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Week Around the Ists
Interview: Coco Zhao, from jazz to M. Butterfly
Planning on staying in Shanghai for the upcoming National Day holiday? Good luck! From the Shanghai Daily:
About 83.48 million people will visit Shanghai during the week-long National Day holiday, Youth Daily reported Tuesday, citing the Shanghai transport authority. The busiest day will be the National Day, October 1, when about 13.42 million people will hit the city's streets.The authority expects 3.4 million people to use the city's 40,000 cabs on the National Day and 2.24 million to take the city's four Metro lines.
Put another way ... that's 83.48 MILLION PEOPLE! Shanghaiist suggests you buy some DVDs, stock up the fridge, hunker down, ride out the storm and next year remember to plan ahead and leave the country during the holiday (easier said that done, we know, because the Chinese national holidays aren't announced until days before the holiday begins -- we've never understood this). The Shanghai Daily also mentions that although the holiday runs from October 1-7, most Chinese must then work on the weekend of October 8-9. We've never understood this, either.
UPDATE: To anyone who was f*cked by the blocking of traffic on Huaihai Lu for the Mid-Autumn Festival parade earlier this month, this plan sounds like a nightmare:
Shanghai will shut down traffic on some downtown streets to make room for pedestrians to see buildings decorated with colorful lights from Friday to Sunday.The restrictions will last from 4:30pm to 11pm every day. People are not allowed to walk onto fly-overs or tunnels in these areas, the report said.
The following areas will be affected:
And then they went on to list just about every major street in the city. At least October is usually good weather for walking.
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It's not just the Chinese who have to work on the weekend of the 8-9th. Woe is me.
No need to hole up at home, Danny boy! For National Holiday, occurring amidst Shanghai's best weather, why not grab a beer and an inflatable hammer and go bash it out with a million people down by the Bund? Good fun for all! That said, your advice is well heeded by any who can't escape CNY, which should be Jan 29 next year...
While the government never announces the official holiday schedule until the last minute, it's a pretty safe bet that National Day will be from 10/1-7 and Labor Day will be from 5/1-7 (except during SARS). What's not known is whether you'll have to work the weekend before or the one after.
What Brad said. And although you never know whether you will have to work the weekend before or the weekend after, you can assume based on when the actual holiday day falls on. For example, since 10/1 the actual "National Day day" is on a Saturday, figure you will not have to work the 10/1 weekend because that is the real deal and they wouldn't make you work on National Day itself. Of course, I guess they could make you work on the 9/23 weekend, but that is illogical, and there is nothing illogical ever going on here.
Alternately, you can escape the tourist crowds by going to North Korea. The Mass Games are going on, and American passport holders are being let in (in tour groups) for the first time since forever. Stops include the DMZ, and the USS Pueblo. Contact www.koryogroup.com for more info.
If this sounds like an ad, it's not. I wish I could go myself, but don't have the money. I'm hoping whoever does go can tell me about their experiences over some jigae or nangmyun.