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ART & LEISURE: Autumn's Golden Week
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Autumn's Golden Week

By Nadia N.


TP 201610 030 03 Art culture china national dayNational Day in China - 国庆节 (guoqingjie) - is one of the most significant celebrations in the country. Its importance can only be compared to Spring Festival. These celebrations make a "big two" in China for the traditional culture that has been celebrated for decades displaying the patriotism that the Chinese people share for their country.


People's Republic of China as we know it today was created on 21st of September 1949, but the Central Chinese Government was established on 1st of October. Without further delay, the next day the brand new government established the National Day of People's Republic of China on 1st of October and the tradition has been observed ever since.


TP 201610 030 02 Art culture china national dayNational Day, just as Spring Festival, can be a certain reference point for quarterly analysis. For the last quarter there has been many achievements and positive news. In 2016 China was mainly aiming for 6.5 to 7% growth, while in the second quarter growth beat estimates through figures of 6.7%. From booming economy with emphasis on manufacturing, China is transforming the economy with a greater reliance on consumption. Even though it hasn't been that easy for Chinese economy (2015 showed the slowest growth in 25 years), this year highlights that economy is now being transitioned smoothly even if described by some economists as "careful" and "slow".


Certain slow down has been mentioned while the Chinese government balances the decrease of foreign investments and exports by government stimulus. Though for the last quarter of 2016, Chinese officials are still keeping positive attitude and establishing "safer" and "smoother" development in this transition period for the world's second largest economy. For the fourth quarter there are still several issues to be worked on - private sector, investment, manufacturing, housing and real estate, etc. - but the Chinese government is overall optimistic, especially after overcoming 2015.


While the Chinese government is actually working on the country's economic affairs and development pace, Chinese people are waiting to express their patriotic feelings during National Day. 2014 was significant for the 65th anniversary of founding the People's Republic of China. Massive celebrations, fireworks, military and people's parades took place in every Chinese city as well as Hong Kong and Macau. With Beijing as a cultural and political center, the city held a significant Military Parade and bright celebration on Tian'anmen Square. This year, as the celebration is planned to be more humble, the annual rising flag ceremony will take place on the early morning of October 1st in front of thousands of spectators. Breathtaking fireworks and festive celebrations will have people gather from different places in major Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenzhen and so on.


TP 201610 030 01 Art culture china national dayBut there is a little issue that makes citizens a bit scared of this seven-day holiday. Every single spot in the city will be overwhelmingly crowded. And even for such modern and diverse transport facilities - even small towns are basically equipped with modern transportation system featuring airport and railway stations - moving around and travelling will be quite challenging for a growing population. Travelers all over China make holiday plans a long time before the Golden Week knocks at the door, inspiring tour operators and airlines to increase airfares and overall travelling costs. According to official statistics, in 2015 during the National Day holidays China had 13.000.000 travelers using only railways, making historical and leisure attractions in China and outside pretty crowded. No wonder Chinese officials are quite concerned.


Golden Week grows from expectantly relaxing to chaotic and unsafe. Many tourist attractions all over China like The Great Wall, Forbidden City and a variety of Buddhist Temples have announced that they will definitely be limiting entrance tickets due to the difficulty of controlling and managing such a huge crowd of visitors. The situation is easy to understand – aftef all China is a county with few holidays, and people take this opportunity to travel or on the other hand, go back home to gather with family.


In any case, 2015 is still remembered for railway stations swarmed by people making it impossible to buy tickets for the same day so opportunity for travelling is for the fastest of the fast. Thus, the government is promising to solve this situation radically - even if there are not enough of holidays in China as it is (comparing with many Western countries) - Golden Week will be abolished while the new policy about paid holidays will take place.


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