On October 3, Qilian County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, welcomed over 100,000 visitors, with all hotels and guesthouses fully booked. On the internet, many tourists who could not book accommodation posted their thanks, saying that when there was no hope of finding a room, they were placed free of charge by the local culture and tourism department into heated student dormitories, and they gave Qilian's culture and tourism sector a thumbs-up.
On the morning of October 4, reporters learned that from the night of October 3 to the early hours of October 4, Qilian County had placed nearly 500 tourists without accommodation through public welfare beds.
Staying in Warm Dormitories at Minus 4 Degrees Celsius
According to tourist Lin Bin (pseudonym), during the National Day holiday, he traveled from Xi'an to Qinghai and arrived in Qilian County on October 3. From that afternoon until dark, he could not find any accommodation on major platforms. "Later, while scrolling through my phone in frustration, I came across an announcement from Qilian's culture and tourism department saying that if you have accommodation difficulties, you can contact them, so I gave them a call," Lin told reporters. That evening, he was arranged to stay at Qilian County Ethnic Middle School. "Four people to a room, and brand-new bedding was distributed on the spot," Lin said. He noted that it rained in Qilian on October 3, with snow on the mountain tops, and nighttime temperatures dropped to -4 degrees Celsius. He was very grateful for the free dormitories coordinated by the local authorities and believed this gave Qilian County a big boost.
Another netizen told reporters that on October 3, after his family spent three hours searching for a hotel without success, they got through to the culture and tourism bureau's phone number with the help of a local man in Qilian. The staff on the phone asked how many people were in their group and then told them to go directly to the school. "I had only heard about staying in schools online, but I actually got to experience it," the netizen said. When they arrived at the school, many vehicles were already parked at the entrance. After completing registration quickly, men and women were accommodated separately. In just half an hour, they went from "homeless" to staying in heated dormitories. The netizen said that the next day, they tidied up all the bedding and other items before leaving. On social media, many other tourists posted videos or text expressing their thanks to Qilian's culture and tourism sector, "offering praise."
Over 400 Calls Received in 7 Hours
Mr. Chen, a staff member from the office of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television Bureau, told reporters that from 5:30 PM to midnight on October 3, they received over 400 calls at the office, mostly from tourists looking for accommodation, "not stopping for a moment in nearly 7 hours." During those 7 hours, Chen and his colleagues handwritten on sticky notes the phone numbers, number of travelers, gender composition, and other information for each call, then took photos of the notes and sent them one by one to groups for various local hotels to see if there were any vacancies. They also sent them to work groups to share relevant information with colleagues at the school dormitory placement sites, so that enough beds could be arranged at any time. "That night, calls came one after another. The director was worried we hadn't eaten, so he ordered takeout for us. I took two hours to finish a burger because I simply had no time to eat," Chen said. The tourists who called that night were all very nice, he said, making no special or unreasonable demands. Some even offered to pay normally for staying in student dormitories, and were very surprised when they heard it was free, expressing their thanks to Qilian County over the phone. "During the National Day holiday, all culture and tourism department staff are on standby, and when the visitor flow increases, everyone is deployed. These past two days, some went to the school placement sites to deliver emergency supplies like quilts, while others stayed in the office to coordinate arrangements," Chen said. In the culture and tourism work group, messages were still being sent at 3 or 4 in the morning.
Chen also noted that the tourists were all quite well-behaved, and so far there had been no reports of damaged or lost items in the student dormitories.
Culture and Tourism Bureau Director Helps Make Beds for Tourists
In a video circulating online on October 3, Feng Lingling, Party Secretary and Director of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, Radio and Television Bureau, was seen making beds and carrying luggage for tourists in a student dormitory. On the afternoon of October 4, Feng told reporters in an interview that because visitor numbers during this year's National Day holiday exceeded even the regular peak season, she spent both October 2 and 3 helping on the front lines at the temporary public welfare placement site at the school dormitories. "We originally expected the National Day visitor flow to at most match the peak season, but it suddenly surged," Feng said. Starting around 5 or 6 PM on October 2, they began receiving reports of tourists unable to find accommodation. Following previous contingency plans, they contacted the education bureau and schools that evening, opened the dormitories, and the entire bureau staff was deployed. "The day before yesterday, I made beds with my colleagues; yesterday, I helped with registration there," Feng said. During holidays, they are all on duty without rest. This National Day long holiday, tasks including scenic area safety, large-scale event venues, and handling complaints all required on-site presence, so staff were spread thin.
In the dormitories, Feng and her colleagues packed up all the students' belongings and then laid out brand-new bedding obtained from the emergency department on the beds. "When tourists checked in, we reminded each one not to touch the children's things. From what we've seen, over 90% of the tourists have been very well-behaved," Feng said. They were dedicated to serving tourists, and the tourists' attitude toward them was very heartwarming. On the night of October 3, because one school's dormitories were insufficient, another school was arranged. At that time, due to a long queue, the culture and tourism bureau temporarily placed several elderly people over 80 years old in the room where staff were doing registration. Later, as registration continued late into the night, staff worried about disturbing the elderly and prepared to move to the hallway to register, but the elderly were very kind, saying it was too cold outside the room and that they should stay inside, that they wouldn't be noisy, and wouldn't disturb their rest. In the end, the staff still chose to register in the hallway. One colleague had been busy moving things without eating and nearly fainted from low blood sugar, but recovered after eating two mooncakes given by tourists. That night, Feng and other staff worked until about 2:40 AM on October 4 before going home to rest.
Feng said that Qilian County is a town of 50,000 people. Based on a traffic flow of 35,000 vehicles, over 100,000 people poured in on October 3. Some may have just passed through, but even if only a small portion stayed, the county's accommodation capacity could not contain them. Feng predicted that on the evening of October 4, there would still be many tourists needing placement.
Reporters learned that from October 3 to 2:30 AM on October 4, the Qilian County Culture and Tourism Bureau received 510 calls for accommodation help from tourists, involving over 800 people. Among them, 453 people were placed through emergency support beds at Qilian County Ethnic Middle School and Haibei Prefecture No. 3 Senior High School, 200 people were placed through other rural tourism reception sites, guesthouses, and hotel cancellations, and the remaining tourists either found accommodation on their own or went to surrounding areas. All accommodation needs were properly resolved.
On the morning of October 4, Qilian Culture and Tourism issued its latest notice: On October 3, Qilian County had nearly 35,000 vehicles, and all of the county's over 400 hotels and guesthouses were fully booked, with nearly 500 people placed in public welfare beds. Due to limited beds, tourists experiencing accommodation difficulties are reminded to promptly call the service numbers 0970-8672109, 8676625, or 8676879 to reserve public welfare beds or adjust their itineraries.
Reporters also learned that Qilian County's tourism peak season is generally July and August each year. Due to the popularity of the local Route 9 on the internet this year, a large number of tourists were attracted to visit during the National Day long holiday.