With this year's Mid-Autumn Festival drawing near, China's tourism market is gearing up for another surge in travel and consumption activity, building on the strong momentum from a just-concluded bustling summer travel season, industry insiders and experts said over the weekend.

They predicted that this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, which runs from September 15 to 17, will see sustained high demand for short-distance travel. Combined with the upcoming National Day holidays (running from October 1 to 7）, this is expected to inject continued vitality into consumption, contributing to the country's economic growth in the latter part of the year.

Data from China's online travel services platform Fliggy showed a double-digit increase in bookings for hotels, domestic car rentals and tickets for this popular traditional festival compared with 2019. The overall booking volume for the Mid-Autumn Festival holidays is significantly higher compared with the Dragon Boat Festival in June, despite both having a three-day duration.

Several travel platforms in China have reported that the Mid-Autumn Festival travel trend is dominated by short to mid-distance trips, with "micro-vacations" to nearby cities and provinces being especially popular. Destinations within a two-hour drive or three-hour high-speed rail journey are particularly busy.

According to Tuniu, an online travel platform, nearly 40 percent of travelers are planning short trips to local or adjacent areas during the upcoming festival, with about 30 percent opting to start their journeys one day or two before the festival.

Experts attribute the strong travel demand to favorable weather, off-peak prices and the traditional cultural significance of family reunions during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Emerging travel trends, including cultural tours, urban leisure trips and sports tourism, not only reflect an expansion in the Chinese consumption preferences but also promise to inject sustained vitality into the domestic economy," Jiang Yiyi, vice dean of the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, told the Global Times on Saturday.

Tongcheng, another online travel services provider, reported a 77 percent increase in searches for ancient towns and gardens over the past week.

China's recent summer travel season had broken records for passenger volumes and witnessed strong growth in bookings and spending. Jiang expects this momentum to carry into October, potentially boosting sectors like transportation, hospitality and cultural products.

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Western Theater Command on Friday refuted recent online rumors regarding conflicts at the China-India border and soldier casualties, urging an end to the spread of military-related speculations.

The refutation was made in response to rumors circulating on Chinese social media platforms recently regarding fabricated videos and images suggesting that there had been a conflict at the China-India border, during which six PLA soldiers sacrificed their lives.

The internet is not a lawless zone, and it is essential to put an end to the production and spreading of military-related rumors, the PLA Western Theater Command said on its official WeChat account.

Many netizens expressed their support for the refutation, urging all internet users not to believe or spread rumors, and emphasizing the need to appropriately punish those who create false information for ulterior motives.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, China and India held the 31st Meeting of Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs in Beijing on August 29. The two sides agreed to work together to turn the page on the border situation at an early date in accordance with the guiding principles of the important common understandings reached between the two foreign ministers.

History has consistently shown that the optimization and innovation of trade routes is vital for promoting regional economic development. Collaboration between China and Russia on the Northern Sea Route is just such an innovative endeavor. As it is the shortest maritime passage linking northeast Asia and western Europe, the development and utilization of the Northern Sea Route hold significant implications for trade between China and Russia, as well as between East Asian economies and Europe.

A joint report by the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russia's National Coordinating Center for International Business Cooperation recently said that Chinese companies are actively exploring the Northern Sea Route, Russian media outlet Sputnik said on its Chinese website on Wednesday.

The strong interest of Chinese shipping companies in the Northern Sea Route reflects their pursuit of new business opportunities and also bodes well for the potential for China-Russia cooperation in Arctic shipping. 

Although some in the West tend to misinterpret normal cooperation between China and Russia on Arctic issues, their collaboration on the Northern Sea Route is based on mutual interests and the development needs of the regional economy.

As one of the key Arctic shipping routes, the Northern Sea Route is known as the shortest sea route linking Europe to Asia, offering multiple advantages such as reduced sailing times and lower sailing costs. The Korea Maritime Institute once predicted that Arctic shipping routes have the potential to emerge as important commercial alternatives to the traditional Asia-Europe route through the Suez Canal.  

