During China’s National Day holiday, local tourist spots become so overcrowded that visitors can barely move, let alone enjoy the scenery. Long queues, poor dining services, and heavy traffic have discouraged many Vietnamese travelers from visiting the country at this time.
Freelance tour guide Nham Sac Hoa, who specializes in China tours, recalled a suffocating experience at Zhangjiajie during the 2018 National Day holiday. At the Tianmen Gate scenic area, her group had to wait over an hour and a half to board the cable car — triple the normal time. When boarding the shuttle buses, she repeatedly warned her guests: “Don’t give up your spot or you’ll get separated in the crowd.”
She said major Chinese attractions are always jam-packed during the holiday, leaving tourists surrounded by seas of people. “You can’t really sightsee — just shuffle along with the crowd,” Hoa said. Restaurants are overwhelmed, tables are hard to reserve, and even with a booking, guests often wait hours to be served. Roads are gridlocked for miles as buses and tour vehicles flood in from all over the country.
“I honestly don’t look forward to guiding any tours during this time — it’s exhausting for both the guests and me,” she said.
In 2023, photos of the Great Wall of China swarming with visitors went viral online, symbolizing the country’s travel chaos during Golden Week.
Because of this, few Vietnamese travel agencies organize China tours during the early October holiday. Danh Nam Travel only offers limited trips to destinations like Jiuzhaigou, Chongqing, and Lijiang, while all tours to Beijing and Shanghai start after October 8 to avoid overcrowding.
Pham Anh Vu, Deputy CEO of Du Lich Viet, said the company operates only two China tours during Golden Week — about ten times fewer than in a typical peak week.
“We generally don’t recommend traveling to China during major holidays,” Vu said.
Clients are warned about overbooking, inflated prices, and poor experiences. Visa approval rates — even for group visas — also drop sharply around this time. “We don’t accept last-minute bookings because there’s simply not enough time for visa processing,” Vu added.
Nguyen Canh Linh, head of the visa department at Top Ten Travel, said that while visa applications to China surged in September, the number dropped by 40–50% during the National Day break. “Most travelers worry about extended processing times and missing their trip,” he said.
Although China hasn’t changed its visa requirements, the sticker visa process now takes up to 11 working days, compared to just 4–5 previously. Small group e-visas (under five travelers) are restricted in some regions, particularly Guangzhou, which affects family and small-group tourists.
Linh noted that Chinese authorities tend to tighten controls during Golden Week to manage massive travel volumes, making visa approval more difficult. He advised Vietnamese travelers to complete visa applications at least three to four weeks in advance and travel in larger groups for smoother processing.
China has two major annual holidays known as “Golden Weeks” — one for Labor Day in early May and another for National Day in early October. According to SCMP, this year’s “Super Golden Week”, combining National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival (October 1–8), is expected to trigger a domestic and international travel boom.
Deputy Transport Minister Li Yang estimated 2.4 billion trips during the period — an average of 295 million per day, up 3.2% year-on-year. The busiest day, October 1, could see over 340 million trips, even surpassing the Lunar New Year rush. Road travel dominates, with 1.87 billion journeys by car, accounting for nearly 80% of total movement.
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Source: Vietnam Insider