(Yicai) Jan. 3 -- The number of tourists from the north and south of China making trips in the opposite direction surged over the New Year holiday.

The northeast drew visitors from Beijing and the southern cities of Shanghai and Shenzhen, while Sanya and Kunming, two popular destinations in South China, attracted holidaymakers from the north, data from on-demand services giant Meituan showed.

Staff at Pop Forest, a popular bathing center in Shenyang, Liaoning province, told Yicai that the average customer flow reached up to 2,500 people during the New Year holiday, with half of the clients hailing from the south. People started queuing at around 11 a.m., they added.

Thanks to the tourism boom in the northeast, local homestay businesses also welcomed a busier period. The manager of an inn called Heilongjiang Cloud and Snow Valley told Yicai that business over the new year break was the best ever, with more than 20 rooms full every day, while 99 percent of the customers came from the south.

The northeast tourism boom will likely continue until the Chinese New Year in February, and the inn will be fully booked for the upcoming holiday, the manager noted.

In addition to cross-regional travel between the north and the south, consumption by local residents also surged during the New Year holiday.

The demand for taxis in China soared over 160 percent on Dec. 31 from a year ago, with that in the peak evening hours skyrocketing 180 percent, according to data from ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology. Leisure and entertainment were the main reasons for taking a taxi, with fireworks displays, light shows, and New Year's Eve activities boosting demand.

Across the nation, dine-in restaurant transactions surged more than 230 percent in the last two days of the year from a year earlier, with non-local client transactions soaring over 310 percent, Meituan’s data showed. Dining out jumped the most in the provinces of Fujian and Heilongjiang, surging nearly four times.

Editor: Martin Kadiev