May 1 Holiday in China
Jun 30th, 2008, 11:11 AM
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May 1 Holiday in China
I'm looking at dates to avoid in booking my air tickets to Beijing and out of Hong Kong. Should we still avoid the week of May 1 for 2009 travel?
Thanks so much.
Thanks so much.
Jun 30th, 2008, 11:37 AM
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5/1/09 falls on a Fri, I would avoid that long weekend + Monday for travel in China.
This year's 5/1 fell on a Thur, my DS' firm had 4 days off and closed the office early Wed afternoon, she and her family traveled to Xinjiang.
This year's 5/1 fell on a Thur, my DS' firm had 4 days off and closed the office early Wed afternoon, she and her family traveled to Xinjiang.
Jun 30th, 2008, 02:50 PM
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The May holiday is now reduced to a single day, so although some private firms might arbitrarily offer a few extra days, the problem of the whole of China taking Monday to the following Sunday off, and clogging the entire transport system, has gone away.
Peter N-H
Peter N-H
Jul 1st, 2008, 09:44 AM
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The October holiday starts for most people on a Monday (the previous weekend is worked, and services such as one-day tours usually are available at weekend are not available) and finishes the following Sunday, although those who can (not many) add time to the front or rear end of this.
Travelling within China at the beginning or end of this week is problematic. Tickets can be very hard to obtain and all forms of transport are bursting at the seams. However getting around in the middle of the week is little different from at other times of the year.
In the big cities while the main sights are busy, in general getting around is easier since those with the disposable income to spend on travel mostly live in the big cities and not in the countryside. Traffic is often noticeably lighter, demand for hotel rooms at the upper end is not great, and even pollution can fall off a little.
Resort and tourist destination areas (parks, areas of scenic beauty, warmer destinations in the south) especially those such as hotels on top of mountains with no other purpose than tourism will be completely booked and charging even above their usual rack rates.
So the answer is to arrive at some large city before the holiday starts, stay there until the middle, move on to somewhere else large, and stay there until after the holiday is over.
Peter N-H
Travelling within China at the beginning or end of this week is problematic. Tickets can be very hard to obtain and all forms of transport are bursting at the seams. However getting around in the middle of the week is little different from at other times of the year.
In the big cities while the main sights are busy, in general getting around is easier since those with the disposable income to spend on travel mostly live in the big cities and not in the countryside. Traffic is often noticeably lighter, demand for hotel rooms at the upper end is not great, and even pollution can fall off a little.
Resort and tourist destination areas (parks, areas of scenic beauty, warmer destinations in the south) especially those such as hotels on top of mountains with no other purpose than tourism will be completely booked and charging even above their usual rack rates.
So the answer is to arrive at some large city before the holiday starts, stay there until the middle, move on to somewhere else large, and stay there until after the holiday is over.
Peter N-H
Sep 21st, 2008, 12:15 AM
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Hello Peter N-H,(and all others)
I have 2 questions:
1. Currently, our last day of our vacation in China will be May 1st, 2009, in Shanghai. It is basically our only free day. I know it is a holiday, but are stores, shops and museums open on that day? Is it more hectic? We may still be able to change our dates, but we are using FF miles and it is difficult to change.
2. I have read many of your posts and you seem to be pro independent travel. I will be traveling with my sister (both 50+) and we only have about 12 days and want to see Beijing, Xian and Shanghai(maybe Hangshou and Suzhou) for sure.
I have never taken a group country tour and usually travel with my husband or a friend independently.
My concern is that we have such a short time and do not speak the language. I really enjoy learning about the history(real or not) and folklore of what I am seeing and I am concerned that without a guide we will miss so much. I really don't care about the restaurants. My sister would like to see hotels and shop (she is a travel agent), as well as all the great sights. We were looking at China Spree as they have a chock full itinerary and seem to visit all the places we want to see. I have read your posts on what a rip off they might be, but even with the tips, they are still more reasonable than other tours.
Are there American companies you would recommend that are comparable in price and trustworthy?
Thanks,
Andreak
I have 2 questions:
1. Currently, our last day of our vacation in China will be May 1st, 2009, in Shanghai. It is basically our only free day. I know it is a holiday, but are stores, shops and museums open on that day? Is it more hectic? We may still be able to change our dates, but we are using FF miles and it is difficult to change.
2. I have read many of your posts and you seem to be pro independent travel. I will be traveling with my sister (both 50+) and we only have about 12 days and want to see Beijing, Xian and Shanghai(maybe Hangshou and Suzhou) for sure.
I have never taken a group country tour and usually travel with my husband or a friend independently.
