Where should I spend Chinese New Year

January 22, 2010 5:19 AM

Where should I spend Chinese New Year?

I'm going to stay in China over the Spring Festival and am at a loss where to go and/or what to do. I'm living in Shanghai, but would love to get out and see something other than the big city. I've been to many of the largest cities as a part of my job and explored almost all the tourist stuff in Shanghai and Beijing.

I'll almost certainly be travelling on my own (single, middle-aged woman) and street and documentary photography is a hobby. Bonus points if there's a Shangri-la hotel in the area as I've got free nights I need to use.

posted by michswiss to Travel & Transportation around China (2 answers total)

Hong Kong. And you should fly. I don't know how long you've been in China or if you know this already, but travelling internally before/during/after Spring Festival can be, well, challenging, for all but the most seasoned Chinaphile. Most of the expats with no Chinese family I know either lay low or head somewhere outside of China (like Bali for instance).

But, really in most places people spend the holiday eating with their family, ocassionally blowing off firecrackers, and watching the CCTV broadcast. In Hong Kong they tend to blow it out a little more in public.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:39 AM on January 22, 2010

Response by poster: This will be my third Spring Festival. I've been out of the country for the previous two, but almost got caught in the crush two years ago during the freak snow storms. Honk Kong is a fall back option. I've been there many many times on business but I've not truly explored it yet.

I'm also considering staying close and splitting time between Hongzhou and Suzhou. I really just don't want to waste a week off on my own without learning or seeing something new.
posted by michswiss at 7:29 AM on January 22, 2010