In 2026, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays fall within three days of each other, making the "take 3 days off, get 13 days off" extended holiday plan a popular choice, leading to an earlier peak in long-distance travel. On September 3rd, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily found on OTA platforms that on September 25th, the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, some flights from Beijing to Urumqi were already priced higher than those on October 1st, the first day of the National Day holiday, with the price difference approaching double. Compared to the same period last year, the rush to book for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays is even stronger this year. Due to the extended travel period and more dispersed travel peaks, there are still many tickets available for around 300 yuan during the long holiday. Driven by the "longest travel window of the year," the demand for long-distance travel during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays is accelerating. In terms of destinations, Beijing currently ranks first among popular cities, while the southwest and northwest regions continue to attract increasing attention due to their unique cultural landscapes and long-distance sightseeing appeal.

Prices for some flights from Beijing to Urumqi are higher during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The "take 3 days off, get 13 days off" extended holiday from September 28th to 30th created the "longest travel window of the year." The long holiday further stimulated tourists' enthusiasm for travel, with a significant trend of booking tickets and departing earlier.

Data from Qunar.com shows that advance bookings for hotels in popular cities during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays on the platform increased by nearly 40% year-on-year, and the popularity of booking flights a month in advance was 21% higher than the same period last year. Driven by the pre-holiday "off-peak" travel rush, the number of travelers gradually increased from September 22nd; from September 23rd, the number of daily air travelers doubled year-on-year; the peak was reached on September 25th, the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, with a year-on-year increase of 1.7 times; and the second peak was on October 1st, the first day of the National Day holiday.

The peak season for travel to Xinjiang has arrived significantly earlier than expected. A reporter from Beijing Business Daily found on the Ctrip travel app that on the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, ticket prices for some flights from Beijing to Urumqi were nearly double those on the first day of the National Day holiday. Taking China Southern Airlines flight CZ6910 as an example, on September 25th, the lowest ticket price was 2720 yuan (excluding tax); on October 1st, the lowest ticket price was 1380 yuan, essentially double the price. Similar price trends were observed for several other flights, including Sichuan Airlines 3U3123 and Shandong Airlines SC2328.

Regarding travel patterns, Zhang Xiaolong, head of the market at Zuzuche, noted that users are making decisions significantly earlier. Last year, the peak pick-up time on the platform was October 1st during the National Day holiday, but this year it has shifted to September 25th, with pick-up volume increasing by 60% year-on-year.

Meanwhile, long-distance travel of 7 days or more has become the main demand. "Many people are willing to travel further and stay longer if they can create a 13-day holiday," Zhang Xiaolong said. In terms of booking pace, users generally plan their trips one to two months in advance, and the proportion of early bird bookings has further increased.

Bookings for routes over 2000 kilometers have doubled.

In terms of destinations, traditionally popular cities continue to lead the pack. According to data from Flightradar24, based on flight booking data, Beijing is the most popular city for the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, followed by Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Kunming, Urumqi, Hangzhou, Chongqing, and Xi'an.

With ample time available, long-haul flights spanning thousands of kilometers have become the mainstream choice for bookings, with significant increases in popularity for autumn foliage viewing destinations such as Tibet, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Qinghai.

According to data from Qunar Travel, the diagonal flight pattern of "flying from the bottom right corner of the map to the top left corner" or "flying from the northwest to the east China" has become a unique trend during this year's extended holiday, with bookings for popular routes with distances of more than 2,000 kilometers doubling year-on-year.

Specifically, bookings for the Lhasa-Shanghai route increased 4.4 times year-on-year, the Lhasa-Beijing route increased 3.4 times, and the Lhasa-Guangzhou route increased 3.3 times. In addition, routes such as Xining-Shanghai, Urumqi-Nanjing, and Urumqi-Wuhan also achieved nearly 2 times growth.

Mr. Liu, who plans to drive through Xinjiang during the National Day holiday, said that he had always wanted to drive along the Duku Highway. This year, he finally managed to squeeze out a 13-day holiday and can plan the entire route from Urumqi to Kashgar.

Zhang Xiaolong stated that, judging from domestic self-driving bookings, the destination structure is rapidly shifting westward, with western and border destinations accounting for a 15% increase. This reflects tourists' continued preference for natural scenery and ethnic culture, thereby driving the continued growth of the long-distance self-driving market in western China. In terms of customer demographics, tourists from first-tier cities in eastern China who "fly to the west and then drive themselves" are the main customer group.

Furthermore, the popularity of the first batch of "small airport" cities embracing autumn colors has also increased significantly. Data from Qunar.com shows that Yanji in Jilin Province saw the largest increase in bookings among small airport cities, growing 3.8 times. Zhongwei in Ningxia and Altay in Xinjiang, both suitable for autumn viewing, followed closely behind, with flight bookings nearly doubling year-on-year. During the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, flight bookings to third-tier and lower-tier "treasure trove cities" increased by over 30% year-on-year, with significant increases in tourists to Huangshan, Zunyi, Jinhua, and Hinggan League.

There are still cheap airfares to snag during long holidays.

Although booking periods and peak dates have been brought forward, combining holidays has further dispersed peak periods, resulting in relatively stable airfares during holidays.

Li Haoying, head of operations at TravelSky's official direct sales platform for civil aviation, stated that from September 25th to October 7th, the average price of domestic airfares (excluding taxes) was approximately 932 yuan, a slight increase year-on-year, but price trends varied across departure cities. Benefiting from the continued expansion of the Beijing hub's route network and ample capacity, coupled with the longer holiday period this year, travel costs for passengers departing from Beijing were more affordable than in previous years, with the average airfare departing from Beijing falling by approximately 8% year-on-year.

According to Qunar Travel's daily average departure airfares, weekdays before the Mid-Autumn Festival are the period with the lowest airfares throughout the holiday. Early departures on September 22nd saw average prices 30% lower than the first day of the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 25th) and 50% lower than the first day of the National Day holiday (October 1st).

Regarding the return journey, compared to previous years when the peak was highly concentrated in the last two days of the holiday, this year's return flight traffic is more dispersed from October 4th to 7th, resulting in a more gradual peak and lower return costs. For example, data from Qunar Travel shows that the average airfare on October 4th was more than 20% lower than the airfare during the return period last year.

As of now, there are still many airfares available for booking during the long holiday.

Li Haoying stated that the official direct sales platform of the Civil Aviation Administration of China shows that during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, there are tickets available for around 300 yuan on routes from Beijing to Anshan, Taiyuan, Songyuan, Wenzhou, Shenyang, and other destinations. Passengers can check the special offers for tickets in various locations on the page.

"Ticket prices for popular routes may fluctuate, so passengers are advised to pay attention to airfares and plan their trips in advance," Li Haoying advised. (Source: Beijing Business Today)