My concern is that we have such a short time and do not speak the language. I really enjoy learning about the history(real or not) and folklore of what I am seeing and I am concerned that without a guide we will miss so much. I really don't care about the restaurants. My sister would like to see hotels and shop (she is a travel agent), as well as all the great sights. We were looking at China Spree as they have a chock full itinerary and seem to visit all the places we want to see. I have read your posts on what a rip off they might be, but even with the tips, they are still more reasonable than other tours.
Are there American companies you would recommend that are comparable in price and trustworthy?
Thanks,
Andreak
Sep 21st, 2008, 08:20 AM
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> 1. Currently, our last day of our vacation in China will be May 1st, 2009, in Shanghai.....I know it is a holiday, but are stores, shops and museums open on that day?
Yes. Everything except offices.
> Is it more hectic?
Yes, since most people are off work. When the holiday was a week getting around was actually easier, as more Shanghainese left town than arrived from elsewhere to have a look at it. Patterns of travel may have altered slightly now the holiday has been reduced to one day, but regardless of that although the big name sights will be busier, certainly not to the point that the city should be avoided.
> 2. I have read many of your posts and you seem to be pro independent travel.
This is more a matter of being against things. I'm against people who usually travel independently deciding they can't do so in China. Hundreds of thousands of people do it every year without any Mandarin at all. I'm against people being cheated by tour companies and in favour of them making choices of tour and tour company based on the realities of the situation, and fully aware of the deception they will have to deal with.
> I will be traveling with my sister (both 50+) and we only have about 12 days and want to see Beijing, Xian and Shanghai(maybe Hangshou and Suzhou) for sure.
I have never taken a group country tour and usually travel with my husband or a friend independently.
All you want to do is visit three major tourist destinations, with possible side trips. There doesn't seem any reason to involve a tour company if you usually prefer not to do so. Of course if you do, then you can just sit back once you arrive and not worry about anything. But that comes at a price, as set out repeatedly in posts under a variety of threads.
> My concern is that we have such a short time and do not speak the language.
And do you really take that into account when you travel? I can only speak three languages and I muddle along in a fourth, so I visit countries where I don't speak a word all the time. I was recently in Bulgaria where there were fewer signs in the Latin alphabet, and (surprisingly) no more English speakers than encountered in China, and fewer than encountered in major tourist cities like Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai. Surely most of us must find ourselves in that kind of situation quite often. What's special about China?
> I really enjoy learning about the history(real or not) and folklore of what I am seeing and I am concerned that without a guide we will miss so much.
But what's the benefit of learning fake history and culture? Of course, if you do take a tour you can (and should) take reliable reading matter with you, too. But don't make the guide lose face by confronting him with contrary information, or you may end up having the kind of conversation I once had when a guide asked about the novel I was carrying. It was by Nobel prize-winning Chinese author Gao Xingjian. Gao is a dissident exile, so news of him is suppressed in China. 'Oh yes, he's from Taiwan,' said the guide. 'No,' I said, he's from Jiangxi Province, and showed him the biography in the front. 'No, he's from Taiwan,' said the guide. In short, truth in guidespeak is as accidental is it is in China Daily, and part of the same propaganda programme.
> I really don't care about the restaurants.
Don't care about food? But this is one of the best things about visiting China. If you've only eaten Chinese overseas then you don't know what Chinese food really is, and its infinite variety.
> My sister would like to see hotels and shop (she is a travel agent), as well as all the great sights.
Better check she'll be given time to shop, then. Part of the purpose of the relentless itineraries of the cheaper tours is that you have no chance to shop except in the rip-off kick-back places to which you are taken.
>We were looking at China Spree as they have a chock full itinerary and seem to visit all the places we want to see. I have read your posts on what a rip off they might be, but even with the tips, they are still more reasonable than other tours.
China isn't some miraculous place where the maxim 'You get what you pay for' suddenly stops applying. You've obviously seen the other postings about the deceitful way in which these companies make their profits. Cheapness is only apparent, and is certainly not the same thing as value for money.
> Are there American companies you would recommend that are comparable in price and trustworthy?
I've set out criteria for judging with which company to travel, and a list of questions you should ask. I've already mentioned that many a tour with a foreign name is nevertheless run by the same ground handlers as the others, making them a lot less different from each other than they try to appear. Ask the questions and find out for yourself. China Spree isn't the only one to avoid (China Focus is very similar). But there are companies that control the ground handlers better, charge a reasonable rate, control the tipping, have a foreign tour leader delivering reliable cultural and historic information, largely avoid shopping stops, and give you some free time to do as you please. Unsurprisingly, they cost more.
