The May Day tourism market made a strong comeback compared with the same period preceding the 2019 COVID-19 outbreak, thanks to Zhuhai's selections of theme parks, islands, and countryside travel options.

In all, 1.94 million travelers visited Zhuhai during the five-day holiday, up 125.7 percent from the same period in 2020 and 0.1 percent from 2019. The number of overnighters increased by 178.1 percent from 2020 and 1.1 percent from 2019 to 460,000. Tourism spending reached 1.3 billion yuan ($200.7 million), a hike of 207.1 percent from 2020 and 13.8 percent from 2019.

Chimelong International Ocean Resort in Hengqin New Area was the most popular tourist attraction. Visitors attended gold award-winning circus performances and used augmented reality tools to animate their drawings of marine animals.

Dances at Novotown (Hengqin Laisun Creative Culture City), parent-child activities in Sumlodol Hengqin Camping Town, and naked-eye 9D holographic light-shadow shows at New Yuanming Palace in Gongbei also piqued interest.

Xiangshan Lake Park [Photo by Zhu Xi / Guanhai App]

Parks across the city were decked out with flowers and themed landscapes. The second phase of Xiangshan Lake Park in New Xiangzhou staged a pastel painting exhibition, while Hengqin's Mangzhou and Erjing Bay wetland parks and Flower Corridor hosted a concert and parent-child camping carnival.

New Lingnan (Cantonese) Garden of Sea & Sky (Haitian) Park at the East Meihua Road-Central Lovers Avenue intersection opened May 1. The garden contains green water, flowers and trees, "ancient" walls, ornamental perforated windows, and rocks. Swimming is permitted once again at Haibin Beach (City Parlor) south of the garden in Jida.

The number of visitors to the Wanshan Archipelago grew by 80 percent year-on-year to 33,339, as new tourist routes began running April 28 between Hengqin Ferry Terminal and Wailingding, Guishan, and Wanshan islands. A record-breaking 8,600 visitors were recorded May 1.

Moreover, Gree Dong'ao Hotel also set a new high in single-day operating revenue on May 1 and 2 with hiking, night observation of the natural world, a music party, bamboo weaving experience, and environmental protection and DIY activities.

In terms of rural tourism, Herbal (Baicao) Garden at the Lingnan Wonderland Eco-Resort National Rural Complex in Doumen District offered a mix of traditional Chinese medicine science promotions, healthcare-oriented leisure activities, and catering and B&B services during the holiday.

Waterside Sanban Village in Jinwan District entertained visitors with a canoe-kayak race May 2 and farmhouse treats.

Statistics from mobile big data platform show that most of the tourists came from other Guangdong cities such as Zhongshan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Jiangmen. Most out-of-province travelers were from Hunan, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Shanghai, Beijing, and Jiangxi.