High-speed service areas in many places in China have become new touchpoints for cultural tourism consumption during holidays

China News Service, Hangzhou, October 6 (Cao Dan) During the National Day holiday, the Tonglu Service Area of ​​the Zhejiang Changshen Expressway (Hangqian Section) became very popular, and many tourists made a special trip to visit the "Undersea Tunnel" - a 14-meter-high giant fish tank. Here, nurse sharks, manta rays and other fish schools shuttle back and forth, just like an underwater world.

"There are aquariums, mermaid performances, etc. in the service area, and the children are very excited to see them." Wang Yuan, a tourist from Jiaxing, Zhejiang, said in an interview that her family deliberately stopped here as an "attraction" on their way to Jingdezhen, Jiangxi.

The Ministry of Transport of China has estimated that the cross-regional movement of people across society during this year’s National Day holiday is expected to reach 2.13 billion, of which self-driving and highway travel account for over 90%. The huge traffic flow makes the high-speed service area a new consumer touchpoint.

In the Yongchun Dapu service area of ​​Fujian Quannan Expressway, the "Yi Road Xunxiang·National Day Tesco" themed market has opened in full swing recently. Representative projects of China's national intangible cultural heritage such as Nanyin and Quanzhou String Puppetry are staged in turn, which not only broadens the market for local specialties, but also brings regional culture to tourists traveling from north to south.

The Taiyuan Qingxu Service Area of ​​the Shanxi Jingkun Expressway has “moved” a vinegar culture museum into the service area. Qingxu is known as the "Vinegar Capital of China". This museum displays the Shanxi mature vinegar brewing technique in a panoramic view, allowing travelers to understand the thousand-year vinegar culture while driving.

The Yundu Service Area, built on the basis of Guizhou’s Huajiang Gorge Bridge, the “highest bridge in the world,” turns the “bridge” itself into the scenery. During the National Day holiday, new business formats such as catering, cultural and creative stalls, and bridge-themed coffee and tea were added here. Together with the upgraded nighttime water curtain light show, a cultural and tourism chain that can be seen, eaten, and purchased was formed, converting the bridge's passing traffic into incremental consumption. According to statistics, from October 1st to 5th, hotel bookings around the bridge increased by 55% year-on-year.