China's summer travel rush is in full swing.
国内暑期出行热潮全面开启。

The national railway operator expects to handle 1.01 billion passenger trips over 62 days, and aviation bookings have hit new highs.

国家铁路集团预计，62 天暑运期间旅客发送量将达 10.1 亿人次，民航机票预订量也创下新高。

Beyond the sheer numbers, the boom is reshaping the country's cultural tourism landscape.
除去亮眼的数据，这场出行热潮正在重塑国内文旅产业格局。

In the first three days since the rush began on July 1, national railways carried more than 38 million passengers, according to China State Railway Group.
据中国国家铁路集团有限公司消息，7 月 1 日暑运启动后的前三天，全国铁路累计发送旅客超 3800 万人次。

Aviation data platform Umetrip showed over 27 million domestic flight bookings for July as of July 6, up 89 percent from a week earlier.
民航数据平台航旅纵横数据显示，截至 7 月 6 日，7 月国内机票预订量超 2700 万张，较一周前增长 89%。

International bookings exceeded 5.9 million, up 19 percent.
国际机票预订量超 590 万张，同比上涨 19%。

On July 5, travel platform Qunar recorded searches for summer flights doubling from the previous day, setting a new daily record for the season.
7 月 5 日，旅游平台去哪儿网暑期航班搜索量较前一日翻倍，创下暑期单日搜索新高。

The real story is not how many people are traveling, but where they are heading.
本次出行热潮的核心看点不在于出行人次，而在于游客的目的地选择。

Incremental traffic is flowing more to smaller cities rather than traditional tourism hubs.
新增客流更多流向中小城市，而非传统热门旅游城市。

Flight bookings to Qinhuangdao in Hebei province surged 2.2 times, while Yili, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, emerged as the top self-drive destination with popularity up 6.5 times, according to Qunar.
去哪儿网数据显示，飞往河北秦皇岛的机票预订量暴涨 2.2 倍；新疆伊犁成为热门自驾目的地，搜索热度大涨 6.5 倍。

Airlines have responded by adding routes to match the shift.
各大航司顺势增开航线，适配游客出行方向的变化。

China Eastern Airlines has increased Shanghai-Urumqi round-trip flights by 51 percent and seating capacity by 30 percent.
东方航空将上海往返乌鲁木齐的航班班次提升 51%，运力提升 30%。

After its Shanghai-Yining route was relocated to the Hongqiao hub, flight frequency surged 130 percent year-on-year and now operates daily.
东航上海至伊宁航线调整至虹桥机场起降后，航班班次同比大增 130%，现已实现每日一班。

"Unlike the rapid recovery period of the past two years, this summer rush marks civil aviation's transition from full recovery to high-quality development. The market logic is shifting from competing on capacity to competing on efficiency," said an expert with flight data platform Flight Manager.
航班数据平台飞常准相关专家表示：“和前两年行业快速复苏阶段不同，今年暑运标志着民航业从全面复苏转向高质量发展。市场竞争逻辑也从比拼运力，转变为比拼运营效率。”

What draws travelers to these lesser-known places is increasingly cultural rather than scenic.
吸引游客奔赴小众目的地的核心驱动力，正从自然风光转向人文底蕴。

Searches for intangible cultural heritage destinations rose 71 percent from the previous month as of June 12, according to travel platform Tongcheng, which noted that travelers are flocking to Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province, Quanzhou in Fujian province and Dali in Yunnan province, drawn by the idea of "traveling to a city for a craft".
旅游平台同程旅行数据显示，截至 6 月 12 日，非遗文化目的地搜索量较上月上涨 71%。平台表示，不少游客秉持 “为一门手艺奔赴一座城” 的想法，前往江西景德镇、福建泉州、云南大理等地游玩。

Research tours have evolved from sightseeing to immersion, with industrial tourism searches surging 2.3 times, according to Qunar.
去哪儿网数据显示，研学旅行已从走马观花式观光转变为深度沉浸式体验，工业旅游相关搜索量暴涨 2.3 倍。

Regional carriers are tapping the trend: China Express Airlines has launched themed products including Silk Road research tours in Dunhuang and Jiayuguan in Gansu province, and red tourism routes in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, while Juneyao Airlines has resumed flights to cultural destinations like Dunhuang, Jiayuguan and Xining.
多家支线航空企业抢抓这一市场热潮：华夏航空推出多款主题研学产品，包含甘肃敦煌、嘉峪关丝路研学线路，以及陕西延安红色旅游专线；吉祥航空则恢复了飞往敦煌、嘉峪关、西宁等文化旅游目的地的航线。

"Travelers increasingly value the experience itself, and airlines are responding with differentiated products that weave local culture into the journey," said Li Xiaojin, director of the Aviation Economics and Improvement Research Institute at Civil Aviation University of China.
中国民航大学航空经济与优化研究所所长李晓津表示：“如今游客愈发看重出行体验本身，各大航司也顺势推出差异化产品，将各地特色文化融入旅途之中。”

Active policy support underpins this cultural turn.
文旅出行的转型离不开政策的大力扶持。

In June, eight government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, issued joint measures to promote rail-tourism integration and expand service consumption.
今年 6 月，商务部、文化和旅游部等八部门联合出台举措，推动铁路与旅游深度融合，扩大服务消费。

Themed tourist trains are now running regularly. These include a panda-themed train through Sichuan province, a "Yangtze Delta Star" route, and a "Yichun" forest wellness train to Heilongjiang province, among others, China Railway announced.
国铁集团介绍，多款主题旅游列车现已常态化开行，其中包括穿行四川的熊猫主题列车、“长三角之星” 旅游专列，以及开往黑龙江伊春的森林康养专列等。

The fusion extends to aviation as well. "Many airlines have shifted from focusing solely on trunk routes to coordinating trunk and branch services, and from pure price competition to differentiated products and services," Li said.
文旅融合的趋势同样延伸至民航领域。李晓津表示：“不少航司不再单一布局干线航线，转而统筹干线与支线网络；行业竞争也摆脱单纯的价格战，转向差异化产品与服务比拼。”

The reshaping extends beyond China's borders. The outbound market is surging, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico provided an extra boost.
文旅市场格局的重塑同样延伸至境外游领域。出境游市场热度持续攀升，由美国、加拿大、墨西哥联合承办的 2026 年国际足联世界杯进一步拉动出境出行需求。

China Southern Airlines now operates seven North American routes with 38 weekly flights to meet demand.
为匹配市场需求，南方航空现已开通 7 条北美航线，每周执行 38 班航班。