While enjoying this nice and week-long Chinese holiday, here are ten things you might not know about it:
1. October 1, 1949 is not the day the PR of China (PRC) was founded. The PRC was founded on September 21, 1949. The celebration of PRC government’s founding was on October 1, 1049, so it was chosen as the date for National Day.
2. Every year until 1959, there parades were held on National Day. After stopping for 24 years, parades were brought back in 1984, 1999 and from 2009 until now. Generally, parades only happen once during a chairman’s leadership. The biggest parades since the PRC was founded were held for the fifth anniversary, tenth anniversary, thirty-fifth anniversary, fiftieth anniversary and most recently in 2009 for the sixtieth anniversary.
3. In Chinese, National Day (国庆节) means “national joyful festival.” It used to be the day of enthronement or the birthday of the emperor in ancient times.
4. It used to be celebrated as one day off. Since 1999, National Day is celebrated as three working days and two weekends, for a whole seven days off. Macau only gets two days off and Hong Kong gets one.
5. Lots of the people were named Guoqing Jie after National Day. For example, the famous singer Cai Guoqing (蔡国庆).
6. Compared to other holidays (with working days off), National Day has the shortest history for a holiday in China.
7. Hotel prices will double in Hong Kong and triple in Macau due to the increase of visitors during National Holiday. It’s also almost impossible to buy a train ticket for travelling anywhere in China.
8. As much as Chinese people love their fireworks, there is no tradition of lighting fireworks for National Day.
9. For Beijingers, visiting flowerbeds at Tian’anmen Square is a crucial part of celebrating this holiday.
10. There will be huge sales for electric equipments and cars during National Day. So now is the time to buy that big-screen TV you’ve always wanted!
