An aerial drone photo taken on May 1, 2026 shows people visiting the Laoling World Studios, a film and television shooting and cultural tourism base, in Laoling, east China"s Shandong Province. (Photo by Jia Peng/Xinhua)

　　BEIJING, May 7 (Xinhua) -- China"s cultural and tourism market sustained stable expansion during the 2026 May Day holiday, with domestic trips and total spending both registering year-on-year growth, according to official data released on Thursday.

　　The Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced that a total of 325 million domestic trips were made across the country during the May 1-5 period, representing a 3.6-percent increase from the same period last year.

　　Domestic tourism expenditure reached 185.49 billion yuan (about 27.08 billion U.S. dollars), up 2.9 percent year on year, the ministry said, citing calculations from its data center.

　　Public cultural institutions across the country organized around 49,400 cultural events during this holiday, attracting approximately 88 million visits, the ministry noted.

　　Nighttime cultural and tourism consumption remained robust, with national-level nighttime cultural and tourism consumption clusters receiving more than 80.41 million visits, an increase of 6.44 percent year on year.

　　Additionally, China saw strong growth in its performance market during the holiday period. Roughly 32,000 commercial performances, excluding entertainment venue shows, were staged nationwide, generating box office revenue of 2.48 billion yuan, up 14.66 percent year on year.

　　These favorable holiday figures underscored the growing importance of the cultural and tourism sector in China"s broader economic landscape.