I'm thinking of going up to Beijing. How crowded is the city going to be? Maybe a little less if people leave the city? But would the tourist sites like the Forbidden Palace and Great Wall be extremely crowded?

I heard last year was crazy because of the 60th anniversary.

It's safe to assume that any tourist sites in China will be very very busy.

Expect to see the spectacular "Great Wall of People".

Haha yes that's about right.

October is a popular time for trips for Chinese. The only other 'golden week' these days is Spring Festival which a lot of people people spend at home with family. October also has some of the best weather.

one of my personal rules for travel in china... never travel when the rest of china is traveling.

KentWang wrote:I'm thinking of going up to Beijing. How crowded is the city going to be? Maybe a little less if people leave the city? But would the tourist sites like the Forbidden Palace and Great Wall be extremely crowded?

I heard last year was crazy because of the 60th anniversary.

Every year a HUGE ceremony is held in the capital - probably the worst place to be over the national holiday

I will be travelling during the "golden week" for my first time as well. Hopefully, things will be better starting from the second week of October... at least that's what I hope...

Unfortunately my girlfriend teaches at a school so she can't get days off except when the whole country does, so this will be our only opportunity to go to Beijing until the winter holidays, during which it 'll be quite cold up there.

Are the train tickets going to be all booked up? I'll go and buy them 10 days before and see how that goes.

I actually don't mind travelling too much during national holidays as long as one doesn't use trains and buses. If I am going to airport it's door to door cabs at both ends and always book in to top hotels.

If you travel by trains or buses and stay in cheapo hotels, expect hell.

If it were me, I would have my MP3 blaring via my earbuds to some crazy, highly energetic rock tune, and start moshin'. That way, you are turning the tables on them, and using the situation in a fun way, rather than one that wreaks havoc on even the most patient person in this world.

Michael wrote:one of my personal rules for travel in china... never travel when the rest of china is traveling.

Agreed!!

Do you think the 22-24 Sept holiday will be less crowded?

crivens200 wrote:I actually don't mind travelling too much during national holidays as long as one doesn't use trains and buses. If I am going to airport it's door to door cabs at both ends and always book in to top hotels.

If you travel by trains or buses and stay in cheapo hotels, expect hell.

Ditto that.

I was in Sanya in '08, Lijiang in '09, during National holiday.
I really didn't feel the crowd size increasing too much.
The hotel price did get jacked up, big time.

I usually try to avoid travelling in China during national holidays. I was in Beijing in 2008 and it was not that bad. Maybe if your destination is a small place (Huangshan, Yangshuo, etc) it could be quite bad though

I think every newcomer to China should travel over Lunar New Year or National Day once...and then decide if you ever want to do it again. It's an other-wordly experience!

Please write back with a review if and when you return....