Chinese Travelers' Peak Season

what months do chinese travel abroad

Chinese citizens have historically contributed significantly to global tourism, with 155 million international trips in 2019, spending about US$245 billion in total. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese international travellers have almost disappeared, and it is predicted that it will take until the second quarter of 2023 for outbound trips by Chinese travellers to recover to 2019 levels.

The timing of Chinese citizens' international travel is influenced by various factors, including the climate and the availability of holidays. Warmer and island destinations are popular during the colder months, while colder destinations, including ski resorts, are favoured in the summer. Additionally, long-haul trips tend to be planned around the seven-day holidays of Chinese New Year and National Day, while long weekends are often used for shorter trips to Southeast Asian countries.

Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is the biggest and most important holiday for Chinese citizens. It falls between late January and mid-February and is a time for family reunions. In 2019, 6.31 million Chinese citizens travelled abroad during this period, with Asian destinations being the most popular choice.

National Day, which starts on 1 October, is another major holiday that prompts overseas travel, especially for long-haul trips. The Mid-Autumn Festival, based on the lunar calendar, is also an important traditional holiday celebrated around the same time. In some years, these two holidays overlap, creating an eight-day holiday period.

Other holidays that impact Chinese citizens' travel plans include International Labour Day (1 May), Dragon Boat Festival (between late May and late June), and Qing Ming (4 or 5 April). Additionally, the summer months are a popular time for family tourism, graduation tourism, and educational tourism.

Characteristics Values
Chinese travelers' contribution to global tourism Ranked No. 1 in the world in 2019
Number of international trips by Chinese travelers in 2019 155 million
Chinese travelers' spending in 2019 About US$245 billion
Expected outbound trips by Chinese travelers to recover to 2019 levels Second quarter of 2023 at the earliest
Chinese travelers' top destinations in 2019 Hong Kong, Hainan, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, USA, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, UK, and Italy
Chinese travelers' top destinations in 2018 Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Malaysia, UK, Italy, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, and Canada
Chinese travelers' top summer destinations in 2018 Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Spain, USA, Vietnam, Malaysia, UK, Italy, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, and Canada
Chinese New Year Late January to mid-February
National Day October 1
Mid-Autumn Festival Late September to early October
International Labor Day May 1
Dragon Boat Festival Late May to late June
Qing Ming April 4 or 5

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Chinese New Year/Spring Festival/Lunar New Year

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year, is one of the most important holidays in Chinese culture. It is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival is observed as a public holiday in some countries and territories where there is a sizeable Chinese population.

The Spring Festival is a time for family reunions and honouring deities and ancestors. It is also a time for cleaning homes to sweep away ill fortune and make way for incoming good luck. Other customs include decorating homes with red paper-cuts and couplets, lighting firecrackers, and giving money in red envelopes.

The Spring Festival is celebrated in China and other countries with significant Chinese populations, such as Singapore, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is also celebrated in regions beyond Asia, including Australia, Canada, France, Mauritius, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The festival starts on the evening of Chinese New Year's Eve and lasts until the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year falls on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.

The Spring Festival is a national holiday in China. Government offices, schools, universities, and many companies are closed during the festival period. Public transport is available, but some enterprises may arrange for workers to be on shift duty.

The Spring Festival has a long history in China, dating back over 4,000 years to the Shang Dynasty. The name "Spring Festival" was first proposed in 1914 by Yuan Shikai, the interim president of the Republic of China. The festival was renamed from Lunar New Year to Spring Festival when China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1911.

The Spring Festival is associated with various myths and customs. One myth involves a mythical beast called the Nian, which would eat villagers, especially children, during the annual Spring Festival. To scare away the Nian, villagers wore red clothes, hung red lanterns, and set off firecrackers. This tradition continues today, with the colour red commonly worn during the Spring Festival to ward off evil spirits.

The Spring Festival is also a time for exchanging gifts and greetings. Gifts are typically brought when visiting friends or relatives, and common gifts include fruits, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, and candies. Greetings such as "Xin nian kuai le" and "Gong xi fa cai" are often exchanged, wishing happiness, prosperity, and good fortune for the new year.

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National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is one of the most important festivals in Chinese culture. It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which falls in mid-September to early October in the Gregorian calendar.

The festival is a harvest celebration that dates back over 3,000 years. It is a time for families to gather and give thanks for the harvest, with a particular focus on the moon, which is believed to be at its brightest and fullest on this day.

History and Traditions

The Mid-Autumn Festival is rooted in ancient Chinese moon worship and agricultural activities. The ancient Chinese believed that the moon's cycles influenced the farming schedule and that worshipping the moon would bring a good harvest. The festival also has a strong focus on family reunions, with the roundness of the full moon symbolising the completeness and unity of families.

During the festival, people carry and display lanterns of all sizes and shapes, which are believed to light the path to prosperity and good fortune. They also eat mooncakes, a rich pastry typically filled with sweet bean, egg yolk, meat, or lotus-seed paste. The festival is based on the legend of Chang'e, the Moon goddess in Chinese mythology.

Modern Celebrations

In modern times, the Mid-Autumn Festival continues to be a significant holiday in China, second only to Chinese New Year. It is a time for families to reunite and share a meal, with mooncakes being a must-eat food. Other traditional foods include crabs, pumpkins, pomelos, and grapes.

