In Datong, Shanxi, the first thing I feel is relaxation. It's not like Beijing, where it takes a long time to go anywhere. The advantage of a small city is that it has a stronger sense of life, "said Chrissi from Germany to China News Service. At the end of January this year, she spent a weekend traveling to Datong and visited attractions such as Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Temple. According to CCTV News, the National Immigration Administration predicts that during the May Day holiday, ports across the country will experience a peak in inbound and outbound passenger flow. It is expected that the daily average number of inbound and outbound personnel will reach 2.25 million, and the highest daily clearance volume will exceed 2.4 million. In the wave of inbound tourism, more and more foreign tourists are no longer satisfied with big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, but are pointing their destinations to second - and third tier cities, and even fourth - and fifth tier inland small cities. Chrissi has previously traveled to Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing, and other places before, and now she is exploring more small towns in China. As a vegetarian, Chrissi thought eating in small cities in China would be a challenge, but Datong quickly dispelled her concerns. She said that she had the best vegetarian steamed buns she has ever tasted at a breakfast shop. What really surprised Chrissi was the scenery of Datong. Chrissi said that the old alleys are preserved here, and at night, the entire city is illuminated by yellow and red lights, making it particularly beautiful. I don't have many opportunities to take a good stroll, which makes me a little regretful, "she said. Chrissi said that compared to Beijing, hotel prices in Datong are very affordable during non peak seasons. She once traveled with Chinese friends, and all kinds of preparations and itineraries were not difficult. But she admitted that the biggest challenge if traveling alone is booking tickets online in advance. "When you don't know which WeChat mini program to use, the whole process becomes a bit complicated," Lancelot from France visited attractions such as the Yungang Grottoes, Hanging Temple, and Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in Datong in early April this year. At first, he only planned to use Datong as a transit station to Inner Mongolia, but he was deeply attracted to this city and eventually stayed for 3 to 4 days, giving up his trip to Inner Mongolia. Picture provided by Lancelot of Datong Hanging Temple Lancelot states that Datong is not like some modern big cities in China, but a city rich in historical charm and leisurely atmosphere, with excellent food. He spent about 1800 yuan during his time in Datong. Lancelot likes small cities in China. He believes that small cities in China are pleasant and rich in historical relics, and the friendliness and convenient living conditions of the locals are impressive. According to data from Qunar platform, as of February 17, 2026, Datong ranked first in the country with a 735% increase in inbound tourism popularity, and became one of the top 10 cities with the fastest growth rate in inbound tourism popularity during this year's Spring Festival. Compared to the bustling city, my trip to Zhangjiajie in Hunan has left a lasting impression on me. I really enjoyed this journey. We originally planned to stay briefly in Zhangjiajie, but in the end, we visited a lot of attractions. ”Alyona from Russia told China News Network. In early April this year, Alyona and her sister experienced Hanfu in Shanghai. Recently, Alyona went to Zhangjiajie again and visited places such as Tianmen Mountain. Alyona took a group photo with her family in Hanfu. Alyona gave a picture. Alyona said, "In two days in Zhangjiajie, we spent about 100000 rubles (equivalent to about 9120 yuan), of which air tickets are the largest expense." She mainly used Alipay and UnionPay card to pay. She said that this is her second time coming to China, fully prepared, and the whole process went smoothly. Before returning, she bought Chinese tea, especially white tea, which has a warm and soft taste and a very healing flavor. According to data from Qunar platform, the number of foreign tourists who booked flights to cities such as Taiyuan, Changzhou, Kunming, Yanji, Nanning, and Wuhan during this year's May Day holiday increased by more than 30% year-on-year, and the number of foreign tourists to Sanya and Jieyang increased by more than 1.1 times year-on-year, ranking first in the growth rate. More foreigners are exploring small cities in China, such as Nanchong, Daqing, Yining, Fuyang, Zhanjiang, Ordos, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Luoyang, etc., all of which will welcome foreign tourists. Challenge "," listen to advice ", and tourists embark on" challenge tourism ". Matt from the United States made a bold attempt in February this year to shoot a video titled 'How many Chinese cities can you visit in a day'. He expressed on his personal social media account that China has the world's top transportation system, and he wants to try how many cities can be reached within 24 hours using high-speed rail, subway, and taxi. This challenge started from Guangzhou. Matt first took the subway to Foshan, Guangdong, and then transferred to the high-speed rail. He checked in at Zhaoqing, as well as Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin in Guangxi, and visited Dinghu Mountain, Qingxiu Mountain, and the Water Music Fountain. His decision is full of improvisation: after visiting a city's attractions, he opens the app to search for high-speed rail destinations with tickets available at the moment. I have never been to Nanning, why not give it a try? ”He told China News Service that his