Hundreds of millions of people there are about to go on vacation at the same time.
As October 1 arrives, hundreds of millions of people are expected to pack highways, trains and planes for the National Day holiday, one of the busiest times for travel in the world’s most populous country.
The eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival break is China’s first major holiday since it emerged from the coronavirus outbreak. While life has largely returned to normal in recent months, the upcoming “Golden Week” holiday will be an ambitious test of China’s success in taming the virus — and a much-awaited boost to its economic recovery.
Last year, a total of 782 million domestic trips were made during the holiday, generating nearly 650 billion yuan ($95 billion) of tourism revenue, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The ministry predicts 550 million domestic trips to be made this year, while Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency, estimates the number to be over 600 million — both above 70% of last year’s level.
