Golden Week Sends Millions of Chinese on the Move Since Covid-19 Outbreak

BEIJING, KOMPAS.com – China’s Golden Week national holiday sent millions of residents filling airports and train stations since the country beat the coronavirus outbreak.

Golden Week refers to the country’s holiday marking the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

An impressive number of people in China typically find themselves trying to get home or take holidays during this annual holiday period.

But this year has added significance, with the crowds filling the concourses pointing to a country rebounding from the coronavirus outbreak and parading the freedom to travel as a contrast to the rolling lockdowns hitting much of the world.

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"Normally, we would take a family holiday abroad... but this year we opted for a staycation instead," said Niu Honglin from Shanghai.

Niu booked rooms in a boutique hotel near Shanghai Disneyland but quickly encountered the problem of millions of extra tourists hunting fun at home.

"My daughter had to wait in line for nearly three hours to get on a ride," she said.

Domestic travel has sprung back to life and given the economy a boost after the virus shuttered businesses and scared away tourists following its emergence in Wuhan late last year.

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"People are traveling with a vengeance!" said Huo Binxing, a banker from Beijing who is heading to Lhasa in Tibet.

"It's our first chance to unwind after such a stressful period."

Wuhan in central China is back in business too, with visitors thronging to the Yellow Crane Tower — a Taoist shrine — according to the country's biggest travel agency Ctrip.

But some have scrapped plans as the virus continues to seed anxiety.

Ming Rui, a fashion designer in Beijing, said she canceled a visit to the coastal city Qingdao after two coronavirus cases were reported there last week.