Best Time To Visit China Without Crowds - Public Holidays To Avoid In 2025 and 2026
📅 My Thoughts
So, those are the dates you should avoid in 2025 and 2026.
I’ve seen so many first-time travellers make the mistake of booking their holiday in the middle of a public holidays, especially Golden Week.
You might think that you are used to crowds, but trust me, this is nothing compared to 99% of countries. A large proportion of 1.4bn people are travelling at the same time! This is the total population of North America AND Europe. That’s why they say people mountain, people sea! 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi). Just image search “China holiday crowds”, and you’ll see what I mean. 😉
Why does this happen? Well, most people have very little annual leave so they must travel during this time! They don’t really have any opportunity to go at a different time of year.
Not all public holidays have the same level of crowds, the National Day Golden Week and the Labour Day holiday are usually the worst, followed by the Spring Festival. During Spring Festival, people usually return to their hometowns for the first few days before heading out.
Apart from public holidays, also consider avoiding the summer holidays in July and August. They don’t have anywhere near the same level of crowds, but there’s still many more children and students compared to normal. Personally, I’m more concerned about the oven temperatures.
✅ What Should You Do?
Unless you explicitly want to experience certain festivals like the Spring Festival, avoid public holidays.
Don’t let it ruin your travel experience, because crowds are one of the biggest factors that can have a major impact on your day-to-day experience in China.
If you already booked, do whatever you need to do to move the dates - change your annual leave, flights, and hotel dates. As to when you should move it, weather is the other major factor. Take a look at my weather dashboard.
There are a few exceptions - only if you are visiting non-touristy places. But since you’re reading this page, that probably doesn’t apply for you.
👨👩👧👦 If you do go ahead with travelling during the public holidays,
You may potentially face some of these issues in major tourist destinations:
Much Higher Hotel Rates
I’ve seen double or triple for some of the budget hotels I stayed in. My hotel in Shenzhen jumped from 200rmb to 550rmb.
Train Tickets Selling Out
They can sell out days or weeks in advance. Especially difficult for larger families if you want to sit together. You might have to find alternatives like flights or long distance taxis.
Tickets to Attractions Selling Out
This is less of a problem, but if you’re travelling during a public holiday, book your tickets early.
Huge Queues for Attractions and Transport
It can be quite frustrating and tiring. Don’t forget it will likely still be crowded after entering the attraction. This applies to outdoor attractions such as scenic areas and national parks where people have to walk along trails!
As for transport, I’ve got a few stories. Definitely had the sardine experience inside the metro carriage and had to wait for 3 trains before there was room to get on. Horrible. There was before queuing for 15 minutes to get into the station. DiDi was no better. On Labour Day weekend, I had to wait 70 minutes for a DiDi to arrive. The journey only took 15 minutes.
Long Waiting Times for Restaurants
I queued for 90 minutes during Golden Week. It does waste a good chunk of your day. There’s always “not as good” alternatives that have less crowds, but the highest rated restaurants will have walls of crowds.
Hope this helps manage your expectations, if you have to go! You can still make it a good trip!
