Surge seen in vacationers with scientific bent

Children experience playing a game with virtual-reality headsets at the Anhui Science and Technology Museum in Hefei, Anhui province, on July 10. FU TIAN/XINHUA

Progress drives interest

The trend is partly due to China's rapid advancements in science and technology.

Han Guojun, a leading expert at Beihang's museum, said that the number of visitors last year exceeded that of 2019 — the year before the COVID-19 epidemic struck — by 30,000, and the surge coincided with the country's remarkable progress in space exploration, from extensive rocket launches to the construction of the Tiangong space station.

"The public needs to gain a better understanding of our country's cutting-edge achievements in aerospace," Han said, adding that visiting a space-themed museum filled with numerous spacecraft models and collections is an excellent choice.

On July 23, he guided a group of 160 teenagers from Hong Kong, who were on a space-themed trip across the country. Organizers said that the purpose was to provide Hong Kong youth with a deeper understanding of the advancements in space exploration made by the motherland.

Feng Ying leads a travel agency in Liaoning province that organizes study tours nationwide. She said that more parents are now willing to enroll their children in tour programs offered by tech companies.

Despite the expense of the tours, which can cost hundreds of yuan for just half a day, most parents do not hesitate to invest in them.

The participation of sci-tech enterprises and institutions in this new travel trend brings mutual benefits — revenue for the companies and knowledge for the participants.

Iflytek told Xinhua that its involvement in study tours is not driven by profits, but is linked with a desire to promote new products and engage with customers.

Tours provide teenagers with a practical understanding of how the technical terms they often hear in daily news — such as AI models and voice recognition — are applied in real-life situations, according to Iflytek.

Hunger for knowledge

China regards education, science and technology, and talent function as basic and strategic pillars for its modernization.

A resolution on further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization, which was adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held last week, highlights the crucial role of universities, research institutions, high-tech enterprises and national laboratories in strengthening the country's strategic scientific and technological capabilities.

"With a focus on advancing the frontiers of global science and technology, and the government's commitment to promoting China's development through science and education, there has been a surge in the demand for scientific knowledge," said Wei Xiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

He said he believes that the combination of learning and travel can effectively cater to the public's needs, and it is evident that science and technology are poised to become a key factor in the Chinese tourism market.

Xinhua