27/02/2026

LYFE FRIDAY | FEB 27, 2026

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BLOCKBUSTERS are doing more than leading the holiday box office at the beginning of the Year of the Horse in China – they are reshaping holiday travel patterns, fuelling a nationwide boom in movie-inspired tourism, reported Bernama-Xinhua. According to online ticketing platforms, the total Spring Festival box office revenue (including pre-sales) recently surpassed 4 billion yuan (about RM2.3 billion), with the racing-comedy Pegasus 3 topping the charts. Notably, the momentum of Pegasus 3 extends well beyond cinemas. Data from travel platform Qunar showed that hotel bookings in Garze, southwest China’s Sichuan Province – one of the film’s primary shooting locations – surged 40% compared to last year’s Spring Festival holiday, while bookings in another shooting site Delingha, Qinghai province, jumped 71%. “As soon as I finished watching Pegasus 3 , I rushed to plan a family spring trip to Garze to check in the racetrack featured in the film,” said Shanghai car enthusiast Xia Lin. She has been a devoted fan since the Pegasus franchise was launched in 2019. The film has also sparked a new wave of themed city tours in Shanghai, where the metro line, bridge, park and city landmarks appearing in the film have become fan-favourite check-in spots. A T the foot of the Helan Mountain in Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, a corridor within the Xixia Imperial Tombs Museum has been transformed into a bustling street scene from a millennium ago during the Spring Festival holiday, reported Xinhua. Actors clad in traditional costumes of the Song (960-1279) and Xixia (1038-1227) dynasties greeted tourists, while images of “Flying Apsaras” – celestial figures from ancient murals – danced amid lighting and mist. The immersive performance, titled “Xixia Musical Gathering”, is the centrepiece of the museum’s New Year celebrations. By turning a 300m passage into a moving stage, the event recreates vivid scenes of multi-ethnic coexistence and cultural fusion in China around 1,000 years ago, offering visitors a unique “walk-and-watch” experience. “It felt like a true time-travel experience,” said Wang Fei, a tourist from north China’s Shanxi province who visited with his family. Wang noted that his children were thrilled to interact with performers portraying historical characters and tried traditional games such as “pitch-pot” and archery. “With technology and cultural activities empowering the museum, history has become vivid and accessible. It allows the younger generation to truly understand traditional culture while having fun,” Wang said, adding that the experience made the Spring Festival more meaningful. Chen Xiaoxu, head of marketing at Xixia Imperial Tombs Cultural Tourism Development Co Ltd, said the performance features over 50 professional actors, with costumes and market settings recreated from museum artifacts and historical documents. “We aim to change the stereotype that the Xixia Imperial Tombs are merely ‘earthen mounds’ by using immersive experiences to The mausoleums date back to the 11th to 13th centuries.

Scenes from past o Chinese museums use technology, cultural activities to attract visitors during Spring Festival The imperial tombs are located in the foothills of the southern Helan Mountains. – PICS FROM ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF XIXIA TOMB AREA OF YINCHUAN CITY VIA UNESCO GALLERY

China’s Jiangsu province extended their opening hours during the holiday. “Museums are no longer ‘aloof’ venues but are becoming popular public spaces for social and cultural engagement,” said Zhang Wanjing, a researcher at the Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences. Zhang attributed the trend to the rising living standards and the growing public interest in traditional culture. “When cultural relics meet the festive air of the New Year, the immersive experience becomes an essential part of the Spring Festival holiday,” Zhang said. – Bernama-Xinhua The Xixia Imperial Tombs include nine imperial mausoleums, 271 subordinate tombs, a northern architectural complex and 32 flood control structures.

participate in Shang Dynasty (1600–1046BC) sacrificial rituals. In north China, the Inner Mongolia Museum introduced a role-playing trade experience, allowing tourists to simulate ancient commerce between the grasslands and the Central Plains. Technological innovation has further enriched these cultural offerings. The Qinghai Provincial Museum introduced virtual reality experiences allowing visitors to “touch” history, while the National Maritime Museum of China offered digital deep-sea explorations. To accommodate the surge in visitors, cultural institutions have expanded services. More than 40 museums in Henan and 79 in east

highlight the value of the World Heritage site,” Chen said, noting a significant increase in visitor numbers following the performance. Tourist enthusiasm in Ningxia reflects a nationwide trend, as museum tourism has become a popular way for many to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Across the country, museums are moving beyond static exhibitions, adopting interactive and immersive activities to attract holiday crowds. In central China’s Henan province, the Zhengzhou Shang Dynasty capital ruins museum launched an immersive theatre production, inviting audiences to

Year of the Horse sees movie-inspired tourism surge in China

Tourists walk on the bridge of Fenghuang Ancient Town in Hunan province. – PICS FROM AFP

People visiting PaiFang at the Imperial Summer Palace in Beijing.

travelled desert landscapes of northwest China’s Xinjiang. Data from Qunar showed that searches for desert sightseeing and desert highway tours climbed 60% ahead of the film’s release. Beyond the appeal of creativity in the film industry, the convergence of film and tourism during this Spring Festival holiday appears more systematic and policy driven.

visuals. A considerable number of them planned their trips before the release of the latest instalment, he said. The comic-adapted film Blades of the Guardians , directed by renowned action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and featuring martial arts stars Jet Li and Wu Jing, has also sparked strong interest in the dramatic but less

“During this year’s Spring Festival season, the driving effect of films on culture and tourism has come earlier than usual,” said Yang Han, a researcher at Qunar’s Big Data Research Institute. Thanks to the popularity of the previous two installments, fans of the Pegasus franchise have held high expectations for its storyline and