China bustles with colorful activities during National Day holiday

The eight-day National Day holiday in China, which began on Wednesday, has sparked a wave of vibrant activities across the country, enhancing travel experiences and filling the air with festive cheer.

Usually a seven-day break starting on Oct 1 and known as “Golden Week”, this year’s holiday was extended to eight days as it coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival. Crisp autumn weather is drawing people into nature to savor the season. In Ejin Banner, north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, desert poplars are turning golden, attracting tourists from across the country.

In northeast China’s Jilin Province, Changbai Mountain has upgraded its scenic infrastructure with new boardwalks and expanded viewing platforms, improving crowd flow and enhancing the visitor experience.

In southwest China’s Qinghai Province, the Chaka Salt Lake is crafting a fresh holiday experience with diverse offerings that invite tourists to stay longer and immerse themselves in the plateau’s unique salt lake charm.

Meanwhile, Beijing’s top municipal parks teamed up to offer more than 100 events and sightseeing routes, pulling in 2.62 million visitors in just the first four days of the holiday.

In Gangkou Town, Anhui Province, village sport games had tourists and locals racing through the farmland.

Libraries and museums were packed during the holiday as well. In the Xiong’an New Area in north China’s Hebei Province, the brand-new library logged more than 15,000 readers in a single day.

A new large-scale bookstore in Shenzhen City, south China’s Guangdong Province, collected more than 300,000 hand-picked titles, bringing a new reading experience to local residents and tourists.

In Pingtang County, home to China’s Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world’s largest single-dish and most sensitive radio telescope, visitors to the astronomy experience center has almost tripled during the holiday.

In Harbin City, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, lantern-lit ice sculptures carved with dragons, phoenixes and other Chinese motifs keep selfies snapping long after dark.

Down in Heyuan City, Guangdong, a glowing fish-lantern parade glided along the Xinfeng River, turning the waterfront into a three-stage stage — water, land and sky — for a pyrotechnic ballet of fire, fountains and neon that left onlookers wide-eyed.

This year, China’s National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday runs from Oct 1 to 8.

Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, has slammed into China’s coastal regions, unleashing powerful winds and heavy downpours.

The typhoon made its landfall along the eastern coast of Xuwen County, Zhanjiang City in south China’s Guangdong Province at around 14:50 on Sunday, with the maximum wind force near its center reaching 42 meters per second, and with a central minimum pressure of 965 hectopascals.

In the coastal town of Jinhe, situated along the eastern shoreline of Xuwen County, the wind speeds have reached gusts equivalent to level 14 on the Beaufort scale, causing metal sheets to be scattered around and trees to topple.

A nearby fishing port has experienced severe impact, with water and power supplies cut off and communication lines affected.

The storm’s center is expected to sweep the Leizhou Peninsula in south China later Sunday, bringing heavy rains and strong winds.

Local authorities have activated emergency response plans, urging residents to stay indoors, and reinforcing forecasts to prepare for ongoing severe weather.

The Haikou Meilan International Airport has canceled all flights and will gradually resume operations starting from 20:00 on Sunday.

Earlier on Saturday, authorities have activated a Level IV emergency response for flood control in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan as Typhoon Matmo was forecast to bring heavy rainfall.

China has a four-tier emergency response system, with Level I being the most severe response, and a four-tier weather warning system, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.