The holiday runs from October 1 to 7 and includes the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year it also marks the 77th anniversary of the founding of China.

The change in rankings follows a sharp fall in Chinese arrivals in Japan. The Japan National Tourism Organization reports that visitors from China fell 56.4% in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier.

Relations between the two countries have soured over the same period. In November 2025, Chinese authorities urged Chinese citizens to avoid visiting Japan. The advisory followed remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to Japan's Parliament, in which she suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese defence response. The sources do not say how much of the drop in bookings comes from the advisory and how much from other factors. One Chinese traveller said that the current atmosphere makes Japan a difficult choice.

At home, the Chinese government forecasts that 2.13 billion people will travel during the holiday period, a total counted through October 7. Some reporting calls that a record, while other coverage gives the same figure without the label. The government expects 340 million domestic travellers on October 1, the peak day.

More than 90% of domestic travel is projected to be by car. Expressway tolls are waived to support holiday travel. More than 10,000 fast-charging stations for electric vehicles were installed in 2026.