PDA

View Full Version : China's National Day & Golden Week



GeneChing
10-01-2018, 08:55 AM
Wow, our forum here is how old now and we've never had thread for National Day? :o Time to rectify that.


Some fun facts about China's National Day (http://www.ecns.cn/news/feature/2018-10-01/detail-ifyyknzp7233370.shtml)
1 2018-10-01 09:15:48 CGTNEditor : Gu Liping ECNS

http://image.cns.com.cn/ecns_editor/transform/20181001/M4Is-fyymtit7974842.jpg
Image designed by Gao Hongmei

The People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded on October 1, 1949, and on September 21 of the same year, China's new government passed the "Resolution on the National Day of the People's Republic of China," designating October 1 as China's National Day.

This year marks the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

After several modifications, it was decided that the Chinese mainland would observe a seven-day holiday (including two weekends) during National Day holiday, while Hong Kong will observe a day-long holiday and Macao will hold a two-day holiday, both are China's Special Administrative Regions (SARs).

During the one-week celebrations, several events will be held to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the founding of the People's Republic of China.

China's Martyrs' Day, which comes just a day before China's National Day, is one of the most significant of them all.

China's National Day, also one of the longest holidays of the year, holds an immense value for the Chinese people. Even with changing times, the people have not forgotten their roots and the values behind the founding of the People's Republic of China.

THE CELEBRATIONS

In the run-up to the proud occasion, Beijing has been covered with flower decorations and festive plant sculptures. At the iconic Tian'anmen Square, a giant flower basket is attracting many tourists. During the National Day holiday, also known as "Golden Week," people enjoy their seven days off, making it China's most special week for tourism and visiting family and friends.

"The sky is blue and the flowers are beautiful in Beijing," Li Jicheng, a tourist from the Chengdu City in Sichuan Province told CCTV.

"The festival atmosphere is very strong," Li added.

FLAG-RAISING CEREMONY

The flag-raising ceremony at Tian'anmen Square is something that shouldn't be missed. According to a People's Daily report, there are 115,000 people from over China gathered to attend the ceremony during 2017 National Day celebrations.

MILITARY PARADES

Fourteen military parades have been conducted since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Parades were held every year between 1949 and 1959. Since then, the most prominent National Day parades have taken place in 1984, 1999 and 2009 at the 35th, 50th and 60th anniversaries respectively.

FUN FACTS ABOUT GOLDEN WEEK

I. Golden Week or wedding season

In recent years, the National Day Golden Week has become the most popular time for weddings.The seven-day holiday makes it a perfect occasion to host auspicious ceremonies and invite family and friends.

In a way, it also brings immense good luck and prosperity because, according to the Chinese tradition, guests should give newlywed couples red envelopes containing money as blessings.

As per a China Daily's report, the common practice is to give no less than 300 to 500 yuan ($43 to $73), but sometimes it could be a three or four digit figure.

II. Golden Week or shopping week

Visiting relatives and friends also means exchanging gifts, wearing new clothes and eating delicious food.

People throng malls and local markets. Many shops also offer special holiday deals to attract more customers.

According to Sina's report, with the development of logistics and network and e-commerce websites, shopping has gradually become an important part of everyone's life. Major e-commerce and offline shopping malls have also grasped the heat of Golden Week and launched various promotional activities.

III. Travel or not travel

Relevant data from China Tourism Academy show that since 1999, the number of travelers during the Golden Week has increased significantly.

Also, in recent years, the government has introduced welfare policies such as reducing high-speed fares during festivals and holidays to encourage internal tourism.

According to the report, tourism has become the most important consumer feature of the Golden Week, driven by favorable conditions such as rising income, improving transportation infrastructure, the popularization of the Internet and smartphones, and relaxation of visas.

Also, the Golden Week has shown four major trends, including increasing enthusiasm for travel, upgrading consumption structure, disparity demand, and promotion of civilization.

Even more noteworthy is the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link which started operation on September 23.

The national high-speed rail link between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong will significantly boost tourism.

But despite so many convenient options, many people still feel that traveling during Golden Week is not a good choice.

Tips in Golden Week

I. Annual leave strategy

If the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday falls within this period, there are many people who will choose to extend a few days of the Golden Week leisure.

There's even a specific holiday recommendation, which gives you about 15 days off if you can ask five days paid annual leave off during that time. This refers only to the National Day of 2018.

II. To avoid...

General travel guides and websites advise people to avoid famous attractions during golden weeks. There are large crowds in transit everywhere in China at this time of year. Planning a journey in advance would be wise.

As a legal public holiday, National Day represents national coherence, which honors the predecessors' contribution and the country's bright future.

In fact, National Day is not just a Golden Week, but a day to be remembered by the Chinese people. While spending the leisure holiday, people should not forget the profound meaning of the establishment of this festival.

This year, I've been posting about Golden Week and it's impact on Chinese film on the Shadow thread (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70319-Shadow-by-Zhang-Yimou).

GeneChing
10-02-2018, 07:52 AM
Note to self - never go to China during Golden Week.


Golden Week in China: the incredible numbers behind largest human migration in history (https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/2166021/golden-week-china-incredible-numbers-behind-largest-human)
Twice a year China sees a mass migration of its citizens as it celebrates Golden Week. With the next holiday starting on Monday, we look at the staggering figures involved when half the country travels at the same time

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 27 September, 2018, 7:18pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 27 September, 2018, 7:17pm
Simon O'Reilly

https://cdn3.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/09/27/17555914-c206-11e8-bfc4-8898d3e518ea_1280x720_174721.JPG?itok=ko37Qfmt

There are two Golden Weeks: one for Chinese New Year in January or February, and National Day which starts around October 1. There used to be a third Golden Week for Labour Day on May 1, but that was cut back to one day plus the weekend in 2007.

The first Golden Week was in October 1999. It was created by the Chinese government to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, with the idea of expanding domestic tourism, allowing long-distance family reunions and improving the national standard of living.

In 1999, an estimated 28 million people travelled for the first Golden Week. In October 2017, 705 million people travelled around China and spent 583.6 billion yuan (US$85 billion) from October 1 to 8, according to the China National Tourism Administration. (Usually the holiday runs from October 1 to 7 but last year it was extended by a day as it coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival.)

There have been attempts to stop Golden Weeks because of the disruption to the country’s local and international businesses.

https://cdn2.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/09/27/198645c6-c207-11e8-bfc4-8898d3e518ea_972x_174721.JPG
Vehicles stuck in a traffic jam near a toll station in Beijing, China at the end of the week-long 2016 Golden Week holiday. Photo: Reuters

Hundreds of millions of people travel by rail and car. Some estimates say half the country is on the move. There were 15.03 million rail trips made on the first day of last year’s October Golden Week, October 1, and 12.36 million on Friday October 6, according to the China Railway Corporation.

China’s Ministry of Transportation reported that national toll motorways (which are toll-free for the holiday) recorded 335 million users during the October holiday last year. The worst affected motorways were in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlr9P25DRB0

Most coach services were suspended from Hong Kong to Guangzhou after heavy congestion on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen expressway delayed traffic for up to 10 hours. The longest traffic jam was 49.73km (31 miles) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

https://cdn1.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/09/27/c9d9a5a4-c206-11e8-bfc4-8898d3e518ea_1320x770_174721.JPG
The Great Wall during October Golden Week in 2016. Photo: Kyodo

Popular spots include the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square in Beijing, West Lake in Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, Shanghai, and Crescent Lake and the Singing Sands Dune in Gansu province.

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/images/methode/2018/09/27/3ac002aa-c206-11e8-bfc4-8898d3e518ea_1320x770_174721.JPG
Tourists visit the Singing Sands Dune scenic area in Dunhuang in 2017. Photo: Xinhua

A total of 12.95 million passengers travelled on Chinese airlines during last October’s Golden Week, a 14.6 per cent increase on the same period in 2016. Six million Chinese travelled overseas to 1,155 cities in 88 countries or regions during the eight days. Visitors to Hong Kong increased by 9.4 per cent on the first day of the holiday last year to more than 200,000.

GeneChing
10-05-2018, 09:10 AM
I love that no one was fazed. :D


Crowded Chinese bridge caves in under weight of tourist numbers (https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2167153/crowded-chinese-bridge-caves-under-weight-tourist-numbers)
Spectators at Guangdong dragon boat race appeared unfazed and continued to walk along the crossing

PUBLISHED : Friday, 05 October, 2018, 4:58pm
UPDATED : Friday, 05 October, 2018, 4:58pm
COMMENTS: 2
Simone McCarthy

https://cdn4.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/980x551/public/images/methode/2018/10/05/547ffe84-c878-11e8-9907-be608544c5a1_1280x720_165821.jpg?itok=_H-ZTcSK

A pedestrian bridge crowded with sightseers caved in during a dragon boat race in southern China.

“There were a lot of people crowded on the bridge today, and the deck bent down,” a staff member told Beijing Time. “No one was hurt.”

Video footage shot after the collapse on Wednesday showed visitors to the Green Sand Island park in Foshan, Guangdong continuing to cross the bridge after it had been bent into a deep V-shape over the waterway.

The bridge was eventually evacuated for repairs and reopened the following day, park staff told local media.

The incident occurred as the number of tourists visiting attractions across China are surging during the nation’s national holiday week, a period when hundreds of millions of people are on the move within the country.

Last year, the number of “golden week” travellers totalled 705 million, around half the nation’s population, according to the China National Tourism Administration.

THREADS
China's National Day & Golden Week (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70991-China-s-National-Day-amp-Golden-Week)
Chinese Bridges (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?68983-Chinese-Bridges)

GeneChing
10-08-2018, 09:02 AM
China Box Office Drops 22 Percent During Holiday Week as Local Titles Underperform (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/china-box-office-drops-22-percent-holiday-week-as-local-titles-underperform-1150089)
1:14 AM PDT 10/8/2018 by Patrick Brzeski

https://cdn1.thr.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/landscape_928x523/2018/09/14july_0180-h_2018.jpg
Courtesy Panasia Films Limited
'Project Gutenberg'

Bona Film Group's 'Project Gutenberg' came out on top during the weeklong National Day holiday, which is usually one of China's biggest box-office periods of the year.

Hong Kong action flick Project Gutenberg, starring Chow Yun-fat and Aaron Kwok, was the winner of a markedly downbeat National Day holiday season at the Chinese box office.

The weeklong holiday corridor, which commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China and runs Oct. 1-Oct. 8, is typically one of the most lucrative moviegoing periods of the year. But total ticket sales during the frame were down 22.2 percent compared to the 2017 National Day stretch, data from box-office analysis company Artisan Gateway shows.

Last year's holiday served as the launchpad for local comedy blockbuster Never Say Die, which went on to earn more than $330 million. It's already clear that no National Day title will come close to hitting those heights this year, however.

Project Gutenberg, produced by Bona Film Group, Alibaba Pictures and others, pulled in $85.4 million during the frame, coming from behind to beat local comedy Hello, Mrs. Money, from Funage Pictures, which totaled just $55.5 million for the week.

Both Project Gutenberg and Hello, Mrs. Monday opened during the weekend prior to the holiday, which were replacement workdays in China. The films' total earnings stand at $92.9 million and $70.4 million, respectively.

No Hollywood titles were granted a release date during National Day, as is China's usual practice durning lucrative holiday seasons — a continual point of contention between Beijing and the Motion Picture Association of America.

Chow Yun-Fat stars in Project Gutenberg as a criminal mastermind, code-named "Painter," who leads a shadowy gang of currency counterfeiters. Outwitted at every turn, the Hong Kong police recruit a man (Aaron Kwok) from inside Painter's crew in order to unmask the elusive crook's true identity.

Zhang Yimou's critically acclaimed martial arts saga Shadow ranked third during the holiday break, earning $52.6 million for a cumulative gross of $62.1 million. Produced by Perfect Village and Le Vision Pictures, Shadow is widely tipped to be China's submission for the best foreign-language film category at the Oscars, but Beijing has yet to officially confirm its choice.

Maglim Pictures' Fat Buddies, a copy comedy about a pair of obese officers, brought in $22.6 million, lifting its total to $27.2 million. Enlight Pictures' holdover romantic drama Cry Me a Sad River added $12.4 million during the holiday frame for a $42.2 million total.

Alibaba Pictures may have scored a win with its participation in Project Gutenberg, but it also was responsible for National Day 2018's biggest flop: the visual effects-heavy video game adaptation Legend of the Ancient Sword. Directed by former Hollywood filmmaker turned Beijing transplant Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Jackie Chan's Skip Trace), the film earned just $1.8 million during its first seven days, spelling millions in losses for Jack Ma's film studio.

Despite the "light local title performance" during National Day, China's total box office for 2018 to date remains up 11.5 percent, Artisan Gateway said.


THREADS:
Chollywood rising (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57225-Chollywood-rising)
China's National Day & Golden Week (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70991-China-s-National-Day-amp-Golden-Week)