Since you're simply visiting a few major tourist destinations at a time of year with low demand for travel you can simply make your arrangements as you go, and there isn't any need to book anything (and you'll save a lot of money by not doing so). But if for maximum convenience you want to take a tour you'll have to put a little effort into research to find a company that is going to treat you fairly (or more fairly than some others). If it seems too good to be true, that's because it is.
Peter N-H
Yes. Everything except offices.
> Is it more hectic?
Yes, since most people are off work. When the holiday was a week getting around was actually easier, as more Shanghainese left town than arrived from elsewhere to have a look at it. Patterns of travel may have altered slightly now the holiday has been reduced to one day, but regardless of that although the big name sights will be busier, certainly not to the point that the city should be avoided.
> 2. I have read many of your posts and you seem to be pro independent travel.
This is more a matter of being against things. I'm against people who usually travel independently deciding they can't do so in China. Hundreds of thousands of people do it every year without any Mandarin at all. I'm against people being cheated by tour companies and in favour of them making choices of tour and tour company based on the realities of the situation, and fully aware of the deception they will have to deal with.
> I will be traveling with my sister (both 50+) and we only have about 12 days and want to see Beijing, Xian and Shanghai(maybe Hangshou and Suzhou) for sure.
I have never taken a group country tour and usually travel with my husband or a friend independently.
All you want to do is visit three major tourist destinations, with possible side trips. There doesn't seem any reason to involve a tour company if you usually prefer not to do so. Of course if you do, then you can just sit back once you arrive and not worry about anything. But that comes at a price, as set out repeatedly in posts under a variety of threads.
> My concern is that we have such a short time and do not speak the language.
And do you really take that into account when you travel? I can only speak three languages and I muddle along in a fourth, so I visit countries where I don't speak a word all the time. I was recently in Bulgaria where there were fewer signs in the Latin alphabet, and (surprisingly) no more English speakers than encountered in China, and fewer than encountered in major tourist cities like Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai. Surely most of us must find ourselves in that kind of situation quite often. What's special about China?
> I really enjoy learning about the history(real or not) and folklore of what I am seeing and I am concerned that without a guide we will miss so much.
But what's the benefit of learning fake history and culture? Of course, if you do take a tour you can (and should) take reliable reading matter with you, too. But don't make the guide lose face by confronting him with contrary information, or you may end up having the kind of conversation I once had when a guide asked about the novel I was carrying. It was by Nobel prize-winning Chinese author Gao Xingjian. Gao is a dissident exile, so news of him is suppressed in China. 'Oh yes, he's from Taiwan,' said the guide. 'No,' I said, he's from Jiangxi Province, and showed him the biography in the front. 'No, he's from Taiwan,' said the guide. In short, truth in guidespeak is as accidental is it is in China Daily, and part of the same propaganda programme.
> I really don't care about the restaurants.
Don't care about food? But this is one of the best things about visiting China. If you've only eaten Chinese overseas then you don't know what Chinese food really is, and its infinite variety.
> My sister would like to see hotels and shop (she is a travel agent), as well as all the great sights.
Better check she'll be given time to shop, then. Part of the purpose of the relentless itineraries of the cheaper tours is that you have no chance to shop except in the rip-off kick-back places to which you are taken.
>We were looking at China Spree as they have a chock full itinerary and seem to visit all the places we want to see. I have read your posts on what a rip off they might be, but even with the tips, they are still more reasonable than other tours.
China isn't some miraculous place where the maxim 'You get what you pay for' suddenly stops applying. You've obviously seen the other postings about the deceitful way in which these companies make their profits. Cheapness is only apparent, and is certainly not the same thing as value for money.
> Are there American companies you would recommend that are comparable in price and trustworthy?
I've set out criteria for judging with which company to travel, and a list of questions you should ask. I've already mentioned that many a tour with a foreign name is nevertheless run by the same ground handlers as the others, making them a lot less different from each other than they try to appear. Ask the questions and find out for yourself. China Spree isn't the only one to avoid (China Focus is very similar). But there are companies that control the ground handlers better, charge a reasonable rate, control the tipping, have a foreign tour leader delivering reliable cultural and historic information, largely avoid shopping stops, and give you some free time to do as you please. Unsurprisingly, they cost more.
Since you're simply visiting a few major tourist destinations at a time of year with low demand for travel you can simply make your arrangements as you go, and there isn't any need to book anything (and you'll save a lot of money by not doing so). But if for maximum convenience you want to take a tour you'll have to put a little effort into research to find a company that is going to treat you fairly (or more fairly than some others). If it seems too good to be true, that's because it is.
Peter N-H
