy,' continue to deeply explore local cultural tourism resources, enrich product supply, and introduce preferential policies to further create a cultural tourism brand with Ningbo's unique identity," said the relevant person in charge of the Ningbo Municipal Culture, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau.