China’s domestic tourism has bounced back dramatically; the numbers tell the story. During the 2024 National Day holiday, China’s national railway recorded 23.1 million trips on the first day alone, up nearly 8% from the previous year and setting a single-day record. In the recent eight-day National Day holiday (also known as Golden Week) in 2025, the Yangtze River Delta Railway alone handled four million passengers, a more than 10% increase year-on-year.
However, this massive revival has not been without problems. Overtourism in China has become a recurring pressing challenge during the peak travel period, along with ageing infrastructure and the chaos of social media-driven travel fads. How China handles these challenges could shape the future of tourism in the world’s most populous nation.
Chinese tourists want something different now
Chinese tourism looks completely different from what it did before 2019. Back then, the national rail network handled 17.13 million trips on October 1. By 2024, that number had jumped to 21.45 million, and in 2025 it hit 23.13 million.
But it’s not just about the numbers. More people want to go hiking and camping instead of visiting the usual cities and historical sites. There has been a clear shift toward authentic experiences rather than the typical tourist traps everyone knows.
Moreover, weekend getaways have taken over. Instead of long trips across the country, people take short, frequent breaks to nearby cities. This spreads tourists around more, but it also creates problems in new places. Hidden gems that used to fly under the radar are suddenly packed with visitors looking to avoid the crowds at famous landmarks. It is great for regional economies, but many of these places are not ready for the attention.
However, things were not the same during peak travel times like Golden Week and Labor Day Holidays.
How authorities are fighting back against overtourism in China
During peak travel times, places like the Great Wall and Mount Tai get absolutely slammed with visitors. Overtourism has forced the government to roll out comprehensive reservation systems to deal with the chaos. Most major attractions now require you to book three to seven days in advance. They use ID cards and passports to track numbers and stop scalpers from gaming the system.
Some public spaces could not use reservation systems, though. Take Shanghai’s Bund, for example, which experienced massive visitor numbers during the National Day holiday 2025. During the first four days of Golden Week 2025, Shanghai’s Bund waterfront experienced massive visitor numbers during China’s National Day holiday, with peak crowds reaching 57,000 people. The most dramatic surge occurred on October 3rd, showing an 83.8% increase in peak attendance compared to the previous year. Daily total visitors consistently exceeded 530,000, with some days seeing increases of over 20% from 2024.
To manage these crowds, Huangpu District Police implemented sophisticated safety measures, including one-way pedestrian flow systems, alternating traffic controls, and phased entry protocols to maintain order and safety throughout the holiday period. Authorities also use big data to predict where crowds will form and step in before things get dangerous.
Social media has become an unlikely ally in fighting overtourism. On platforms like RedNote and Douyin, people share clever workarounds for enjoying famous spots without the crowds. Netizens suggest viewing Hongya Cave in Chongqing from the opposite riverbank instead of fighting through the masses at the attraction itself. These crowd-sourced solutions show how tech-savvy Chinese travelers are helping solve the problem themselves.
The hidden dangers of overtourism in China
Safety scares have put a spotlight on the tourism sector’s weak points. The suspension bridge collapse in Xinjiang made people ask hard questions about whether tourist sites are actually safe. The biggest issue is the old infrastructure that was never built to handle today’s massive crowds.
The problems get worse at smaller attractions with 3A or 4A ratings and at privately run sites. These places often have weak oversight and don’t get enough investment for upgrades. Rural destinations face a particularly tough situation. City dwellers want authentic countryside experiences, so suddenly sleepy villages are hosting thousands of visitors without much preparation.
How viral content creates overnight crowds
Then there’s the social media effect. Cities like Zibo, Jingdezhen, and Tianshui have blown up overnight because of viral content. Nobody planned for this. Zibo’s barbecue went viral and turned a quiet industrial city into a tourism hotspot in weeks. The local government didn’t orchestrate this through some marketing campaign. It just happened organically online.
The same pattern plays out elsewhere. Jingdezhen’s value-for-money fried chicken chops and ceramics workshops, or Tianshui’s spicy hot pot, can suddenly attract massive crowds because someone’s video went viral. Local transportation, hotels, and public facilities get overwhelmed almost instantly. There was no time for gradual planning like traditional tourism development allows. Instead of preventing problems, authorities end up reacting to the sudden surge in the crowd with temporary solutions. Instead of building new facilities, which take time and may lead to “ghost towns” when the tourism fad dies down, the local government has opened up its own, normally restricted, facilities to the public. This solves a practical problem for tourists and fosters goodwill, which encourages tourism.
Finding the right balance
Local governments are stuck between competing priorities. Tourism brings jobs and money, which everyone wants. But when safety gets compromised in the rush to cash in, the costs can be devastating. The solution needs multiple approaches working together. Safety regulations need real teeth, especially at smaller and private attractions. Infrastructure inspections and upgrades should be mandatory everywhere, not just at top-tier sites, and should be held regularly.
Technology helps manage crowds, but that is only part of the answer. Spreading tourists across more locations takes pressure off the famous sites, while helping less-visited areas grow economically is key. Quick response systems for viral tourism trends would help too. That means having emergency plans ready when visitor numbers suddenly spike and being able to assess infrastructure fast.
China’s tourism boom can continue, but only if the right balance is struck. Without better planning and stricter enforcement, overtourism will eventually ruin the experiences people are looking for. The challenge of managing overtourism in China effectively could become a model for other countries dealing with similar pressures down the road.
Navigating overtourism in China
- In recent years, travel preferences have shifted toward hiking, camping, and regional weekend getaways over traditional sightseeing.
- However, during peak travel periods, overtourism strains infrastructure, from the Great Wall’s reservation systems to Shanghai Bund’s 57,000-person crowds.
- Social media also creates instant tourism hotspots in lesser-known cities. This overwhelms unprepared locations like Zibo and Jingdezhen with viral-driven crowds.
- Chinese authorities now deploy crowd-control tech and even open government compounds to manage surges while balancing economic benefits against safety risks.
