This year's National Day holiday saw sports consumption surge.

From packed diamond courts at the China Open to streams of cyclists on urban greenways; from mini camping on park lawns to pickleball experiences in commercial districts, more and more people are choosing to "get moving" during their holiday, embracing sports as a way to relax and vacation.

During the National Day holiday, at Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, residents and tourists leisurely paddled kayaks on the lake, experiencing water sports activities.

Light Outdoor Activities and Family Sports Heat Up

During the National Day holiday, mass fitness has quietly become a new holiday trend.

Bidding farewell to traditional sightseeing tours, the public increasingly favors light outdoor activities such as cycling, camping, and hiking, seeking a sense of "relaxation" amid nature.

In Boluo, Guangdong, traffic flowed steadily along Luofu No. 1 Road, cyclists crowded the Xuanbi Lake cycling path, and nearby campsites were filled with tents as children played in the stream catching fish.

Cycling, camping, and fishing are becoming new holiday pastimes for more and more ordinary families.

In Wangzuo Town, Beijing, Jingang Shengxing Camping Park has scientifically divided functional areas such as canopy leisure zones and stargazing dome experience zones, complemented by outdoor barbecues, autumn-themed coffee, and non-powered amusement facilities, breaking the limitations of traditional single-experience camping to suit diverse scenarios like family vacations and gatherings with friends.

"Family sports" also saw concentrated events during this holiday.

At Huabin Eco Park in Beijing, the 2026 War Horse All-Around Young Athletes Series—National Modern Pentathlon Youth Obstacle Run Challenge (Beijing Station) was held from October 2 to 4, integrating professional competition, Chinese trend culture, and family carnivals into one, becoming a new trend for families in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to "travel with events."

In Xihu District, Nanchang, Jiangxi, the "Jiangzhong Cup" Badminton Parent-Child Championship had parents and children swinging rackets together; in Wusutu National Forest Park, Inner Mongolia, the MiCRUN Parent-Child Mountain Trail Race gathered over 600 families running through the mountains; and in Shouning, Fujian, the "Wind-Chasing Kids" National Day parent-child run was equally lively.

The "light outdoor" trend continues to heat up, but it also exposes shortcomings in public space facilities in some cities.

For example, some popular outdoor routes focus only on road repairs while neglecting practical amenities, with few supply stations along the way, insufficient rest points, and missing public restrooms and waste collection facilities.

Additionally, some urban greenways have discontinuities and inadequate nighttime lighting.

Lin Xianping, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Urban Expert Think Tank Committee and Associate Professor at Zhejiang University City College, told reporters that on one hand, the supply of existing venues is uneven, with too few free public green spaces suitable for camping and light family sports, and many areas lacking continuous dedicated cycling paths, posing safety hazards with mixed pedestrian and vehicle traffic; on the other hand, supporting facilities are insufficient, with large gaps in rest points, mobile restrooms, waste collection, emergency rescue signage, and drinking water supplies, along with a lack of unified standards and management contradictions in some areas where "everyone rushes in and then it's all banned."

"Cities need coordinated planning, revitalizing riverside and suburban green spaces, building continuous slow-traffic networks, improving basic facilities, and establishing flexible management mechanisms to designate areas for camping and light sports," Lin Xianping suggested.

Event Economy Integrates into Urban Fabric

If light outdoor activities are a spontaneous choice for citizens, then the high-level events密集 landing during this National Day holiday have become a "new engine" driving cultural tourism consumption and activating urban vitality.

Sports consumption scenarios are expanding from single venues to the entire city's commercial districts, scenic spots, and hotels.

In Beijing, the National Day Golden Week perfectly overlapped with the "Event Golden Week."

World-class events clustered during the National Day period, with the China Open, WTT China Grand Smash, BMX Racing World Cup, and GT World Challenge taking turns, forming an "event map" covering the entire city.

It is worth noting that event organizers are consciously breaking down the "stadium walls": through cross-sector collaborations and ticket stub economies, they are converting competitive excitement into real consumption growth in cultural tourism, accommodation, and dining, extending the event IP from a single ticket to an entire urban consumption chain.

This year, the China Open entered its 20th edition, and its "event+" layout continues to evolve.

From last year's first trial of a citywide consumption circle to this year's focus on park "refined experiences," "5+N" second venues, and ticket stub economies, the China Open has gradually built a consumption network covering all time periods and regions.

The WTT China Grand Smash unveiled a new trick with "One T to Explore Shijingshan"—with a single cultural creative T-shirt or event ticket stub, one can unlock exclusive discounts at Shijingshan's scenic spots, commercial districts, and hotels, seamlessly connecting "watching events" with "exploring the city."

"I thought dining and accommodation in Beijing during the holiday would be expensive, but surprisingly, with the event ticket stub, hotels and restaurants offered exclusive discounts, which directly 'doubled' my holiday happiness," tourist Mr. Sun told reporters.

Besides the major events in Beijing, during the National Day holiday, Shanghai Baoshan attracted public attention with two international A-class water events.

The World Water Scooter Championship and the World F1H2O Powerboat Championship kicked off on October 2 and 4 respectively, combined with nearly 160 cultural tourism activities of the 2026 "Colorful Baoshan·National Day Carnival," offering citizens a "long holiday feast."

To facilitate tourist enjoyment, Shanghai Baoshan also launched a "Consumption Pass," enabling ticket-pass interoperability, where holding event or performance tickets allows access to exclusive discounts at scenic spots, hotels, and commercial districts, integrating event watching, touring, and consumption.

"Events entering commercial districts, scenic spots, and neighborhoods are an effective exploration of 'sports + cultural tourism + consumption' integration," Lin Xianping believes.

To continuously amplify comprehensive benefits, first, resource linkage must be well done, matching event types with the characteristics of commercial districts and neighborhoods, converting event spectator traffic into dining, retail, and cultural tourism consumption traffic; second, the consumption chain must be extended, launching themed markets, cultural creative products, and local experience activities around event support, not just single-day events.

Additionally, a normalized cooperation mechanism should be established, encouraging government-enterprise collaboration to develop four-season, lightweight mass events and avoid one-off activities.

At the same time, urban characteristic IPs should be tapped, combining event promotion with city cultural tourism brand promotion to achieve multi-party win-win outcomes where sports gather popularity, cultural tourism builds brands, and commerce boosts revenue.

Dai Bin, President of the China Tourism Academy, stated that through the extension and expansion of the industrial chain, consumption scenarios become more diverse, integrating culture, sports, tourism, and commerce, which also means that China's cultural and tourism consumption is advancing in the direction of integration and innovation.