Changsha Receives over 7.6 Million Visits During May Day Holiday

2026-05-06

During the May Day holiday, Changsha's cultural and tourism sector welcomed a large number of visitors. New attractions such as "Snack Kingdom" and "Tank Changsha (1936)," business format like "Tales of the East" and the intangible cultural heritage experiences in Changsha's drama street, and new theatrical productions including "Encountering in Hunan: The Butterfly Lovers," "Changsha," and "Save Flaming Mountain," all made their debut. The colorful activities offered residents and tourists an immersive and unique holiday experience, attracting young people from all over the country flocking to the city.

Data from major platforms showed that Changsha has firmly remained among the top 10 domestic tourist destinations during the May Day holiday. According to Meituan data, Changsha ranked 7th among the top 10 cities for scenic spot popularity on the first day of the May Day holiday. According to railway department data, Changsha ranked 8th among the most popular arrival cities during the May Day holiday. The Ctrip data showed that Changsha ranked 9th among the most popular domestic hotel destinations during the May Day holiday. As for Tongcheng Travel data, Changsha ranked 9th among the most popular long-distance travel destinations during the May Day holiday.

The telecommunication data analyzed that Changsha recorded a cumulative total of 7.6575 million tourist trips during the five-day May Day holiday.

New scenarios and business formats gaining popularity

During the May Day holiday, Tank Changsha (1936) underwent a transformation—the Changsha AIGC TANK Digital Media Art Center, converted from Tank No. 1, officially opened its doors. At the same time, the "Tales of the East" light and shadow digital art experience space debuted within the venue. It is a phenomenon-level series created by digital artist Uncle In & Fun. Powered by AIGC digital technology, it delves deeply into the core of Eastern supernatural folklore and has garnered widespread acclaim for its unique creative style and cultural expression. The exhibition drew massive crowds from the moment it opened.

Located in the Wuyi Square business area, the Changsha Drama and Intangible Cultural Heritage Street has recently opened. With its diverse offerings—including opera performances, traditional crafts, trendy markets, and immersive mystery-solving games—it has become a new cultural and tourism landmark in the city center. From May 1 to 4, the street hosted a variety of vibrant intangible cultural heritage activities, allowing the public to encounter traditional heritage amidst the bustling city streets and discover a whole new way to explore ancient Changsha. During the holiday, all performances and markets on the street were open to the public free of charge. This accessible cultural tourism format has attracted large crowds of locals and tourists.

Experiencing the charm of the new theater and its new productions firsthand

During the May Day holiday, the highly anticipated small-theater immersive Yue opera "Encountering in Hunan: The Butterfly Lovers" officially premiered at the Xiangjiang Theater on Pozhi Street in Changsha. Featuring an immersive small-theater design, the opera combined a main stage with a catwalk extension, surrounded by scattered seating. At its closest, the front-row audience members were less than a meter away from the performers. The artists' flowing sleeves nearly brushed the audience as they moved. When Ma Wencai shouted "Don't worry!" in the Changsha dialect, the audience couldn't help but laugh. "While preserving the essence of the classic arias, the innovations in Ma Wencai's role are excellent—down-to-earth yet seamless. The immersive experience of the small theater is simply captivating," said Qin Gang, a tourist from Yueyang.

The Hunan Provincial Theatre's immersive interactive street theater production "Changsha," staged at Houhu's Theater Wharf, sold out all three of its opening performances and received rave reviews. In response to audience demand, additional performances were scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on the May 4 and 5. Audiences followed the play back to the old streets and alleys of Changsha in the 1990s, joining "Big Sister Hu"—the matriarch of the group—and three "hot-headed" college students starting their own businesses to experience heartwarming, witty, and vivid stories of everyday life.

Changsha's small theaters offered a wide variety of exciting performances. Whether you're traveling alone, as a couple, with your kids, or with the whole family, there's something for everyone.

Innovative services to enhance visitors' experience

Tourist attractions and commercial districts in Changsha have introduced innovative approaches to provide thoughtful services to visitors from across the country.

The "unattended luggage location" at the Wuyi Square metro station has no fences or attendants; suitcases of all sizes and colors are neatly stacked along one side of the passageway. Tourists simply leave their luggage there and head off to shop, eat, or take photos at popular spots. "Being able to leave my luggage here with peace of mind makes me know I've come to the right place," one tourist wrote on social media.

During the May Day holiday, Changsha launched an upgraded version of its "unmanned luggage storage" volunteer service, setting up "official luggage drop-off stations" at key locations such as the Wuyi Square metro station and the central square of the pedestrian street, to provide residents and tourists with more convenient holiday services.

At locations such as the Huangxing South Road Pedestrian Shopping Street, Pozhi Street, Tianxin Pavilion, and the Changsha Ecological Zoo, volunteers have been making the rounds with trolleys, distributing "Warm Kits"—containing Ageratum-liquid, straw hats, cooling arm sleeves, cooling patches, and small fans—to frontline workers, new job seekers, and tourists in need.

This May Day holiday marked the first long weekend since the Hunan Museum and the Hunan Martyrs Park were integrated. By installing additional turnstiles and setting up more luggage storage points, the museum has comprehensively enhanced the visitor experience for both residents and tourists, resulting in significant improvements in travel time and overall satisfaction.