Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Video Credit: AsiaWire
These images show the scenes as millions of Chinese tourists go on holiday for the bi-annual Golden Week celebration bringing the country to a standstill.
Some 800 million Chinese holidaymakers are travelling during Golden Week, celebrating 70 years of the Communists being in power.
Meanwhile, more than 130 million are expected to fly out of the country this week, and are already eyeing British favourites such as Croatia and Malta, studies show.
The seven-day break starting on 1st October as China’s Communist Party celebrates 70 years in power will see a record-setting 65 percent of the country’s 1.3-billion population help fund tourism in mainland China and abroad.
The figures from a joint report by Chinese search engine giant Baidu and travel company Ctrip show that 100 million more Chinese will go on holiday than during the same time last year.
Social media videos shows tourist sites filled with visitors already grinding to a halt just three days into the week-long national holiday.
Footage from Xuanwu Lake and West Lake in the cities of Nanjing and Hangzhou – both in East China – show droves of tourists standing shoulder to shoulder, stopping traffic and making it impossible for buses to move.
Similar scenes were recorded and released by police in south-western Chongqing, where millions are flooding to historical sites such as Hongya Cave and Chaotian Gate.
Top-tier tourist destinations such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, as well as The Bund in Shanghai, are expected to retain their reputation as some of the most heavily crowded in mainland China.
Similar research done by the China Tourism Academy and UnionPay International suggests that the number of Chinese tourists abroad during 2019’s Golden Week will also reach a new high of 133 million.
Nearby destinations such as Taiwan, Macau and even Hong Kong remain popular choices, together with staples like Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and the United States.
However, the study also shows a growing interest for chartered flights to Central Asia, Eastern Europe and South America, with Chinese tourists this year already flocking to British favourites Croatia and Malta.
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