Lantern Festival (Feb/March) – This festival marks the end of the New Year's celebrations and is held on the first full moon of the year. Lanterns are made from paper and silk and are hung outside homes and along the streets, which makes for a magical atmosphere. Lanterns were traditionally red or yellow and of a conventional shape, but today in the cities you can see all manner of creations – from monkeys to spacecraft! During the festival glutinous rice dumplings stuffed with sweet fillings are a popular snack.
Tomb Sweeping Day (Qingming Festival; April) – Ancestor worship is still popular in China and the Qingming Festival is a day put aside for cleaning family graves. In the countryside, tombs are swept, cleaned and often decorated. However, in urban areas it is law to cremate the dead, so tomb sweeping is a less common practice, although ancestors are still commemorated. The festival usually falls on April 4th or 5th.
Labor Day (May 1st) – The start of another of China's three golden weeks.
Youth Day (May 4th) – Youth Day commemorates the 1919 student demonstrations in Tian'anmen Square, which led to the May Fourth Movement.
Children's Day (June 4th) – Kids go on field trips around the country, so beware if you're heading to a major sight!
Dragon Boat Festival (June/July) – This is one of the most spectacular of Chinese festivals, involving teams across the country racing boats adorned as dragons, spurred on by the steady sound of an onboard drummer. The festival commemorates the suicide of the poet Qu Yuan, and the boats are re-enacting the unsuccessful chase to try and save him. Bamboo-wrapped glutinous rice parcels (zongzi) are the food to eat during the festival. The festival takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month and races can be seen on rivers around the country.
Ghost Month (Aug/Sept) – This is the time when ghosts return to earth and is regarded as an inauspicious time to travel, particularly on water. Unless you're afraid of ghosts this should make it a good time to visit China, but you'll find that plenty of Chinese don't seem too scared either!
Confucius' Birthday (Sept 28th) – The Old Sage's birth is celebrated with elaborate ceremonies at Confucian temples around the country.
Moon Festival (Mid-Autumn Festival; Sept/Oct) – This festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, when the moon is at its brightest. Delicious but filling mooncakes are eaten and it's a popular time for a barbeque under the moonlight.
National Day – This week-long holiday celebrates the foundation of the People's Republic.
Organized Tours
If you have limited time, then an organized tour can help you get the most out of China, removing the hassles of booking tickets, finding accommodation and picking which of the country's manifold attractions to include in your trip. Tours can also help get you closer to the Chinese people. Tour leaders and guides should be able to facilitate communication and private transport will enable you to get to places that may otherwise difficult to reach. For potential routes see Suggested Itineraries.
However, the downside of tours is that you may feel shielded from the "real world” at times, they tend to be more expensive than independent travel and you might have to put up with group members, guides and even tour leaders you don't see eye to eye with. This said, as a tour leader for several years, my experience has been that most people feel they got the most out of their time and enjoyed being in a group. Meals in China, for example, are designed to be eaten in large groups and if you dine alone or as a couple your options are more limited. Possibly the best way to travel if you have money, but not time, is on a private tour where you and a few friends or family have your own guide and can tailor the itinerary to your preference.
When choosing a tour company, make sure you pick one that's suitable for you – don't let an agent make the decision for you; carefully read about the nature of the tour and what's included. The most disappointed guests I led were those who had expectations that were very different from those detailed in the brochure. All good agents have consumer protection insurance, meaning that, if the company defaults, you should get compensation; companies affiliated under USTOA (United States Tour Operators Association, www.ustoa.com) or IATO (International Association of Tour Operators, www.aito.co.uk – they also offer tours) are covered.
Recommended Tour Companies
The letters before the comma indicate which country the company is based in, although you can book a tour from any country and all companies will arrange tailor-made packages to fit your needs.
Luxury Tours
Abercrombie & Kent (US, www.abercrombiekent.com; UK, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk)
Absolute Asia (US, www.absoluteasia.com)
Audley Travel (UK, www.audleytravel.com)
Bales (www.balesworldwide.com)
Cox & Kings (US, www.coxandkingsusa.com; UK, www.coxandkings.co.uk)
CTS Horizons (UK, www.ctshorizons.com)
Hayes & Jarvis (UK, www.hayes-jarvis.com)
Imperial Tours (US, www.imperialtours.net)
Magic of the Orient (UK, www.magic-of-the-orient.com)
Virgin Holidays (UK, www.virgin.com/holidays)
Voyages Jules Verne (UK, www.vjv.co.uk)
Adventure Tours
Adventures Abroad (US, www.adventures-abroad.com)
The Adventure Company (UK, www.adventurecompany.co.uk)
Asian Pacific Adventures (US, www.asianpacificadventures.com)
Backroads (US, www.backroads.com)
Explore Worldwide (UK, www.exploreworldwide.com)
Freestyle Adventures (Taiwan, www.freestyleadventures.com)
G.A.P Adventures (US, www.gapadventures.com)
Grasshopper (www.grasshopperadventures.com)
Imaginative Traveller (UK, www.imaginative-traveller.com)
Intrepid (Australia, www.interpidtravel.com)
Sundowners (Australia, www.sundownerstravel.com)
Travel Indochina (Australia, www.travelindochina.com.au)
World Expeditions (UK, www.worldexpeditions.co.uk)
Agents in China
Choice Travel (www.choicetravel.cn)
CITS (www.cits.net)
China Odyssey (www.chinaodysseytours.com)
Specialized Tours
Many of the companies listed above also operate specialized interest tours; Grasshopper runs great bike tours through Bike Asia (www.bikeasia.com) as well as photographic tours. Both Backroads and World Expeditions run hiking and cycling tours and Intrepid operates culinary tours. Imaginative Traveller offers tours suitable for families and The Adventure Company has trips suitable for infants over a year old. Other specialized companies include: