So many people flooded this city for Lunar New Year that even Guo Jing and Huang Rong couldn't contain them

A third‑tier city packed to the walls

Xiangyang (襄阳), a mid‑sized city in Hubei province, turned into an unexpected carnival over the Lunar New Year. It has been reported that the Gulongzhong (古隆中) scenic area handled more than 130,000 visitors over the holiday with single‑day peaks above 30,000, and Tang City (唐城) received over 230,000. Streets around the ancient city wall and the pedestrianized Drum Tower North Street (鼓楼北街) were so jammed that locals joked “even Guo Jing and Huang Rong couldn’t hold the crowds back” — a reference to Jin Yong’s martial‑arts heroes used to underline how out‑of‑control the foot traffic felt.

Why small cities are booming

Why are families choosing places like Xiangyang over Beijing or Shanghai? Several pragmatic reasons: lower travel and accommodation costs, less price gouging during peak season, and a growing appetite for “authentic” New‑Year rituals that big‑name destinations often no longer provide. It has been reported that national domestic travel surged to record highs over the spring holiday — reportedly approaching 6 billion passenger trips with domestic spending topping record levels — pushing tourists to look beyond top‑tier attractions and into third‑ and fourth‑tier cities where temple fairs, local snacks and short immersive experiences still survive.

Crowds, copycat culture and economic limits

The boom has revealed growing pains. Local vendors expanded fast — Xiangyang’s humble red‑sugar cake (红糖饼) shops multiplied from two to half a dozen — yet many visitors complained the food and experiences felt watered down. Long queues and capacity caps at heritage sites created a “see people, not places” experience. More worrying for planners: cultural homogenization. Many rebuilt ancient streets, costume studios and souvenir lines look interchangeable with other small cities’ offerings. If attractions remain heavily copycat and produce low per‑capita spending, converting one‑off visits into sustained local economic growth will be hard.

Policy implications and what’s next

For Western readers unfamiliar with China’s tiers, this is part of a national trend: the post‑pandemic rebound in domestic tourism and evolving family habits mean more people are treating the Spring Festival as a vacation rather than a fixed ritual. Reportedly, some travelers are still deterred from overseas trips by visa, cost and geopolitical frictions, which further channels demand domestically. The challenge for cities like Xiangyang is strategic: manage overtourism, upgrade local supply chains and preserve genuine cultural assets rather than packaging sameness. Otherwise the crowds may come — but they may not stay.