Korean Job Discussion Forums

sho-ryuken · Joined: 13 Nov 2007

hi,
i was thinking about taking a short break in shanghai or beijing over the chinese new year holiday but have been reading reports that say it's way too crowded, lots of places close down, getting around is a nightmare, etc..has anybody experienced this? i'm going with my girlfriend so is it possible to enjoy it all or should i leave it for another date.

btw, i've been to many busy asian cities and crowds don't phase me but i have heard it gets stupid busy here!

reactionary · Joined: 22 Oct 2006 Location: korreia

i went to shanghai during their "golden week" once (sort of a week long national holiday in october). all the locals kept telling me it was so crowded, but it didn't seem that horrible to me. the subway at times felt like seoul's green line at rush hour though.

so that's not quite chinese new year, but i imagine it would be similar. hell, since it's winter, there might even be less people outside???

SweetLou · Joined: 26 Sep 2003 Location: mt. bu

i found shanghai to be absolutely dead during lunar new year when i lived there...only the area by the bund has people, and even then a much smaller amount than on other holidays.

Capo · Joined: 09 Sep 2007

anyone got any info about beijing, i was thinking about doing it for the chinese new year i figured thered by some cultural stuff going on that would be interesting

Mr. BlackCat · Joined: 30 Nov 2005 Location: Insert witty remark HERE

I went to Beijing for Lunar NY in 2006. It wasn't over-crowded at all. Some things were closed down, mostly the smaller markets. Don't underestimate the Chinese businessman even if the state says they're Communist. They're open for business if you have dollars to spend.

I barely used the subway at the time because it was pathetic. Maybe it's changed with the Olympics coming, I don't know. We rented bikes and took cheap cabs. You'll have to have a Chinese person who understands you to write down the destination for you, although I hear cab drivers are much more well versed in English now.

Really, I found almost the opposite during the day. Almost empty, which was not great for other reasons. At night people were out and it was exciting. To my knowledge, it was the first year they allowed fireworks inside the city centre and 24 hours a day they were going off.

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