stay in Nanning was brief, but Qingxiu Mountain left a deep impression on him. In terms of expenses, Matt calculated that the main expenses for the day were transportation, with each high-speed train costing 100 to 200 yuan and Didi costing 10 to 30 yuan. Accommodation in Guilin is 209 yuan, and dining is about 200 yuan. Matt has over 10 years of global travel experience, with footprints in more than 40 countries. In his opinion, Chinese cities such as Zhaoqing, Nanning, Liuzhou, and Guilin have relatively affordable prices. However, for Matt, the real challenge is not money, but the smooth flow of information. Matt admitted, "In first tier cities in China, foreign tourists can easily find various activities, but in these cities, unless you can understand Chinese, you can hardly find activity information." He tried using AI tools to search, but the accuracy was not ideal. For foreign tourists with language barriers, developed and diverse Chinese social platforms have become their assistants, and tourists also focus on "listening to advice". According to the "2026 Trend Report on Foreigners' Travel to China" by Xiaohongshu, the number of notes seeking help from foreigners in China in 2025 is 2.5 times that of the previous year, with an average of 19 replies per article. British netizen 'Whiskey Jack Daniel' posted a question asking 'What should one prepare for coming to China alone', which received tens of thousands of replies, 3000 more than likes. Adrien from France told China News Service that he loves traveling in China very much and arranges one or two trips every year to constantly explore the unique scenery of various parts of China. During this year's May Day holiday, he will travel in Wuhan, planning to explore Hanjiang Road, see the Yangtze River, and visit the Hubei Provincial Museum. Previously, he had visited Enshi City in Hubei Province, Yichang City in Hubei Province, Harbin City in Heilongjiang Province, and had already experienced the style of many second - and third tier cities in China. Based on his own travel experience, Adrien said that big cities with developed transportation, as well as cities with abundant tourism resources such as Guilin and Zhangjiajie, are more friendly to foreign tourists. There are still some obstacles for foreigners to visit second and third tier cities. For example, overseas websites find it difficult to search for local attractions and accommodation related information, transportation facilities are incomplete, signs lack foreign language translations, and related English travel materials are scarce. ”Adrien said that the reason why he was able to successfully visit many niche cities was inseparable from the advice and help of local friends throughout the process. Expert: The key to small cities catching traffic lies in "soft services". Ctrip's "2026 May Day Travel Forecast Report" shows that under the dual drive of policy dividends and market entities, China's inbound tourism market is moving from a "single point heat" to a "global heat", with increasingly diverse destinations, customer sources, and experiences. The entry destinations have broken the monopoly of traditional popular provinces, with Heilongjiang, Guizhou, Hunan, Xinjiang, and Shanxi leading the way in the year-on-year growth rate of inbound tourists, all exceeding 60%. From the perspective of source countries, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, the United States, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada, and France rank among the top 10 inbound source countries. On March 19th this year, the Ministry of Commerce, together with eight departments including the Cyberspace Administration of China and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, issued the "Policy Measures to Promote the Export of Travel Services and Expand Inbound Consumption", proposing to enrich the supply of inbound tourism products. Encourage localities to develop characteristic inbound tourism products according to local conditions, launch "one-stop multi stop" inbound tourism boutique routes, and promote the joint promotion of "urban transportation+scenic spots+accommodation+consumption" consumption plan. Make good use of characteristic resources such as traditional culture, festivals and exhibitions, geographical indications, and clustered industries. How can the small town catch the traffic coming? Professor Wu Liyun from the Institute of Chinese Culture and Tourism Industry at Beijing International Studies University pointed out to China News Service that foreign tourists have begun to explore small inland cities in China, and inbound tourism has entered a new stage of comprehensive development. The expansion of destinations from traditional big cities to second - or even fourth - or fifth tier small cities is highly beneficial for inbound tourism due to the change in spatial distribution. She believes that this is not a short-term phenomenon, but the beginning of market structural upgrading. Policy promotion is one of the reasons, as convenient transportation, modern urban construction, rich tourism products, and diverse cultural customs have jointly promoted the spread of inbound tourism to small and medium-sized cities. Regarding the issue of matching infrastructure with tourist needs, Wu Liyun believes that the real challenge for inbound tourism in small cities lies in soft services, including multilingual signage and reservation pages, language proficiency of staff, convenience of overseas payments, and diversified accommodation product supply. To this end, small cities should focus on improving their soft environment and soft services, enriching local cultural, tourism, lifestyle and other experiential products to meet the quality of experience for inbound tourists and enhance their satisfaction. (Looking into the New Era)