Hi!

I will be in Beijing for the first few days of Golden week (national week?) in early october. Can anyone direct me to more information?

Thanks!

Yes, stay away from tourist sights as they will be packed...seriously, that is one of the three major travel weeks for PRC nationals. It is not a religious holiday time, so no one has family obligations and virtually the entire country has the week off to sightsee. With more people having more money these days, everyone travels, and hundreds of thousands of them travel to Beijing. I was in the Forbidden City one day during that week a few years ago and was actually frightened by the extent and rather unruly nature of the crowds..."elbows up" was our motto (keeps you from being trampled by the crowd and crushed.). The Summer Palace was quite crowded as well. That being said, places like the Mitianyu section of the Great Wall were not crowded at all and neither was the Temple of Heaven. Pick your tourist spots carefully. Don't go to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. Sunrise at Tiananmen Square during that week was relatively OK, more crowded that I have seen at other times of year, but manageable; that may be your best time to get picture of the Square that week.

Airports and train stations will be very crowded as well. Head to either a bit earlier and expect some delays. You will probably need more restaurant reservations than normal.

There may be fireworks someplace around Beijing on Oct 1, ask at your hotel. I have not heard about this in previous years, but you never know. There are great ones here in Hong Kong on the 1st.

National Day is October 1 (the day Mao declared the establishment of the PRC from the Gate of Heavenly Peace at the front of the Forbidden City), the rest is really just a holiday week, with no particular political/historical significance that I am aware of.

You absolutely must have reservations, both for hotels and for any travel between cities. If you're traveling by train tis would be a good time to opt for soft rather than hard sleeper - I was in the Beijing train station the night before National Day, and even the soft sleeper waiting rooms were standing room only.

In Beijing itself, Tiananmen Square will be "dressed" for the celebration, make sure you take a look. Likely there will be artificial mountains and waterfalls, covered with flowers. I seem to remember a miniature space ship.

The crowds in Beijing just before National Day wee bearable, the crowds in Hangzhou and Putuoshan right after were massive.

Nice thing is that the high-end business hotels should be more affordable during this time. You may find the high-end eateries catered to working expats less crowded as well.

Lot of expats escape the city and get out of the country.

1-Visit the scenic spots you want ASAP.
2-Choose a good hotel and enjoy your TV/Newspaper/Sofa to skip away from crowded people.