October 8, the first workday after the holiday.
I hadn’t even finished tallying up my travel expenses when two holiday reports released on October 7 left me stunned.
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays ran back-to-back, making for an especially long break.
Just how long? The data speaks for itself. Here’s a timeline:
On October 7, WeChat released its “2026 WeChat Data Report for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Holidays.”
1. Nearly 60% of trips crossed provincial borders
People aren’t keen on staying close to home anymore; they’re heading farther afield.
There’s even a new term for it: “diagonal travel”—going from the country’s southernmost point to its highest-altitude destination, for example. This kind of trip was especially popular this year.
Transaction values on mini programs for parking, EV charging, and air travel rose by 54%, 58%, and 38%, respectively.
2. Overseas spending grew even more dramatically
Transaction value on mini programs for duty-free shopping overseas soared 8.5-fold year over year.
Spending on overseas ride-hailing and shared transport both rose by more than 1.6 times, while ferry ticket bookings jumped more than threefold.
Of the 20 countries with the fastest growth in outbound travel visits, 12 were in Europe. Visits to the Netherlands more than doubled.
Put simply, the whole world knew Chinese people were on holiday. That’s really no joke.
Meituan’s report, also released on October 7, told a similar story.
Orders for long-distance trips of more than 800 kilometers rose 25% year over year.
31% of travelers stayed in one place for at least three days, and hotel bookings for consecutive stays rose 31%.
The number of people visiting three or more cities in one trip rose 54% year over year, with travelers visiting an average of 1.2 cities.
Group-buying orders on Douyin rose 53%, food and beverage orders increased by more than 61%, and hotel bookings climbed nearly 79%.
3. Those who stayed closer to home spent money on treating themselves
According to WeChat’s report, transaction value in the beauty and personal care sector—which includes beauty treatments, hair salons, and nail services—rose 174%.
After reading all that, one thing really struck me:
It’s not that people have stopped spending; they just don’t want to spend for the sake of joining the crowds.
Either they travel farther, stay longer, and explore more deeply,
or they stay home and spend on experiences and duty-free shopping—things where the value is easy to see.
I kept my Hong Kong card busy this holiday, and overseas spending made up a big chunk of my expenses.
Looking at the numbers now, I’m not an outlier; that’s simply where the overall trend is heading.
Which camp were you in this holiday?
Long-distance travel across provinces, overseas duty-free shopping, or treating yourself close to home?
What was your biggest holiday expense, and what did you spend it on?
I hadn’t even finished tallying up my travel expenses when two holiday reports released on October 7 left me stunned.
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays ran back-to-back, making for an especially long break.
Just how long? The data speaks for itself. Here’s a timeline:
On October 7, WeChat released its “2026 WeChat Data Report for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day Holidays.”
1. Nearly 60% of trips crossed provincial borders
People aren’t keen on staying close to home anymore; they’re heading farther afield.
There’s even a new term for it: “diagonal travel”—going from the country’s southernmost point to its highest-altitude destination, for example. This kind of trip was especially popular this year.
Transaction values on mini programs for parking, EV charging, and air travel rose by 54%, 58%, and 38%, respectively.
2. Overseas spending grew even more dramatically
Transaction value on mini programs for duty-free shopping overseas soared 8.5-fold year over year.
Spending on overseas ride-hailing and shared transport both rose by more than 1.6 times, while ferry ticket bookings jumped more than threefold.
Of the 20 countries with the fastest growth in outbound travel visits, 12 were in Europe. Visits to the Netherlands more than doubled.
Put simply, the whole world knew Chinese people were on holiday. That’s really no joke.
Meituan’s report, also released on October 7, told a similar story.
Orders for long-distance trips of more than 800 kilometers rose 25% year over year.
31% of travelers stayed in one place for at least three days, and hotel bookings for consecutive stays rose 31%.
The number of people visiting three or more cities in one trip rose 54% year over year, with travelers visiting an average of 1.2 cities.
Group-buying orders on Douyin rose 53%, food and beverage orders increased by more than 61%, and hotel bookings climbed nearly 79%.
3. Those who stayed closer to home spent money on treating themselves
According to WeChat’s report, transaction value in the beauty and personal care sector—which includes beauty treatments, hair salons, and nail services—rose 174%.
After reading all that, one thing really struck me:
It’s not that people have stopped spending; they just don’t want to spend for the sake of joining the crowds.
Either they travel farther, stay longer, and explore more deeply,
or they stay home and spend on experiences and duty-free shopping—things where the value is easy to see.
I kept my Hong Kong card busy this holiday, and overseas spending made up a big chunk of my expenses.
Looking at the numbers now, I’m not an outlier; that’s simply where the overall trend is heading.
Which camp were you in this holiday?
Long-distance travel across provinces, overseas duty-free shopping, or treating yourself close to home?
What was your biggest holiday expense, and what did you spend it on?