The festival is also an occasion for outdoor reunions among friends, with lantern displays, dragon and lion dances, and moon gazing. In recent years, digital red envelopes filled with "lucky money" have become a popular way to send festival greetings to friends and family.

Dates

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar, which falls on September 17 in 2024. In mainland China, it is usually a three-day public holiday to allow people working in different places to have enough time to reunite with their families.

In Hong Kong and Macau, the day after the festival is a public holiday, as most celebration events are held at night. The festival is also celebrated by overseas Chinese communities in countries such as the United States, Singapore, and Malaysia, although it is not a public holiday there.

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International Labor Day

International Workers' Day, also called Labour Day or May Day, is an international holiday celebrated on 1 May in over 80 countries worldwide. It celebrates the achievements of workers of all types. In China, it is referred to as 五一节 (Wǔ-Yī Jié) or 五一 (Wǔ-Yī).

The holiday originated in the United States in 1886 when workers walked out of their jobs to protest long working hours, demanding an eight-hour workday. This early activism later evolved into fighting for further rights and more humane labour practices, including the abolishment of child labour and the demand for fairer and safer working conditions.

The first Labour Day activity in China was held on 1 May 1920. Between 1921 and 1922, activists established centres to educate ordinary workers, organised unions, and pushed for better conditions for everyday industrial workers. In 1949, the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government officially declared 1 May to be Labour Day.

Labour Day is a time for family gatherings and fun. It is a three-day holiday, but the days other than 1 May change every year. If Labour Day falls on a Tuesday, the holiday will include the Monday before and the Wednesday after. During this time, many people choose to travel to scenic spots, go shopping, visit exhibitions, or spend time with family and friends. Parks and public attractions across the country are filled with visitors.

Labour Day is also a period of heightened travel activity, supporting China's domestic tourism market. In 2019, when the holiday was extended to four days, travel agencies reported a huge increase in outbound flight bookings.

In addition to travelling, people also take advantage of the warm May climate to enjoy outings in natural areas. They may also opt to visit theatres and shows in cities, or watch street performances, which are a common occurrence on this holiday.

During Labour Day, the Chinese government approves major discounts for goods in shops across the country to stimulate the economy. This has made shopping a favourite Labour Day activity. Restaurants and street vendors also offer meals at affordable prices.

Prior to 1 May, city residents and public workers create beautiful arrangements of flowers to make the area appealing to tourists. There are also parades with bright floats and marching bands to honour workers and Chinese history. Beijing and other locations also have a flag-raising ceremony.

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Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or early June in the Gregorian calendar. The festival was made a national public holiday in China in 2008 and is also celebrated by the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, including Singapore and Malaysia.

The festival commemorates Qu Yuan, the beloved prime minister of the southern Chinese state of Chu during the Warring States period, about 600 B.C. to 200 B.C. Qu Yuan was a cadet member of the Chu royal house and served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance and was even accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry. Eventually, Qin captured Ying, the Chu capital, and Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River.

The Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated by holding dragon boat races and eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), which were southern Chinese traditions. Dragon boat racing originated from the story of Qu Yuan, as people rushed to the water in boats to save him or retrieve his body. Zongzi is said to have originated from people scattering rice into the river to feed the fish so that they wouldn't eat Qu Yuan's body.

The festival also involves praying for good luck and taking respite from the summer heat. Other activities include drinking realgar wine, wearing five-coloured silk-threaded braids, hanging mugwort and calamus, taking long walks, and wearing perfumed medicine bags.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a day for getting rid of disease and bad luck. The fifth lunar month is considered an unlucky and poisonous month, and venomous animals were said to appear from the fifth day of the fifth month, such as snakes, centipedes, and scorpions. People also supposedly get sick easily after this day.

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Summer months

Although there are no national holidays in China during the summer months, this period is one of the most popular times for Chinese outbound tourism. In 2018, 58% of the estimated 30 million Chinese who travelled abroad in July and August did so with their families.

The emphasis on family tourism is also reflected in the top 15 overseas destinations for Chinese tourists during the summer months. These include Thailand, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Spain, the USA, Vietnam, Malaysia, the UK, Italy, Indonesia, Australia, Germany, and Canada.

In 2018, Chinese travellers also sought to escape the summer heat by visiting Southern Hemisphere destinations such as Australia and New Zealand, as well as Nordic countries. New Zealand, for example, encouraged summer travel with a number of posts on WeChat about family travel and winter activities.

In addition to family tourism, there is also a focus on graduation tourism and educational tourism for young Chinese during the summer months.

Chinese outbound travel bookings for the summer of 2018 were up 13.5% compared to the previous year. The Hurun Report's 2017 and 2018 surveys also found that 17% and 19% of high net worth individuals (HNWI) planned to travel during the summer, making it the third most popular travel period.

Frequently asked questions

The most popular months for Chinese citizens to travel abroad are January and February (during Chinese New Year), May, and the summer months of July and August.

Popular destinations for Chinese citizens travelling abroad include Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, the USA, the UK, and Italy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced the number of Chinese international travellers. It is predicted that it will take until at least the second quarter of 2023 for outbound trips by Chinese travellers to recover to 2019 levels.

In the past, Chinese travellers tended to book their trips abroad very early. However, as Chinese travellers become more experienced and visa restrictions are relaxed, booking times are getting shorter.

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