As the appeal of Arctic shipping grows, there is an increasing amount of international research and policy planning focused on Arctic development and route construction. For instance, in 2022, Russia approved a 13-year development plan for its Northern Sea Route, which includes the construction of more than 50 icebreakers and ice-class ships, the establishment of ports, terminals and emergency rescue centers, and the deployment of an orbital satellite constellation. It is estimated that about 2 trillion rubles ($22.38 billion) will need to be invested, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

This extensive plan reflects Russia's determination to develop the Northern Sea Route and the priority it attaches to this effort. To achieve its ambitious goals, Russia needs a stable and reliable long-term partner, as well as adequate technical and financial support. 

From China's perspective, the Arctic shipping route holds significant implications for the development of its future trade network. Maritime transport constitutes about 95 percent of China's international trade. If the Northern Sea Route emerges as a viable commercial option, it will undoubtedly enhance convenience and cost-effectiveness for trade between China and Russia, as well as between China and Europe. Furthermore, this new shipping route has the potential to stimulate development in Northeast China, fostering revitalization and positioning the region as a new frontier of openness.

While the Northern Sea Route may offer many advantages, it also presents significant challenges. First of all, the unpredictability of navigation times each year restricts its utilization. Second, support services for navigation are inadequate, with notable deficiencies in rescue, anti-pollution, medical and cargo handling facilities along the route. That means the Arctic shipping route still has a long way to go from its current status to truly becoming a commercial option, and it requires more international cooperation.

All in all, promoting and strengthening bilateral and multilateral cooperation efforts related to Arctic routes will not only benefit China and Russia, but also serve the interests of regional economies and contribute to the global economic recovery.

At 11:23 am on Thursday, a round of applause erupted in Air China's first C919 cabin, when the home-made plane, with the registration number of B-919X, landed smoothly at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing.

Welcomed with a water cannon salute at the airport, Air China's first C919 aircraft officially joined the fleet.

About one hour earlier, another C919 received by China Southern Airlines landed at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, also becoming the first of its kind received by China Southern.

It is the second day after the single-aisle C919 were delivered to the two major Chinese air carriers by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) in Shanghai. The aircraft have now returned to their bases, preparing for future service.

The C919 is an excellent aircraft, achieving a very high standard in design, performance, as well as in terms of control feeling and human-computer interaction, Wang Yan, the captain of Air China B-919X, told the Global Times on Thursday.

"I am proud of the Air China C919 aircraft, and I am proud to be a C919 pilot," Wang said.

Wang has long flown Boeing 777 and Airbus 321 aircraft. In July, Wang completed the C919 modification training and obtained a new pilot license.

"We will ensure that domestically-produced large aircraft fly smoothly in the blue sky, prioritizing safety and efficiency," Wang said.

The most striking feature of Air China's C919 is its spaciousness, including the wide aisle, an open cabin layout, and generous seat spacing.

Air China's C919 aircraft has a total of 158 seats, including eight business class seats with a pitch of 40 inches, 150 economy class seats with a pitch of 30-31 inches, and a 45-inch pitch at the safety exit.

Compared with other airlines, which have 164 seats, Air China has one fewer row of economy class seats, so the distance between each row of seats is increased by two inches. The seat spacing is better than that of similar foreign planes.

While seated in an economy class seat, the GT reporter opened the tray table and placed a laptop on it without feeling cramped, while the leg space was comfortable. When the passenger in the middle seat leaves the seat, another passenger does not need to stand up, but can easily make room by turning slightly sideways.

Even if the flight attendants push the dining cart down the central aisle, there is relatively ample space in the aisle on both sides, the reporter noticed.
To ensure safety, Air China set up a flying team for C919, and the first group of ten C919 pilots completed the transition training on July 29 and passed the test organized by the Civil Aviation Administration of China, all with excellent results, receiving their C919 pilot licenses.

Information shared by China Southern showed that the carrier selected three experienced captains, with a total flight time exceeding 35,000 hours.

China Southern said it will launch a route from Guangzhou to Shanghai on September 19. The carrier said it has been deepening cooperation with COMAC in maintenance capability development, parts manufacturing, and aircraft monitoring system to ensure the safe and efficient operation of the C919.

The carrier independently develops an aircraft health management system, the only one in the world compatible with Boeing, Airbus, and the home-made aircraft. It can provide real-time status monitoring, fault diagnosis, and predictive maintenance, and data-driven decision support to improve aircraft safety, reliability and maintenance efficiency.

China Southern announced that it plans to implement the system across all C919 fleet after successful testing.

