Ma Xinwei and his wife drove to Jingzhou on the first day of the Lunar New Year from Chongqing in the southwest. After lunch, they visited the wall with their two nephews, who are primary school students.

Ma was born in Jingzhou and works in another city about an eight-hour drive away. He and his wife planned to explore more of the city's cultural stories this year.

"Compared to staying at home, enjoying delicious homemade food and watching TV or playing mahjong and cards with my family, I prefer to spend my holiday in more interesting places," says the 35-year-old Ma, adding that many of his friends also chose to visit cultural sites during the holiday.

The couple planned to spend the following day at Jingzhou Museum, which was organizing a special activity for visitors to explore the dragon-related elements in its collection.

The garden-like complex houses 130,000 artifacts and artworks, most of which are related to Chu culture. Twenty kings ruled the Chu state over the course of 800 years, and many of the items at the museum were unearthed in tombs discovered around the city.