Apart from museums, night tourism bookings rose sharply. Routes marketed for autumn scenery and "Chinese-style romance" proved especially popular. Traditional Chinese theme parks outperformed some international IP-themed destinations in search interest, according to a report sent to the Global Times from Trip.com.

　　Cultural experience is steadily replacing simple photo-taking as the core of many trips, analysts said.

　　Longer holidays ahead

　　

　　The Mid-Autumn break is only the opening act. The National Day holiday (October 1-7) that follows is expected to release even greater spending power, analysts pointed out. This year only three working days separate the two holidays. By taking three days off, many travelers can create a continuous 13-day holiday.

　　As of Sunday, China sold 155 million railway tickets for both holidays, according to China Railway.

　　Domestic flight bookings for the combined period had already exceeded 8.58 million tickets by mid-September, up more than 10 percent, while bookings for routes over 2,000 kilometers rose about 14 percent.

　　Local governments have planned more than 20,000 cultural and tourism events during the National Day consumption month - from mid-September to late October - and will distribute over 310 million yuan ($46.2 million) in coupons, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

　　"The fourth quarter is already the traditional peak season for consumption. This year"s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays will further release concentrated travel demand. During the National Day period, cultural and tourism consumption will play a significantly stronger role in supporting the added value of the service industry and the total retail sales of consumer goods," Hu Qimu, a professor at the Maritime Silk Road Institute of Huaqiao University, told the Global Times.