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Labor Day Explained

2018-05-01 Anusuya Mitra ShanghaiWOWeng

It's Labor Day weekend, but what does that mean? In case you're unaware, allow us to explain. Labor Day is a national holiday here in China known as Láodòng jié. Since 1918, the May 1st holiday has been celebrated here in China, often with a 3-days holiday (although as in interesting side note: Labor Day used to be a week-long holiday but was scaled down to 3 days in 2007 to make room for Qingming, Dragon Boat and mid-autumn holidays).

 


What is Labor Day about?


This holiday is also known as International Workers’ Day or May Day and is a global celebration of the working-class people. It definitely has different names in different countries. This holiday has been around since the 1880s and is a salute to laborers with origins in the West’s industrial revolution era. For nations such as China, this holiday holds significant importance as its foundation lies in principles of Socialism and Communism.

 


What to expect


Labor Day is a popular time for travel and millions of Chinese take this opportunity to head off to their favorite destinations. Train stations especially are very crowded so be prepared if you are planning to travel. Airfares and train fares can double in price so make your bookings well in advance. Generally, places like the Great Wall or Xiamen or Xi'an will be overflowing with tourists.

 

On May 1st itself, government offices and banks will be closed.

 


If you're sticking it out, you can expect Shanghai to be crowded, especially the Bund. Stay away. This goes for Yu Garden, Jing’an Temple, Nanjing West Road and Huaihai Road, as they will be teeming with eager shoppers. 

 


If you’re staying in Shanghai


But it’s not all that bad. This would be a good time for you to finally eat at that restaurant you’ve been wanting to go to and go visit that hip bar that makes crazy cocktails or that fantastic little coffee place. If the weather Gods agree, this could be the perfect weekend for a picnic or cycling around town. There will be tons of special events happening around town, so make the most of your staycation. 

 

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