Storyline: Long-distance travel is set to surge during China's nine-day 2026 Spring Festival holiday, according to data from major online travel platforms following the release of China’s public holiday schedule. China's State Council released the 2026 public holiday schedule on Tuesday, setting the Spring Festival holiday from February 15 to February 23, 2026, for a total of nine days. Latest data from online travel platforms shows that searches for "2026 Spring Festival" and "long-distance travel" have more than doubled since the announcement of the holiday schedule. Many platform users are no longer satisfied with short trips or single-destination travel, instead planning combined domestic and international itineraries or in-depth, slow-paced tours in single destinations. As of Wednesday, the most popular domestic destinations for the nine-day holiday include Harbin City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Sanya City in south China's Hainan Province, Xi'an City in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, Chengdu City in southwest China's Sichuan Province, Hangzhou City in east China's Zhejiang Province, Xiamen and Fuzhou cities in southeast China's Fujian Province. The nine-day holiday in 2026 is expected to set record highs in travel popularity, including both traveler numbers and total consumption. Long-distance travel will see substantial growth, while taking second and third trips will become common practice. Combining leave days before and after the holiday for staggered travel will emerge as a new trend. The holiday will also showcase deeper cultural-tourism integration nationwide, with technology enabling new cultural spaces, consumption scenarios, and tourism formats. Both inbound and outbound travel markets are expected to grow, along with tourist satisfaction and local communities' sense of benefit. Shotlist: FILE: Jilin Province, northeast China - Date Unknown: 1. Aerial shots of trees, vehicles running on road FILE: Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Date Unknown: 2. Aerial shot of train running FILE: Harbin City, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Date Unknown: 3. Aerial shot of ice-snow park, tourists FILE: Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown: 4. Various of people skiing, snowboarding in indoor ski resort FILE: Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China - Date Unknown: 5. People riding horses in snow-covered land FILE: Heilongjiang Province, northeast China - Date Unknown: 6. Aerial shot of people having fun with ice and snow FILE: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, north China - Date Unknown: 7. Aerial shot of people at ski resort FILE: Sanya City, Hainan Province, south China - Date Unknown: 8. Aerial shot of beach, tourists FILE: Beihai City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, south China - Date Unknown: 9. Aerial shots of beach, tourists FILE: Chaozhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown: 10. Folk dance performance FILE: China - Date Unknown: 11. Traditional opera performance FILE: China - Date Unknown: 12. Visitors at temple fair FILE: Beijing, China - Date Unknown: 13. Visitors at temple fair FILE: Huangshan City, Anhui Province, east China - Date Unknown: 14. Fish lantern parade, audience FILE: Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan Province, central China - Date Unknown: 15. Aerial shots of illuminations in Fenghuang Ancient Town, bridge, river, visitors FILE: Changxing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, east China - Date Unknown: 16. Various of Chinese traditional performance in progress 17. Aerial shot of dragon dance FILE: Huidong County, Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, south China - Date Unknown: 18. Aerial shot of people on beach 19. Aerial shot of fireworks [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]