A hit Chinese drama is doing more than winning viewers. It may also be putting Zhejiang province on the global travel map.
New Amadeus Travel Intelligence figures show that international air arrivals to Hangzhou rose 9 per cent year on year. The data cover March to June 2026. That period followed the March launch of Pursuit of Jade (逐玉).
The 40-episode historical romance soon found a large audience outside China. It entered Netflix’s Global Top 10 for non-English television at No. 6. It drew 34.2 million viewing hours in its first full week. The series then stayed in the chart for several weeks. Clearly, this was no one-week palace coup.
Netflix says the drama follows a humble woman who marries a disgraced noble to protect her family. Their love becomes real. She then follows him into battle to fight for their future.
For Zhejiang tourism, another plot may now be unfolding off-screen.
Asian markets lead Hangzhou’s rise
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport is the main international gateway for many of the show’s best-known locations. They include Hengdian World Studios in Dongyang. They also include the shores and streets around Hangzhou’s West Lake.
Leisure trips account for 95 per cent of international demand to Hangzhou, according to the Amadeus data. Several Asian markets posted striking gains.
Arrivals from Vietnam climbed 516 per cent year on year. The United Arab Emirates rose 57 per cent. Malaysia gained 56 per cent. Singapore increased 48 per cent.
Hangzhou international travel at a glance
| Metric: March–June 2026 versus 2025 | Change |
|---|---|
| Total international arrivals to Hangzhou | +9% |
| Vietnam to Hangzhou | +516% |
| UAE to Hangzhou | +57% |
| Malaysia to Hangzhou | +56% |
| Singapore to Hangzhou | +48% |
| Leisure share of international demand | 95% |
Source: Amadeus Arrivals & Stays data, March–June 2026 versus March–June 2025, as supplied.
These figures are impressive. Yet they need care. More airline seats may be helping. Visa rules may also play a part. Hangzhou was a major destination long before the first camera rolled.
A television show cannot claim every boarding pass. Even so, the timing and market pattern fit the rise of set-jetting. This is travel inspired by film and television.
Put simply, some viewers are leaving the sofa and reaching for a passport.
Screen tourism gains a new star
Amadeus lists “Pop Culting” as one of six key travel trends for 2026. The term covers trips driven by television, film, music, games and other popular culture.
The company says fan culture can turn online interest into real trips. Its Amadeus Travel Trends 2026 report points to Bridgerton and screen-led tours in Seoul. Both show how a strong story can shape travel demand.
Pursuit of Jade gives Zhejiang a useful visitor trail. Hengdian World Studios hosted many palace and court scenes. The vast site has more than 20 filming bases and historic-style scenic areas.
Hengdian was already a major attraction. The drama has not built a destination from nothing. It has done something just as useful. It has given the destination a fresh story, famous faces and a new global audience.
West Lake offers a gentler kind of screen appeal. The UNESCO World Heritage landscape has inspired poets, painters and visitors for centuries. Its causeways, temples, pagodas and gardens now hold fresh meaning for fans.
Old scenery, it seems, can still shine in a new medium.
US and UK interest starts to build
Asian markets are driving most demand. However, Amadeus also found early growth in long-haul markets.
Flight searches from the United States to Hangzhou rose 29 per cent year on year. Arrivals rose 22 per cent. In the United Kingdom, searches grew 23 per cent, and arrivals increased 21 per cent.
The figures cover March to June 2026. Neither country is among Hangzhou’s largest overseas source markets. Even so, searches are growing faster than completed trips. That may point to fresh interest that has not yet become a booking.
“What stands out in the data is the shape of the demand, not just the headline growth. Travel to Hangzhou is being driven almost entirely by leisure travellers, with the strongest gains coming from markets across Southeast Asia, while in long-haul markets like the US and UK, searches are running ahead of arrivals— typically a sign of new interest still converting into trips. We can’t attribute demand to any single cause, but this appears to be the pattern that emerges when a destination captures the popular imagination and screen tourism is a way that possibly happens,” said Bing Han Kee, Regional Vice President, Travel Intelligence, Hospitality, Asia Pacific, Amadeus.
That note of caution matters. It keeps the numbers honest. It also leaves room for a clear business opportunity.
Ningbo sends a quieter signal
Xiangshan Film and Television Town in Ningbo hosted the battle and city-wall scenes. International arrivals to Ningbo were broadly flat overall. Yet some source markets moved higher.
Taiwan remained Ningbo’s largest international market. It accounted for 37 per cent of arrivals and grew 9 per cent year on year. Singapore arrivals rose 27 per cent.
That result is softer than Hangzhou’s surge. Still, it supports a wider Zhejiang screen-tourism plan.
A joined-up route could link Hangzhou, West Lake, Hengdian and Xiangshan. Such a trip would offer more than one quick photo stop. It could also encourage longer stays.
Travel sellers have a timely opening
Tourism boards, airlines, hotels and travel advisers should take note. Cultural moments move fast. Destinations must spot them early and package them well.
There is room for guided filming-location tours. Costume and studio visits could also work. Hotels could offer themed stays. Tour operators could link screen sites with Zhejiang’s food, tea, history and living culture.
The aim should not be a cheap rush of souvenirs. The real prize is lasting interest in the destination.
Pursuit of Jade began as a tale of love, honour and battle. For Hangzhou and Zhejiang, it may now become a valuable tourism script.
And this time, the audience appears ready to travel for the sequel.
By: Maysa Punchanit – © 2026.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
Author Bio:
Maysa Punchanit has never waited for life to become easy. She’s far too practical for that. Instead, she’s built her path the way many strong women do, step by step, job by job, learning something useful everywhere she’s been.
Her working life has taken her through hospitality, sales, beauty therapy and the fast-moving world of social media, where she partnered with some of Thailand’s best-known companies. Along the way, she discovered a steady voice for blogging, warm, direct and grounded in real experience rather than marketing spin.
Being a single mother sharpened her resolve rather than slowing her stride. If anything, it gave her purpose.
Now with Destination Thailand News and Global Travel Media, Maysa arrives not as a newcomer, but as someone quietly battle-tested, resilient, capable and ready for the next chapter.
