Travel for emotional fulfillment gains traction in China

Tourists take boat rides along a waterway at the Xizha scenic area in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, July 23, 2026. (People's Daily Online/Guo Yang)

Travel for emotional fulfillment has gained momentum in China over the past two years. Some people book a trip because of a song, while others plan an entire season around the blooming of flowers. Instead of checking off famous landmarks, young travelers are increasingly hitting the road in search of healing, relaxation and nostalgia.

Zhang Yu will be on the road again next weekend, this time bound for Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian Province for a concert. Over the past year, she has attended 20 concerts in more than 10 cities. She usually leaves on Saturday, returns on Sunday and heads back to work on Monday.

Despite the packed schedule and constant travel, she doesn't find it tiring. "I'm genuinely happy," she said. "It gives me something to look forward to in both life and work."

Potato fields in Wuchuan county, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, drew crowds of tourists from across the country last November, all eager to dig up potatoes by hand and experience the joy of the harvest. One netizen joked: "I spent 500 yuan ($70) on gas to dig up a bag of potatoes worth 50 yuan, but it was far more fun than waiting in line at a tourist attraction."

According to iiMedia Research, a market research firm, China's emotion-driven consumption market reached 2.72 trillion yuan in 2025 and is expected to exceed 4.5 trillion yuan by 2029.

"Emotion-driven consumption is becoming a major engine of consumer spending," said Li Bin, a professor at Beijing International Studies University.

"I bring home a refrigerator magnet from every city I visit," said 27-year-old Mi Lu, whose refrigerator door is already covered with magnets. "Every time I open the fridge, it brings back memories of that trip." To her, the few dozen yuan spent on each one buys not just a souvenir, but a travel memory she can revisit anytime.

The National Museum of China sold more than 2 million fridge magnets inspired by the intricate phoenix coronet of a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) empress in the series' first year on the market. It generated more than 200 million yuan in sales.

On social media, the topic "Show Us Your Refrigerator Magnets" has garnered more than 510 million views, as young people use these keepsakes to preserve the emotional memories of their travels.

Changing consumer demand is also prompting the tourism industry to better cater to travelers' emotional needs. Rather than simply admiring the scenery, visitors now want to step into the story.

At the "The Longest Day in Chang'an" themed district in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, visitors are greeted not by artifacts behind glass, but by street vendors calling out to customers, people strolling by in Hanfu and the aroma of freshly prepared food wafting through the air.

Lin Yiran, 26, has worked there as a non-player character (NPC) performer for three years and has witnessed the shift firsthand.

"When I first started, the focus was on acting out the storyline and immersing visitors in the setting," Lin said. "Now we're constantly exploring how to draw them into the experience, evoke emotions and make the interactions more engaging."

In Wuzhishan, south China's Hainan Province, the "Tongshi 1988" panoramic immersive performing arts district was created by repurposing the former Tongshi farmers' market and the surrounding buildings rather than through large-scale redevelopment. By day, it functions as a bustling marketplace; by night, it transforms into a live performance district.

According to Cao Yinqiao, general manager of Wuzhishan Tourism Investment Group, the district has staged 172 regular performances since opening in October 2025, welcoming about 700,000 tourists and generating more than 12 million yuan in tourism-related spending.