In Wanning, a coastal city in China's tropical island province of Hainan where winter mornings are laced with a faint tang of salt, Xiong Hao settled into a horse stance at a sunlit square, his arms rising and falling with his breath as each movement of his tai chi routine unfolded with deliberate, unhurried ease.

Marking their first Spring Festival away from home in Hebei province, Xiong, newly retired, and his wife decided to travel differently. Instead of racing through a checklist of sights, they chose to slow down in Wanning, where they have been staying for nearly two months.

While much of North China was still shaking off the chill of winter, Wanning was bathed in warm sunshine and lush greenery. "The weather is wonderfully mild. It's a great place to spend the winter," Xiong said. "We'll definitely be back next year."

Their lifestyle is a snapshot of a growing trend in China. For an increasing number of seniors, this migratory lifestyle — heading north to escape the summer heat and south to find respite from the winter cold — is becoming a favored choice in their golden years.

Experts said that evolving mindsets toward aging, reinforced by a structural shift in consumption, are making sojourn living a significant social trend in China.

This emerging phenomenon has transcended the conventional realms of tourism and retirement, maturing into a comprehensive lifestyle that blends long-term stays with cultural immersion, wellness, and meaningful social connections.

Zhang Hui, a professor at the School of Economics and Management in Beijing Jiaotong University, said market demand for senior sojourn communities is poised for continuous growth, driven by the country's deepening aging population and rising consumer demand.

China's sojourn-style senior living market reached 670 billion yuan ($98 billion) in 2024. "Looking further ahead, total tourism consumption among the elderly is estimated to swell to over 2.4 trillion yuan by 2050," Zhang added.

Meanwhile, younger generations are quietly joining the ranks of sojourners. "This lifestyle is no longer exclusive to seniors, but is increasingly becoming a lifestyle choice across different age groups and professional circles," said Wang Peng, a researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

A report on market demand released by the China Tourism Academy reveals that travelers aged 20 to 40 now account for approximately 60 percent of the country's sojourn market.

Beyond the shores of Hainan, Yunnan province, some 2,000 kilometers away, has emerged as another popular destination for those following the slow-paced travel movement.

Wang Ning, Party secretary of Yunnan, noted that over the past two years, a growing number of visitors have moved beyond brief sightseeing and checklist-style travel.

"Instead, they are opting for extended stays to deeply immerse themselves in what is known as 'a life called Yunnan'," Wang added.

Tourism figures underscore this robust momentum.

The province welcomed 4.98 million sojourners from January to November, representing a year-on-year surge of 54.9 percent. On average, these travelers stayed for approximately 85 days, according to data from the Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

Notably, the 25-to-60-year-old demographic accounts for nearly 70 percent of this sojourning population, with a significant number choosing to stay for extended periods in destinations such as Dali, Lijiang, and Tengchong, the data showed.

One of them is Zhao Tongtong, a 27-year-old from North China, who frequently takes to Xiaohongshu (RedNote), a popular lifestyle-sharing platform, to share her new life in Dali, a renowned tourist destination famous for its pleasant climate and breathtaking natural scenery.

Her routine feels worlds away from the city grind.

Mornings begin with a stroll through the market to pick out fresh blooms, followed by long, focused afternoons working from a favorite cafe. Weekends are spent on mountain trails, and many evenings are set aside for handicraft workshops or intimate local music sessions.

"Sojourning has brought me a sense of peace I've never known before," she said. Looking ahead, she has already begun nurturing a new dream: "I hope to one day open a cafe of my own right here in Yunnan."

"A significant portion of our sojourners from places such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang province are recent college graduates," said Wang, the Party secretary.

By launching cultural startups, livestreaming local farm produce, or opening boutique bookstores and cafes, these young people are "breathing fresh vitality into the countryside," Wang said.

Their presence has sparked a ripple effect, encouraging the local population to branch out into new businesses, such as running supermarkets, managing courier services, or even opening bakeries, effectively boosting rural incomes across the board, the official added.

Meanwhile, with the rise of remote work, a growing number of young professionals have effectively uprooted their offices and replanted them in Yunnan. This burgeoning community is widely known as "digital nomads".

The support provided by these emerging work models has turned the "work-from-anywhere" lifestyle into a reality, said Wang, the researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Policy support is also gaining strength. This year's Government Work Report called for enhancing the capacity and quality of the service sector, while making consumer services better, more diverse and more accessible.

In line with that push, the General Office of the State Council released a work plan to cultivate new growth drivers in service consumption in January, placing sojourn tourism services on its priority list and calling for the development of "a cluster of high-quality sojourn destinations".

The core of the policy is to transform short-term stays into medium — to long-term consumption by integrating wellness, cultural, and healthcare services into the mix, said Hong Yong, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, which is part of the Ministry of Commerce.

"This will significantly extend both the consumption chain and the length of stay," Hong told Economic Information Daily. He added that the ripple effects are particularly notable for counties and smaller cities, where the influx of sojourners serves as a powerful catalyst for job creation and industrial development.

Bai Wenxi, vice-chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Union, shared this optimistic outlook, saying policies will also drive new consumption scenarios.

"We are seeing a fusion of industries where sojourning meets healthcare, education, sports, and creative arts. These integrated business models are becoming the new engines of growth," he said.

"Our estimates suggest that every yuan spent on sojourn travel can trigger three to four yuan in growth for related industries," Bai added. "That is significantly higher than the economic multiplier of traditional sightseeing."

The work plan further specifies the vitalization of idle rural land and housing, encouraging local governments to align sojourn projects with existing policies for reducing housing inventory, providing dedicated support for land use and the construction of service facilities.

Wu Pu, head of the Strategic Research Institute at the China Tourism Academy, explained that the key to sojourn living is settling down, which naturally links it to the property sector.

"Sojourners, typically characterized by higher disposable incomes, represent a powerful force capable of absorbing existing housing inventory," Wu added.

Meanwhile, he said that repurposing underutilized property assets into service-oriented sojourn communities could significantly improve housing utilization efficiency.

In Yunnan province, for example, the number of villages tapping into the sojourn economy had surged to 633 by August, up 11.5 times compared to 2024. This trend has effectively unlocked the value of 10,543 vacant houses.

Looking ahead, Wu stressed that as disposable incomes and leisure time continue to grow, sojourn living is set to become the new norm within the next three to five years.

Zhang Chenxu contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at zhangchenxu@chinadaily.com.cn