People flock to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Sunday. China’s popular tourist destinations received a surge of visitors during the first May Day holiday since the country dismantled its stringent “zero-Covid” restrictions. Photo: VCG

People fill the walking paths of the Summer Palace in Beijing on Saturday, the first day of the May Day holiday. Tickets to some popular scenic spots in Beijing had sold out days before the holiday began, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency. Photo: VCG

Visitors walk around the Bund in Shanghai on Monday. Travelers in China are expected to make over 240 million trips during the holiday period, a figure that would surpass the pre-pandemic level in 2019, state broadcaster CCTV reported on Sunday, citing the China Tourism Academy. Photo: VCG

People visit Tsim Sha Tsui, a shopping and nightlife neighborhood in Hong Kong, on Saturday. More than 600,000 visitors from the mainland are expected to visit Hong Kong during the holiday, according to the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong. Photo: VCG

A multitude of tourists visit a pedestrian street in Xiangyang, Central China’s Hubei province, on Monday. With the weekend, people in the country had five days off in a row for the holiday. Photo: VCG

Tourists pack the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu province, on Monday. Photo: VCG

On Monday, tourists visit Gongtan Ancient Town in the Youyang Tujia and Miao autonomous county in Youzhou, Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality. Photo: VCG

Throngs of visitors take to the streets on Monday in the ancient city of Jianchang in Southwest China’s Sichuan province. Photo: VCG

People gather at the top of the Canton Tower in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on the eve of the May Day holiday. Photo: VCG

Visitors crowd the beaches Monday in Rizhao, East China’s Shandong province. Photo: VCG

Visitors crowd Shenyang Middle Street on Sunday in Northeast China’s Liaoning province. Photo: VCG

Tourists trek along a path at Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park on Monday in Zhangye, Northwest China’s Gansu province. Photo: VCG

Visitors relax on the sand dunes Sunday at a desert scenic area in Turpan, Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. Photo: VCG

Passengers pack into Beijing South Railway Station on Saturday. A total of 19.66 million trips were made across China’s railway network on Saturday, marking a new record for the highest number of train trips made in the country in a single day, according to Xinhua. Photo: VCG