Comments on: 6 Tips to Avoid Massive China Crowds while Traveling

By: David Brown

David Brown — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:22:41 +0000

Another great article Josh.
The last trip i had in China was mainly spent travelling around Guizhou with my Chinese speaking sister. we managed to stay away from the crowds most of the time.
The main thing was planning, planning, planning and a bit more planning.
China is vast, so whatever you want to see, be it ancient monuments, beautiful landscapes, fantastic culture, wonderful little villages or magnificent waterfalls, there will be similar elsewhere….with no crowds.
You may have to spend quite a bit more time getting to places off the beaten track, but believe me it’s worth it. Getting bus/train tickets from a station can be an ordeal in itself and will always take far longer than you really deem necessary. Try and pre-book any major journeys before you go but also find out as much as you can about local travel, so you have at least an idea that you can get to where you want.
There are always your hotel/hostel workers if you get stuck but we didn’t find them much use as most of them didn’t really understand that we wanted to get away from all the tourist areas. Taxis can be reasonable as well as long as you’re not on your own. if you arrange to be picked up for the return journey, don’t bank on this happening even if you have their phone number.
I think it would be very unlikely that you would ever have to sleep under the stars as the poorest areas are always the friendliest and the chances are you’ll be invited to stay in someone’s house.
I wouldn’t recommend even attempting to hitch to get somewhere simply because trying to explain what you’re doing and where you want to go can be quite an ordeal, but we’ve successfully hitched back from places when heading back to a larger town.
Off to Sichuan and Yunnan in July, I can’t wait.
David

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 02:34:01 +0000

In reply to Jackie.

Agreed! I guess that’s one thing I didn’t mention well and I appreciate you bringing up – just because there are crowds doesn’t mean the people are mean. In fact, most of the time the Chinese crowds are extremely friendly – but that can still be uncomfortable for some people.

By: Jackie

Jackie — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 06:00:08 +0000

I really like how you mention at the end that china is really not the best place to visit if you’re not a fan of crowds. truth is, even when people try not to go during peak season there’s still a possibility of crowds just because china has a lot of people! it’s something my husband struggles with because he also hates crowds! also, many of the people are very kind, although i have to admit certain things still disturb me even though i’ve lived here for a while. best thing is to keep an open mind! 🙂

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 12:14:31 +0000

In reply to Marina. Thanks for the comment! To you I would say this: when you have an off week during Golden Week, don't go visit the Great Wall. Go travel to some small village nearby or take a high-speed train to a place an hour or two outside of Beijing. In my opinion, you'll get a better sense of China's culture and at the same time you'll get to avoid the crowds!

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 12:12:58 +0000

In reply to Xinyan. It depends on a lot of factors. For some people, it's difficult (or near impossible) to travel during the off season. I get that and obviously there's just no way around that. Most people, however, can usually take off a few days at their leisure or try to schedule their travel dates for non-holidays. In those cases, I advise people to try their best to avoid the high season.

By: Josh Summers

Josh Summers — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 12:11:08 +0000

In reply to tyra. I completely agree! Drizzle days (or slightly chilly days - Chinese people don't like that either) are a perfect way to avoid crowds.

By: tyra

tyra — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 16:18:53 +0000

Completely agree with most of these tips. since i’m an english teacher we have an odd schedule which makes me unavailable on weekends. this is perfect because i can go visit places on monday and tuesday when there are less crowds and people are at work. also, chinese people don’t really like the rain or misty weather. i went to the great wall when there was a light drizzle, completely empty. so you’re right, going off season is the way to go!

Thanks for sharing 😀

By: Xinyan

Xinyan — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 01:59:18 +0000

I can understand some of your tips in a practical sense, but that being said I think things like not travelling in peak season is most practical for students on a gap year/people without major work commitments. However it seems like you have travelled quite a bit in china and have made some great memories 🙂

By: Marina

Marina — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 01:39:04 +0000

Hi Josh, Thanks for sharing! These are Some interesting tips though I don’t think I’ll be able to follow some, like not travel during Golden Week (I have a week off and I will take advantage, crowds or no crowds!) or avoiding China all together 😀
The others sound very doable, so I’ll keep it in mind when traveling to Beijing next week 🙂