Tourists were flocking to historical and scenic attractions in Beijing on Wednesday as China was entering an eight-day holiday.

Over 2.3 billion trips are expected to take place through the eight-day public holiday that includes the National Day on October 1 and the Mid-Autumn Festival on October 6, according to projections from the Ministry of Transportation.

The daily 300 million journeys made a 3.2% increase compared with the same period last year.

The first travel peak is expected on October 1 with an estimated 340 million trips.

Long queues and heavy traffic were seen on Wednesday morning outside the Forbidden City, the massive palace complex where Ming and Qing dynasty emperors resided for centuries.

In recent years, dressing up in Qing dynasty costumes and taking photographs has become a popular way to explore the site.

Lin Enru, a university student from the southeastern province of Fujian, was wearing a costume of “gege”, the title for the unmarried daughter of an emperor.

She said she had a packed schedule to see nearly all the tourist sites in Beijing during the holiday.

“Beijing is certainly very crowded during the National Day Holiday, but I know it will be busy wherever I go at this time. That’s why I think it’s best to visit the capital. After all, watching the flag-raising ceremony on a national say is truly meaningful,” she said.

Compared to other cities, visits to Beijing’s landmarks often have a strong patriotic significance, because of its status as the country’s capital.

Many tourists were seen holding small national flags wherever they went.

Bi Guoxin from the northeastern province of Jilin is visiting with his families.

He said he was inspired to travel to Beijing after watching a victory parade.

“After watching the military parade on September 3rd, I felt great admiration and wanted to come to Beijing for a visit,” he explained.

Bo Baosheng from the northwestern province of Gansu said this is his first time traveling to Beijing. In his 60s, he wanted to see the Mao Zedong Mausoleum.

The government uses make-up holidays to spur spending and economic growth. Additional trains have been dispatched and highway tolls are being cancelled during the eight-day break.

AP Video by Olivia Zhang