Currently, a total of nine C919 planes have been delivered to airlines by COMAC. Among them, the C919 aircraft of China Eastern Airlines, the first global user, has been operating smoothly for 15 consecutive months since its first commercial flight, flying five routes, and has completed more than 3,600 commercial flights and 10,000 flight hours.

On August 16, State Grid Bortala Power Supply Company organized personnel to carry out independent inspection of drones on the 10-kilovolt line. Distribution line inspection is the focus of power supply guarantee work. Drones have become an important tool for distribution network line inspection. 

Compared with the previous manual operation of drone inspection methods, drones equipped with adaptive inspection technology do not require staff to remotely command. With one-click operation, a series of tasks such as identifying poles and towers, infrared temperature measurement, and taking pictures can be completed independently.

In order to effectively improve the application effect of independent drone inspection and effectively support the construction and application of a new power system and the construction of core business teams, the company planned in advance and established a joint research special group for adaptive inspection of distribution network drones with Information Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Zhongke Fangcun Zhiwei (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd. 

Through top-down linkage, main production coordination, "training + practical operation," and "outsourcing + independence" methods comprehensively promote full coverage of independent inspection of distribution network drones.

"After adopting adaptive technology, a drone with a team of two people can complete a 10-kilometer inspection task in one day, which is equivalent to the workload of our previous week of walking inspection. This greatly improves the work efficiency at the grassroots level," said Li Jingtao, an employee of the company.

As of now, State Grid Bortala Power Supply Company has used drones for independent inspection of 110 10-kilovolt lines, 36,700 poles and towers, a total of 1,815.93 kilometers, and discovered and dealt with 10,300 various defects. 

In the next step, the company will explore and deepen the application of drone adaptive technology, strengthen cooperation and exchanges in related fields, draw on advanced experience, better achieve lean operation and maintenance of the distribution network, serve and ensure that the operation safety of grassroots personnel is controllable,work is cost-reduced and efficiency-increased, and fully guarantee the safe and stable operation of the power grid.

China facilitated 110 million cross-border passenger trips in July and August, which marks a year-on-year increase of 30.0% and a 13.0% increase from the May-June period, said the National Immigration Administration on Tuesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday started holding bilateral events with foreign leaders who will attend the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), scheduled for Sept. 4 to 6 in Beijing.

At 10 a.m., Xi met with Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, at the Great Hall of the People.

During the FOCAC summit, Xi will attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech on Sept. 5. He will also host a welcome banquet for the leaders and representatives attending the summit.

Following the 2006 Beijing summit, the 2015 Johannesburg summit and the 2018 Beijing summit, the upcoming summit is another event gathering members of the friendly family of China and Africa. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years, with the highest attendance of foreign leaders.

Starting from Friday, drones have been used to deliver food and essential supplies to visitors at the Badaling section of the Great Wall, marking Beijing's first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) logistics delivery.

The South Ninth Tower of the Badaling section was opened to the public at the end of 2023. To preserve the original appearance of the Great Wall, no commercial facilities have been set up in this area, making it difficult for visitors to replenish supplies such as drinking water and food, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

To address this problem, the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area partnered with a delivery platform to launch Beijing's first drone logistics delivery route in the area. Visitors can now scan a QR code with their cell phones to log in to the delivery platform, and they can receive items such as medicine, drinking water and food delivered by UAVs in as little as five minutes.

The drone takes off from the rooftop of the Badaling Hotel. When a merchant in the scenic area receives an order from a visitor, a delivery person will quickly collect the order and bring it to the drone takeoff point. The delivery is then weighed, packaged and handed over to ground personnel who secure it to the drone and execute the delivery instructions. 

During the initial test flights, there were many orders for items like drinking water and emergency medicines, reports said. The drone delivery service operates from 10 am to 4 pm.

After the delivery hours, these drones switch roles to assist with waste management, a task that has traditionally been labor-intensive. 

Using UAVs for delivery improves the visitors' experience by providing quick access to essential supplies like drinking water, food and emergency medicines in remote sections, where traditional commercial facilities are not available. This is particularly important in the South Ninth Tower area, where visitors would otherwise have to endure long walks before obtaining basic necessities. 

In the future, UAV logistics delivery might be considered for more scenarios to address delivery challenges in hard-to-reach areas where delivery personnel struggle to arrive quickly, bringing even more convenience, experts said.