With 2,788 routes developed by China's outdoors clubs, hiking was the country's most popular outdoors activity from 2015 to 2016, a survey revealed recently.
The survey, issued last month by the 8264 Platform of Outdoors Clubs, one of the country's earliest online networks of outdoors businesses, also shows that in-depth travel follows hiking as the second favorite outdoors activity among Chinese backpackers.
Moreover, this year has witnessed a rise in diversified outdoors programs, such as climbing snow-capped mountains or camping.
Concerning expenditures, the survey revealed that the routes covering a cost from 1,000 (U.S.$145) to 4,000 yuan each per person are the most visited itineraries.
According to the survey, travelers aged between 20 and 40 made up 66.32 percent of outdoors participants.
Zhejiang Province, fueled by economic growth and abundant natural resources, has attracted 15 percent of travelers involved in outdoors clubs, securing a leading role among regions across the country, according to the survey.
Challenging outdoors activities – such as diving, drifting and paragliding – that are restrictive only to a small group of tourists also saw increasing visits.
In the past few years, outdoors clubs have expanded to every municipality in the country, thanks to the growing economies, changing consumption habits and all-around online technological support.
