How to Avoid the Crowds in China While Traveling

While visiting renowned tourist spots in China, you should be prepared to deal with crowds at all times during your vacation. Even though China is a fast-paced, intriguing country, don’t let that deter you from

While visiting renowned tourist spots in China, you should be prepared to deal with crowds at all times during your vacation. Even though China is a fast-paced, intriguing country, don’t let that deter you from visiting; with a little forethought and creative thinking, you can get the most out of your stay there.

We’ve put together a detailed list of ways to escape the crowds in China, which you can find below. It’s possible that even at the most popular tourist destinations, you won’t see many other tourists if you follow these simple directions.

Whenever possible, avoid traveling on public holidays.

Foreign visitors have the edge over locals when traveling in China because they can arrange their visit at any time. However, most local Chinese people are constrained to going during the few national holiday periods, as most firms offer a very limited amount of paid vacation.

There are three times of the year when you should stay away from:

A three-day holiday is frequently added to the two days closest to the weekend to make up for the one-day statutory public holiday of International Workers’ Day, often known as May Day. Good weather means that this is a popular season to visit China, and many attractions (especially family-friendly ones like beaches and outdoor amusement parks) will be crowded.

If you follow China news, you’ve probably seen images of long lines and overflowing tourist attractions around the time of the National Day holiday in China. More than 700 million journeys were made during China’s “Golden Week” (October 1-7, 2017) in 2017, the country’s most popular travel period. If you want to avoid the crowds at this time of year, you’ll have to get off the main road.

As with Christmas and New Year, Chinese New Year is more of a time to spend with loved ones at home than a time to travel on a trip. For this reason, it can feel as if the whole population of China is crammed into airports and train stations in the weeks leading up to and following Chinese New Year, as a billion journeys are estimated to be made at this time of year—nearly the entire population of China!). Because everyone has returned to their hometowns, major cities like Beijing and Shanghai are rather peaceful at this time. On the other hand, many restaurants and small enterprises are closed.

This is especially true for historic towns like Pingyao in Shanxi Province and Lijiang and Dali in Yunnan Province, which have become popular tourist destinations in China. Indeed, to get a true sense of life in a centuries-old town or village, we recommend staying the night in your chosen destination and waking up early to experience it when it is just waking up for the day. The nightlife in the old town and the beauty of the streets and alleyways are two additional perks of spending overnight in the city.

Extend your visit to an attraction beyond its most popular area.

The Stone Forest (Shilin) is one of Kunming’s most popular tourist sites, but one of our employees was hesitant to visit since he had heard that it gets extremely crowded. He decided to go nonetheless, and as expected, the area near the park’s entrance and around the most photogenic stone formations was overrun with selfie-taking tour groups. However, after a 20-minute stroll in the opposite way of the tour groups from the entrance, he was all alone in the beautiful countryside.