With the holiday season approaching, many plan escape

Expats living in Beijing are joining the record number of Chinese people who will be making the great holiday getaway.

Trains, planes and automobiles will be full of people as foreigners and Chinese alike take to traveling during the two upcoming holidays.

Jenelle Whittaker, a communications officer with Community Alliance, said she is not worried about the crowds as she prepares to leave on an epic 20-day trip. Her excursion will start in Xiamen before going to the island of Gulangyu, Guilin and Yangshuo. She will continue by flying to Kunming and traveling around Yunnan, where she will hit up the tourist hot spots such as the Tiger Leaping Gorge along the way.

"China is such a large and diverse country; it's a waste staying in Beijing during festivals to avoid the crowds," she said. "When traveling, it is easy to avoid the masses by steering off the well-paved tourist routes at famous attractions or by going on the back roads."

While some will be braving the crowds in China, others are looking to overseas travel to avoid the legions of tourists.

For Jose Coreneao, who has already celebrated two Mid-Autumn Festivals in China, dealing with the crowds is a small price to pay for blue skies and sunshine. During this year's festival, which starts Sept 22, Coreneao said he will be navigating around the worst of the crowds by going international and cashing in on a cheap flight to the Philippines.

"It's going to be sunny and gorgeous," he said. He added that for the past two Mid-Autumn Festivals he has stayed in China.

"I really don't care about the crowds at all," he said, "If I have the time off, I'm going to make the most of it."

While many are seizing the time-off during the Mid-Autumn Festival as a chance to see the unknown or revel in some sunshine, with 212 million Chinese travelers forecast by the Chinese tourism authorities to be on the move, a record number, some have canceled plans due to the expected traffic.

Dirk Eschenbacher, executive creative director with DDB Guoan, said he is among those looking to enjoy the peace and quietness of Beijing.

"We had planned to take a trip to Sichuan to get off the beaten trail, but realized even where we were going it would be packed," he said. "It seems as though, when the chance comes to explore China, everyone else in the country is exploring it at the same time."

He said for the past 10 years he has celebrated most of his Mid-Autumn Festivals by leaving the country or traveling. But this year, he said he will stay in Beijing and enjoy the city's cooling weather by taking a motocross trip around the capital and spending time with his Chinese in-laws.

"My wife's mother usually cooks us a big feast around this time of year," he said. "I will probably be forced to eat some mooncakes."

China Daily

(China Daily 09/21/2010 page)