September 28, a Monday, is the first working day wedged between this year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday. Chen Mo, a 30-year-old product manager, skipped work on a Monday for the first time in all his years of working. At 7:30 in the morning, he rushed to Chengdu Shuangliu Airport, preparing to fly to Altay in Xinjiang. The volume of people carrying travel backpacks at the airport was beyond his imagination — "there are way too many clever people who took leave to avoid the crowds!"

Data from Qunar shows that September 28 is the cheapest day for flight tickets during the dual-holiday period. A large number of office workers who "take 3 days off to get 13 days of rest" have already checked into hotels, with hotel bookings for the three working days from September 28 to 30 surging by more than 40% year-on-year. In 2026, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday are only 3 days apart. "Take 3, rest 13" has become the "biggest win" that many professionals most want to secure throughout the entire month of September. The strategies of stacking leave days, avoiding peak travel periods, and adopting more flexible vacation schedules have also brought the biggest variable to this year's dual-holiday market.

Interestingly, the motivation behind this generation of office workers "stacking leave to avoid peak periods" is not simply about saving money. After saving nearly 2,000 yuan on flight tickets, Chen Mo plans to spend over 10,000 yuan on the entire trip — "you can buy expensive things, but you can't buy things at an expensive price." The money saved by "avoiding the peak" gets spent back on a "premium" journey. Qunar data shows that, as of now, users who "stacked leave" during this year's dual-holiday period actually spent 13% more in total on flight tickets, hotels, and scenic spot bookings on the platform compared to other users. How can saving money and spending more happen at the same time?

"A flight departing on September 28 is a solid nearly 2,000 yuan cheaper than October 1. Not grabbing it would be an insult to myself." Chen Mo first went back to his hometown in Mianyang for the Mid-Autumn Festival to accompany his parents, then departed for Altay on September 28 and returned on October 4. The whole point was to avoid the peak and snag a bargain. After "snagging" a cheap flight, Chen Mo immediately put together a rather "luxurious" vacation plan. Hemu, Kanas, Burqin, Urho — the self-driving route and accommodation alone span 4 small towns. "Classic scenic spots and classic experiences — none can be skipped; I definitely need to eat local cuisine to my heart's content, and the accommodation can't be too shabby either." Chen Mo said the most expensive part of the whole trip is accommodation — a homestay in Hemu costs over 1,000 yuan per night, but since it's a rare visit, what he wants is to stay right inside Hemu's autumn. Calculating the entire journey, although the flight only cost over 2,000 yuan, accommodation is 4,000 yuan, car rental and fuel are estimated at 3,500 yuan, and food, attractions, plus shopping will be about 3,000 yuan. Chen Mo estimates the whole trip will cost over 10,000 yuan. "It's actually several thousand yuan more expensive than my trip last National Day, but the time spent, the experience, and the depth — I believe they'll all be better."

Chen Mo is not alone. This year's dual-holiday "once-in-a-century" "take 3, rest 13" window period has, in netizens' eyes, pieced together a "historically hardest-to-plan" holiday. A large number of "clever ones" who rushed to get ahead of the pack did grab flight tickets at low prices, but their travel bills ended up thicker. Wanting to save money and spending more happen simultaneously. Because the logic of "is it worth it" has already changed. Qunar data shows that flight and hotel average prices for pre-holiday "early bird" travel are about 20% cheaper than October 1, but these users' total spending on flight + hotel bookings on the platform is actually 13% more than other users — their average cumulative hotel stay reaches over 5 days, and the number of high-star hotels they book is 40% more than other users; the proportion of those booking hotels in two or more cities is 35% higher, accounting for over half; tourists staying in 3, 4, 5 or more cities increased by 38%, 43%, and 53% year-on-year respectively, showing a trend of "the more cities stayed in, the more significant the growth."

"Three extra days off act like a reservoir, smoothing out the high prices and crowding caused by concentrated travel; on the other hand, they also act like a lever, using more cost-effective experiences to pry open more consumption," analyzed Yang Han, a researcher at the Qunar Big Data Research Institute. Whether it's paid leave, universities setting their own holiday schedules, or the autumn breaks implemented in some cities, all are bringing more flexible combinations to what was once a "solid block" of a "Golden Week," reducing travel costs while optimizing the travel experience, and are expected to further stimulate more cultural and tourism consumption.