On October 3, Qilian County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, received over 100,000 visitors, with all hotels and guesthouses fully booked. From the night of October 3 to the early hours of October 4, local authorities in Qilian County arranged accommodations for nearly 500 stranded tourists through public welfare beds. Many tourists expressed their gratitude online and praised Qilian's tourism authorities.

According to tourists' accounts, after arriving in Qilian County on October 3, they were unable to find any accommodation on major booking platforms. Later, they came across an announcement from Qilian's tourism authorities on the internet and were arranged to stay free of charge at Qilian County Nationalities Middle School that same night. "One room accommodated four people, and brand-new bedding was distributed on-site." It rained in Qilian that day, with snow on the mountain peaks, and nighttime temperatures dropped to minus 4 degrees Celsius. Some tourists said that upon arriving at the school, registration was completed quickly, with males and females housed separately, and within just half an hour they went from being "homeless" to staying in heated dormitories.

In a video circulating online on October 3, Feng Lingling, Party Secretary and Director of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television Bureau, was seen making beds and carrying luggage for tourists in a student dormitory. The scene of on-site registration for free dormitories was also captured.

On the afternoon of October 4, Feng Lingling stated in an interview that because tourist numbers during this year's National Day holiday exceeded even the regular peak season, she had been working on the front lines at the temporary public welfare accommodation point at the school dormitories on both October 2 and 3. Feng Lingling said that starting from around 5:00 to 6:00 PM on October 2, they began receiving reports of tourists unable to find accommodation. Following pre-existing contingency plans, they contacted the education bureau and schools that same evening to open student dormitories, and the entire bureau staff was mobilized. "The day before yesterday, I made beds together with my colleagues, and yesterday I helped with registration on-site." Feng Lingling noted that they do not rest during holidays. During this National Day holiday, matters including scenic area safety, large-scale event venues, and handling complaints all required on-site personnel, so staff were spread thin.

On the night of October 3, Feng Lingling and other staff members worked until approximately 2:40 AM on October 4 before returning home to rest. Feng Lingling said that Qilian County, with a population of 50,000, saw over 100,000 people pour in on October 3 based on an estimated traffic volume of 35,000 vehicles. Some may have been just passing through, but even if only a small portion stayed, the county's accommodation capacity could not handle it. Mr. Chen, a staff member from the office of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television Bureau, stated that from 5:30 PM to midnight on October 3, they received over 400 calls at the office, almost all from tourists looking for accommodation, "not a single moment of rest for nearly seven hours."

According to reports, Qilian County's peak tourism season is typically July and August each year. Due to the popularity of the local Highway 9 on the internet this year, a large number of tourists were attracted to visit during the National Day holiday. On the morning of October 4, Qilian's tourism authorities issued a latest notice: On October 3, Qilian County saw nearly 35,000 vehicles, all of the county's more than 400 hotels and guesthouses were fully booked, and public welfare beds accommodated nearly 500 people. Due to limited bed availability, tourists are reminded that if they encounter accommodation difficulties, they should promptly call the service hotlines 0970-8672109, 8676625, or 8676879 to reserve public welfare beds or adjust their travel plans.