New Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China

Chinese tourists play in front of Notre-Dame de Paris. Data suggest a record number of them chose to travel abroad during this year's Spring Festival. Provided to China Daily

Traveling abroad

More than five million Chinese reportedly traveled abroad during the Spring Festival holiday, driven by a stronger yuan, favorable visa policies, increased wealth and demand for quality leisure time.

Spring Festival this year also marked the first time that outbound tourists outnumbered those traveling within the country, with 60 percent of Chinese tourists spending the holiday in foreign destinations, according to the China Tourism Academy.

The top overseas destinations chosen by the Chinese are South Korea, Japan, Australia, Europe and the US.