Chinese Toll Road Rest Area Transforms into Alternative Holiday Destination

Xi’an (ANTARA) - During the May Day Labour Day holiday in China, a service area (rest area) on the outskirts of Xi’an resembled a small holiday resort more than just a roadside rest stop.

Children climbed indoor climbing walls and tried intangible cultural heritage craft activities. Several families sampled local snacks and hotpot dishes at specialised restaurants.

Travellers gathered in the recreational vehicle (RV) area for barbecues and chats. Meanwhile, other visitors enjoyed extended reality (XR) games and digital sports facilities.

For Dong Wenhai, a Xi’an resident who drove 40 minutes with his children to the Ziwu Expressway Service Area on 1 May, the trip was not merely a stop to rest, but a tourist destination.

“Different from traditional rest areas that only serve as places to rest during journeys, this is a place where you can easily spend the whole day,” said Dong.

His family tried indoor rock climbing, cotton fabric painting activities inspired by intangible cultural heritage, as well as XR entertainment in spacious rooms. Local culinary options, from hotpot to signature snacks, completed their visit.

According to Ziwu Service Area manager Chen Lu, the location has integrated digital sports, local cuisine, agricultural products, recreational facilities, photogenic spaces, and RV accommodation. Since opening in September 2022, the site has received more than six million visits, with tourists staying on average for over five hours.

During the second to fourth days of this year’s May Day holiday, all 16 RV camping units with hot spring baths at the rest area were fully booked.

The transformation of Ziwu reflects a broader shift across China’s toll road network. As more people opt for self-driving during national holidays, rest areas are being upgraded from mere roadside rest spots into multifunctional spaces for recreation, consumption, culture, and clean energy.

China’s Ministry of Transport reported that the number of inter-regional passenger trips nationwide reached 337.47 million on 1 May, the first day of the holiday, up 1.4 per cent from the previous year. Highway passenger traffic was recorded at 308.54 million.

This surge is placing new pressures on toll road infrastructure, particularly rest areas facing overlapping demands for parking, dining, toilets, and electric vehicle charging.

In Shaanxi Province, located near China’s geographic centre, to meet traffic and charging needs during the holiday peak, 100 rest areas and 46 parking areas under provincial administration have been equipped with 1,930 charging poles and 3,137 dedicated charging parking spaces.

In addition to meeting basic charging needs, some rest areas are also serving as test sites for eco-friendly transport.

On 2 May, a new energy vehicle (NEV) driver named Zhao Ming, who regularly travels along the G30 Lianyungang-Khorgos Expressway, stopped at the Meixian Service Area. A row of reflective panels over the parking structure and green lanes caught his attention.

Zhao initially thought the panels were sunshades.

“Then I realised they were photovoltaic panels. Now, the electricity used here is green electricity, which is truly eco-friendly,” said Zhao.

The Meixian Service Area, Shaanxi’s first zero-carbon smart rest area, has completed its upgrades and officially began operations on 26 April.

Using a full-chain technology model combining photovoltaics, energy storage, wind energy, and smart management, the facility can provide stable green electricity around the clock. Its annual power generation capacity reaches 2.59 million kilowatt-hours.

“All the electricity used in this rest area is supplied by green energy, achieving zero fossil fuel consumption for energy-using equipment,” said Meixian Service Area manager Chen Hui.

He explained that the rest area has formed a circular model that significantly reduces annual carbon emissions through wastewater recycling, waste sorting, carbon-absorbing landscaping, and eco-friendly operations throughout the process.

China has set targets to build a modern integrated transport system that is safe, convenient, efficient, green, and economical. Nationwide, nearly 4,200 pairs of toll road rest areas have been built, with an average of one pair available every about 50 kilometres.

In early 2026, China’s Ministry of Transport will launch a quality improvement plan for rest areas focusing on five areas: charging facilities, public toilet capacity, standardised “driver’s homes”, rest areas, and safety and emergency response capacity.

From mere brief stopover spots to places where travellers want to linger, and from basic charging services to zero-carbon operations, China’s toll road rest areas are steadily reshaping the travel experience.