Tourists enjoy themselves beside a waterfall in Anshun City, southwest China"s Guizhou Province, Aug. 6, 2026. (Photo by Lu Wei/Xinhua)

　　GUIYANG, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Every year by late June, 66-year-old Li Donglai resettles into his summer routine in Anshun, a city in southwest China"s Guizhou Province. This is not a tourist holiday, but a seasonal life away from his own home.

　　Li, from Chongqing, spends more than two months in Anshun each year, drawn by its mild summer weather, nearby hospitals, and everyday conveniences. He buys vegetables at the local market, takes walks around the neighborhood, and heads out to explore attractions within reach.

　　"I used to think retirement meant staying at home, looking after my grandchildren and remaining in my hometown," he said. "After experiencing seasonal living elsewhere, I realize I can actively choose how to spend my later years."

　　Li is one of a growing number of Chinese retirees who have moved beyond check-in tourism -- a rushed way of sightseeing. They choose the same place to stay for weeks or months each year and build everyday routines there. What begins as a trip becomes a way of living for part of the year.

　　MOVING WITH SEASONS

　　For many retirees, it is the thermometer, not the hometown, that decides where the year is spent.

　　Zhao Tianlong, who runs a seasonal-living center in Yunnan, sees the effect in his clients every year. From June to September, retirees from hot regions such as Hunan, Sichuan and Chongqing head to cooler Yunnan cities like Kunming and Dali. From November to March, retirees from northern China head south to escape the cold.