May Day is play day

Japan's Kyushu.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Most visitors to domestic destinations have booked excursions lasting three to five days, the Ctrip report says.

Dai recommends 11-day group trips from Beijing or Shanghai to the Tibet autonomous region's Lhasa, Nyingchi and Shigatse. They offer value for money, she says, and now cost 7,300 yuan for trips around the holiday on Ctrip's website.

Costs will likely increase to 10,000 yuan during the summer vacation, she says.

"These places are less crowded in May," Dai adds.

"Travelers can get a better feel of landscapes and cultures."

Ctrip's group travel to northwestern China is discounted by up to 3,200 yuan per eight tourists if they reserve early, the agency claims.

Seven-day train trips from Qinghai province's Xining to Qinghai Lake, and Gansu province's Dunhuang, Jiayuguan and Lanzhou, are a little more than 3,000 yuan on the agency's website.

Tourists can experience the Mogao Grottoes' Buddhist frescoes, Yardang landforms and deserts in Gansu.

A technology company manager, He Bin, has booked a trip to Guilin in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region over May Day.

The Beijing resident made reservations 15 days ahead.

"I booked early because flights and hotels are always in short supply during the holiday," He says.

His urge to travel in May was intensified by the fact that work forced him to stay in the capital during the Tomb Sweeping holiday.

For him, May Day will be play day.