Spring Festival as a foreigner

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is the largest annual disruption of normal life in China. For foreigners caught in it, the experience can be either fascinating or extremely frustrating, depending on preparation.

What changes during the holiday week

• Trains and flights book out 30+ days ahead. Prices double or triple. The 'spring rush' (chunyun) is the largest annual human migration in the world.
• Many shops close for 3-7 days, particularly in tier-3 cities. Tier-1 city service operations stay open but at reduced hours.
• Restaurants either close (smaller, family-run) or hike prices (chains, particularly hot pot houses charge 'reunion menu' premiums).
• Public transport runs on holiday schedules — less frequent but still operating.
• Tourist sights are crushed with domestic tourists.

Travel impact

If you can possibly avoid travelling within mainland China during the 15 days centred on the lunar new year, do. The disruption to schedules, transport availability, and pricing is severe.

If you must travel: - Book tickets the day they release (14 days ahead via 12306). - Avoid major-city train stations on the 2-3 days before Spring Festival eve and the 2-3 days after. - Have backup travel plans. - Carry cash — some smaller-town transactions become harder.

What to do if you stay in tier-1 cities

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen go relatively quiet during the actual holiday week — many residents leave to visit family. The ironic effect: tier-1 city tourism actually gets easier (Forbidden City less crowded on day 3-7 of the holiday than on a normal weekend).

Things that still work: - Major museums and palaces (book online; visitor numbers below normal). - International-brand hotels and restaurants. - Subway and Didi. - Most tourist sights.

Things that close or curtail: - Small businesses and family-run restaurants. - Some metro lines on reduced schedule. - Most government offices.

Things worth experiencing

• Temple fairs — Beijing's Ditan and Longtan are the major ones. Open all 7 days of holiday. Food, opera, calligraphy, traditional crafts.
• Lantern displays at major temples — particularly toward the Lantern Festival (15 days after new year's eve).
• Lion and dragon dances in the streets, particularly in Cantonese-influenced cities.
• Fireworks where permitted — most major cities now ban consumer fireworks; rural areas still light them. Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour fireworks on day 2 of the new year are a substantial show.
• The CCTV gala on New Year's Eve — surreal but culturally significant; watch in a hotel lobby or restaurant if you're not invited to a Chinese family dinner.

If you're invited to a Chinese family dinner

The greatest cultural opportunity during Spring Festival, and the one most worth saying yes to.

Bring: - Fruit (oranges and tangerines are auspicious — the words sound like 'good luck'). - Quality tea (loose leaf in a presentation tin). - Quality baked goods or sweets. - Avoid: clocks (homonym for 'attending a funeral'), white flowers (funereal), green hats, anything in 4s.

Expect: - Multiple courses (16-24 dishes is normal at a holiday banquet). - Substantial drinking — baijiu toasts. - Children running underfoot; relatives across three or four generations. - Red envelopes (red envelopes given to children; you don't have to participate but acknowledging the children with a token gift is gracious). - TV gala on in the background. - Late finishing (after midnight; fireworks at midnight where permitted).

Cost during the holiday

• Hotel rates: 1.5-2x normal.
• Flight prices: 1.5-3x normal.
• Restaurant prices: 1.2-2x normal.
• Some 'reunion menu' fixed-price banquets at hot pot houses run ¥800-¥2,000 per person.

When the holiday ends

Officially the 7-day national holiday runs from new year's eve through day 6. Effectively, life takes 15 days to fully resume — many small businesses don't fully reopen until after the Lantern Festival on day 15.

For foreign visitors, the most reliable strategy: visit either before (mid-January) or after (early March) the lunar new year window. If you must be in China during it, base yourself in a tier-1 city, accept slightly disrupted services, and try to get yourself invited to a family dinner.