On October 3, Qilian County in Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, welcomed over 100,000 visitors, with all hotels and guesthouses fully booked. Online, many tourists who had been unable to reserve accommodation posted messages of thanks, stating that when all hope of finding a room was lost, they were placed free of charge by the local culture and tourism authorities into heated student dormitories, and they gave a thumbs-up to Qilian's culture and tourism department. 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 arranged accommodation for nearly 500 tourists without lodging through public welfare beds.

Staying in a Warm Dormitory 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 nightfall, he could not find any accommodation on major platforms. "Later, while scrolling through my phone in frustration, I came across an announcement from Qilian Culture and Tourism saying that anyone having difficulty finding accommodation could contact them, so I gave them a call," Lin Bin told reporters. That evening, he was arranged to stay at Qilian County Nationalities Middle School. "Four people to a room, and brand-new bedding was handed out on the spot," Lin Bin 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 expressed great gratitude for the free dormitories coordinated by local authorities and felt this gave Qilian County a big boost in reputation.

Another netizen told reporters that on October 3, after their family spent three hours searching for a hotel without success, they got through to the culture and tourism bureau's phone number thanks to a local man's introduction. The staff on the phone asked how many people there were and then told them to go directly to the school. "I'd only ever heard about staying in schools online—I never thought I'd actually experience it," the netizen said. When they arrived at the school, many vehicles were already parked at the entrance. After a quick registration, men and women were accommodated separately. In just half an hour, they went from being "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, numerous tourists also posted videos or text messages expressing their thanks to Qilian Culture and Tourism, offering "praise."

Over 400 Calls Received in 7 Hours

Mr. Chen, a staff member from the office of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Broadcasting Bureau, told reporters that from 5:30 PM to midnight on October 3, they received more than 400 calls in the office, almost all from tourists seeking accommodation. "For nearly seven hours, not a single moment of rest." During those seven hours, Chen and his colleagues manually wrote down 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 group chats for each local hotel to check for available rooms. They also sent them to work group chats to share information with colleagues at the school dormitory placement sites, so that enough beds could be arranged at any time. "That night the calls came one after another. The bureau director worried we hadn't eaten and ordered takeout for us. I took two hours to eat a single burger—there was just no time to eat." Chen told reporters that the tourists who called that night were all very understanding, making no special or unreasonable demands. Some even proactively offered to pay the normal rate 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 at all times. When the visitor flow increases, everyone is on duty. These past two days, some people have been going to the school placement sites to deliver emergency supplies like quilts, while others remain in the office to coordinate overall arrangements," Chen said. In the culture and tourism work group chat, messages were still being sent at three or four in the morning. Chen also noted that the tourists were all very well-behaved, and so far there had been no reports of damaged items or lost belongings in the student dormitories.

Culture and Tourism Bureau Director Makes Beds for Tourists

In a video circulating online on October 3, Feng Lingling, Party Secretary and Director of the Qilian County Culture, Sports, Tourism, and Broadcasting Bureau, was seen making beds and carrying luggage for tourists in a student dormitory. On the afternoon of October 4, Feng Lingling said in an interview with reporters that because this year's National Day holiday saw even more visitors than the usual 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 never anticipated such a sudden surge," Feng Lingling said. Starting from around 5 or 6 PM on October 2, they began receiving reports of tourists unable to find accommodation. Following pre-existing contingency plans, they contacted the education bureau and schools that same evening, opened the dormitories, and the entire bureau staff was deployed. "The day before yesterday, I made beds together with my colleagues; yesterday, I helped with registration there," Feng Lingling said. During holidays, they are all in a no-rest state. This National Day long holiday required personnel on-site for scenic area safety, large-scale event venues, and handling complaints, so staff were spread thin.

On the evening of October 3, because one school's dormitories were insufficient, another school was arranged. At that time, due to the long queue, the culture and tourism bureau temporarily placed several people over 80 years old in the staff registration room. Later, as registration continued late into the night, staff worried about disturbing the elderly's rest and prepared to move to the corridor to register. But the elderly were all very kind, saying it was too cold outside the room and that there was no need to leave—they could stay in the room, it wouldn't be noisy, and it wouldn't affect their rest. In the end, the staff still chose to register in the corridor. That night, Feng Lingling and other staff worked until about 2:40 AM on October 4 before going home to rest.

Reporters learned that from October 3 to 2:30 AM on October 4, the Qilian County Culture and Tourism Bureau arranged accommodation for 453 people through emergency beds at Qilian County Nationalities Middle School and Haibei Prefecture No. 3 Senior High School, and 200 people through other rural tourism reception sites, guesthouses, and hotel cancellation rooms. The remaining tourists either found accommodation on their own or went to surrounding areas, and all accommodation needs were properly resolved. On the morning of October 4, Qilian Culture and Tourism released its latest notice: On October 3, Qilian County saw 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 encountering accommodation difficulties are now reminded to promptly call the service hotlines 0970-8672109, 8676625, or 8676879 to reserve public welfare beds or adjust their itineraries. Qilian County's tourism peak season is normally 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.