Data from a Chinese tourism platform has revealed a remarkable 270% surge in search popularity for Kashi, located in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, after the city featured as a branch venue for the Spring Festival Gala, according to local media reports on Sunday.
The ancient city of Kashi, selected as a sub-venue for the 2024 China Central Television (CCTV) Spring Festival Gala, officially opened to visitors on Saturday. The gala, known as chunwan, was broadcasted on state-owned China Central TV from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the early hours of the Spring Festival.
Kashi’s sub-venue showcased twelve dreamlike buildings with intersecting roofs, bathed in dazzling lights, creating a spectacular stage that transported viewers into a fantasy world.
Travel data from Trip.com indicates a substantial increase in travel search popularity for Xi’an, Kashi, Changsha, and Shenyang, all sub-venues of the gala. Kashi’s search popularity witnessed a significant rise of 270%, trailing only behind Xi’an with a 294% increase.
Data from other travel platforms, Qunar.com and Trip.com, corroborated the trend, indicating that the four sub-venue locations experienced a surge in search popularity by over 50% compared to the previous day.
Qunar’s data revealed that from the first day to the third day of the Chinese New Year, air ticket bookings to Kashi more than doubled compared to 2023, with the average payment price reaching 835 yuan. On the second day of the Chinese New Year alone, hotel reservations in Kashi on the Qunar platform increased by 1.13-fold year-on-year in 2023.
Following an eight-minute performance at the Xinjiang Kashi sub-venue of the 2024 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, showcasing Xinjiang’s diverse ethnic styles, many netizens expressed newfound interest in Kashi and other cities in Xinjiang. The performance, portraying a thriving and prosperous Xinjiang, resonated with viewers, leading to an influx of positive comments and a desire to visit.
The allure extended to the fashion domain, with Chinese Uygur actress Dilraba’s red dress at the Kashi branch venue becoming highly sought after. Tourists are now booking online visits to the old city of Kashi in pursuit of the dress. Over 50 shops in the ancient city provide travel services and ethnic-style clothing rental.
Kashi, a key area of Xinjiang tourism, has witnessed a steady rise in tourism in recent years. In 2023, the city received over 33.22 million tourists, generating tourism income exceeding 27.3 billion yuan ($3.79 billion). This year, Kashi’s tourism goal is set to attract 38 million tourists, generating an anticipated tourism income of 33 billion yuan.