BEIJING, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- When more and more people opt to retreat from the city in leisure time, travel in counties with tranquil bamboo forests, splashy village football tournament or fantastic aurora is gaining increasing popularity in China.
Currently, county travel related cultural tourism stands for a field with vast potential in the country, especially given the developments in urban-rural integration, according to the report "New Era County Economics" released by Xinhua Institute on Friday.
Visitors pose for photo shooting with fish lanterns in Xiuli ancient village of Yi County in Huangshan City, Anhui Province on Oct. 1, 2025. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
Tourists' growing preference for county travel originates from their pursuit of "immersive experiences" and infrastructure improvement and program innovations as well, which help convert the tourists flow into tourism revenues, said industry experts.
In the alleys of Yi County in east China's Anhui Province, there are always long queues beside booths for local specialties such as smelly mandarin fish and furry tofu. A traveler from Shanghai said that despite the queuing, it is a real delight to savor the authentic Huizhou flavor.
Elsewhere, Burqin County of Altay in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is drawing travelers from near and far with its unique ice and snow resources. Local tourism authority previously expected the small county's annual tourists of 2025 to reach 0.8 million.
From clusters of rivers and lakes in south China to cities of ice and skiing in the north, county travel craze is spreading across China. Data from Meituan, a Chinese digital shopping platform, showed that county destinations surrounding large cities reaped during this year's National Day holiday and Mid-Autumn Festival 51 percent more booking orders than the comparable periods of 2024.
Generally, counties such as Anji and Tonglu of Zhejiang Province, Yangshuo of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Wuyuan of Jiangxi Province always rank high on lists of favored destinations for Chinese visitors, says the report.
Instead of settling for regular scenic zones, young travelers prefer niche experiences and relaxation when touring counties, making them ideal places for leisure travel, noted Zhu Keli, founding dean of the China Institute of New Economy.
The burgeoning county travel has bolstered related industries including hotels in Chinese counties. Recent years, Jiuzhaigou County of Sichuan Province saw many reputed foreign hotel operators open new hotels there.
As Zhu said, counties shall leverage their unique indigenous resources to avoid homogenization, citing Anji as a model whose bamboo forest homestays and tea picking form its own "nature plus culture"-based charm.
(Edited by Duan Jing with Xinhua Silk Road, duanjing@xinhua.org)
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