快乐黄金周! (Happy Golden Week!)

 

After 17 years in the localization industry, I have often heard translators in Japan and China say that they will be closed for Golden Week. Working in the localization industry and dealing with people all around the globe, all day, every day, I should be keeping track of when these holidays occur so I can schedule accordingly.

This week, I am having difficulty getting my Chinese translations completed on a timely basis because it is Golden Week in China.

So, what is Golden Week, you ask? Let's focus on Chinese Golden Week.

According to my research and by "my research", I mean "googling", Golden Week is the name given to two annual 7-day national holidays, implemented in 2000 in China. Three days of paid holiday are given, and the surrounding weekends are rearranged so that Chinese workers always have seven continuous days of holiday. These national holidays were first started by the government for the PRC's National Day in 1999 and are primarily intended to help expand the domestic tourism market and improve the national standard of living, as well as allowing people to make long-distance family visits. The Golden Weeks are consequently periods of greatly heightened travel activity.

Chinese National Day, know colloquially as ‘Shíyī’ – (which means 10-1 since it falls on the first of October) celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 10/1/49.  This day kicks off Golden Week in October in China.

On that day, Mao Zedong stood atop the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen) waving a red flag and announced the new Republic to a million fanatical followers, broadcasting a message of victory after decades of war.

Shíyī is officially marked with parades, political rallies and a flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square which attracts approximately 250,000 people. Individuals, families and employers might mark the day with displays of lights, posters and fireworks. Red flags sell like crazy.

After many claims of these holidays disrupting the economy and not really promoting internal consumption as was the original plan, in 2008, the Chinese government whittled down the two Golden Weeks (one in January or February and one in early October) to one. The one in October remains. There are now a total of 11 national holidays in China.

Just in case you were wondering, what to do in Beijing during Golden Week (this week)? Here are some of the offerings found:

-Go see the Chinese version of "Mamma Mia”

-See the characters from the popular Chinese cartoon “Xiyangyang” perform live

-Go to a Dutch architecture exhibit

-Hike and raft at the Yesanpo National Park

And last but not least:

-Check out the Guanyuan market (not for the faint of heart, I am told, as there is a variety of animals, including fish, birds, reptiles, scorpions, kittens, puppies and even squirrels on leashes).

Happy Golden Week! Or as the locals say, 快乐黄金周!