Alu747, I'd be interested in seeing the answers to this. I've been trying to get an answer to a similar question. We're flying from Beijing to Guilin on Oct 1, and then from Guilin to the US on Oct 5 or 6. I anticipate problems out of Guilin based on comments regarding delays from that airport.

A couple tour guides I've emailed recommended not traveling to Beijing during this time, but they also said that our trip won't be ruined by it.

You will not find a clear answer on this, here is why. This holiday used to be a "golden week". It means that everybody had a week off. The result it that it essentially brought the country to a halt and crowed the tourist sites. This is the week when everybody was going back to their home town. I had a hard time last time getting a train from Tianjin to Beijing on the last day of golden week as everybody was travelling back.

The governement changed this and this year it is reduced to 3 days and they get other days off at other times during the year instead. It may result in less travelling by the Chinese but nobody knows for sure.

You should note also that my experience during Chinese national holidays is that high end hotels (5-star) all have great deals as there are very few business traveller. The average chinese traveller does not go to the Inter-Continental and does not fly. So buses and trains are full but flights are not bad. I usually recommend to book flights only a few days prior to departure but at that time, advance booking is probably is wise decision.

absolutely,"golden week" will creat a crazy enviroment for you, everywhere will be crowded by people,you'd better postpone your schedule a week later,it will be early autumn,best weather for beijng

We'll just have to manage the crowds. For the sake of planning, assuming a busy golden week as in the past, do the airports get really backed up?

I am envisioning how the airport in Denver was several years ago at Thanksgiving. It took us 2 hours to get through ticketing alone.....or Rome airport in the summmer where it took us over 3 hours to get to our gate. Is this the sort of craziness one would expect during previous golden weeks?

Alu747, I didn't mean to hijack your thread!

Wannafiji, we are both here for advice. It's all good!

I haven't quite decided on whether to fly into Beijing on the 3rd although the flight from NY is cheaper that 1st week of October than the second week for some reason.

I wonder if the tourist sights like the Forbidden City will be mobbed with people on the weekend of the 4th and 5th of October.

Thanks for all of your input!

Hi Alu747 & Wannafiji,

If this helps were were in Beijing during Golden week last year.

We flew into Beijing at the start of the week from Xian. At the airport there was approx 40 minute wait for taxis but traffic wasn't too bad. I initially wanted to catch the train overnight from Xian but my husband (has been a few times to China ) & has been through Golden week before said no way.

We did all the usual tourist spots & shopping. Getting to see shows such as The Kung Fu Show at the Red Theatre, general eating out & shopping & finding a taxi was okay. Even a very early morning trip to the great wall at Mutianyu was peaceful & uncrowded ( but by the time we left it was getting very busy).

Everything was okay UNTIL we visited Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Prince Gong's, Temple of Heaven. Everywhere was crowded. (Is there a word for more crowded than crowded?!) Towards the afternoon it was a sea of people especially around the Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square. We could not catch a taxi anywhere around these places & ended up walking back to our hotel as even buses were full.

My best advice would be that you will still enjoy it and some places are worse than others. Get to the places you desperately want to see very early in the morning. Plan to not be around the Tiananmen square are in the afternoons.

Annie

What JPdeM says is correct. I've had to fly in/out and around during every holiday they have except the new year when I deliberately avoid travelling and stay put, and my experience accords with his.

Crowds at Chinese tourist attractions are pretty standard fare so you should expect it. The question is how crowded is crowded - it becomes quite subjective.

Yeah! I'm coming to China! I'm coming to China!

I just booked tickets to fly into Beijing on the 3rd- so, I will be joining the crowds on Golden Week. Maybe this way, I will get the true Beijing experience. I just couldn't wait anymore and wanted to make the China trip a reality but I just found out how expensive the visa is for China if you are a US citizen. Luckily, I found this out after I booked the plane tickets so there's no turning back. This is a dream come true. Now I just have to figure out where to go and what to do for 3 weeks...

Thanks again for your input!

The holiday crowds are way more intense than regular crowds, but it helps to avoid the most crowded tourist sites until later in the week.

The international terminal at the airport, tourist hotels, the Kung Fu show, etc. are not much impacted by the domestic holiday.

Go to a section of the Great Wall other than Badaling. Avoid Prince Gong's mansion, which is popular with Chinese tourists and usually skipped by international tourists anyway. Yonghegong could also be nightmarish, as it is very small and has no extra space to put the extra people.

I think it's actually worth braving the crowds to see all the people on Tiananmen. I recommend buying a ticket to go up onto Tiananmen gate so you can get a good view of the crowds in the square.