Best of the northwest

A 10-day trip that covers Qinghai province's Xining and Qinghai Lake, Gansu province's Dunhuang, Jiayuguan Pass, Zhangye and the capital city, Lanzhou, is priced at about 3,000 yuan ($450), about 60 percent off compared with the National Day holiday.

The Xinjiang Uygur, Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions, as well as Gansu and Qinghai have garnered surging popularity during the eight-day holiday.

Searches for travel offers in Northwest China surged 475 percent month-on-month in early September, Shanghai-based online travel agency Trip.com reports.

Xinjiang received over 15.35 million tourist visits during the National Day holiday, up nearly 11 percent compared with the same period last year, according to local authorities.

Visits to Inner Mongolia and Gansu both exceeded 15 million in the same period, while Ningxia and Qinghai took in more than 3 million travelers, respectively.

During the National Day holiday, Xinjiang and Ningxia were among the top two destinations that saw the fastest spending growth on a yearly basis, according to UnionPay data.

Spending on Xinjiang flights tripled, and spending on scenic-spot tickets in Ningxia increased by 20 percent, UnionPay reports.

Hotels and attraction-ticket consumption increased most in Qinghai and Inner Mongolia, by more than 10 percent each compared with the same period of last year.