What Chinese Public Holidays Really Look Like?

Ajouté : 2026-05-09

[00:00:00]Tonight, half a million people are expected to visit Shanghai’s Bund.

[00:00:05]and somehow, my family also decided to go Hi everyone, I’m BellaWong, and I live in Shanghai.

[00:00:14]Today is The International Works' Day.

[00:00:16]and my niece is visiting Shanghai for the first time, so tonight we’re taking her to the Bund one of the places almost everyone visits when they come to Shanghai.

[00:00:29]I still have something to finish so they're heading there first and I will take the Metro later to meet them alright, I'm heading out now during holidays like this the metro stations closest to the Bund close after 4 p m because there are simply too many visitors so I have to get off a few stops early and figure out the rest on my own I'm still pretty far away so outside the station I take one of these little electrical tricycles they are not really official transportation they just sort of appear during holidays like this honestly this kind of chaos feels pretty normal during Chinese holidays everyone is moving in the same direction toward the bund to be honest even we ask ourselves this sometimes why do we keep coming when we already know it will be this crowded but somehow when the holiday finally comes everyone still goes out anyway right before I get off the driver shows me a QR code to pay in China you can pay for almost everything with your phone public holidays here are short and almost everyone gets time off at the same time so when the holiday finally comes millions of people all go out together places like this become part of the holiday experience families, tourists, couples people taking photos and people simply standing there enjoying the atmosphere there are police officers everywhere tonight during the public holidays the bund can receive more than half a million visitors in a single day so the city carefully controls how people move through the area to prevent overcrowding if you look closely nobody is really in a hurry everything moves slowly and it feels strangely calm at this point everyone is basically moving at the same speed honestly, sometimes you are not even working anymore the crowd just carries you along people patiently wait their turn to take photos they stand in the same spot for a while just to enjoy the view everyone simply moves with the crowd even though everyone complains about the crowds nobody really wants to stay home either I think holidays in China are less about relaxing and more about feeling like you're part of something bigger even late into the night the streets are still completely packed sometimes it feels less like sightseeing and more like being part of a giant human wave I don't go all the way down to the waterfront instead I go to a restaurant above the bund where my family is waiting for me from up here you can really see how huge the crowds are the people below almost look like ants moving through the streets my mom kept looking down at the crowd and saying what if something happens down there she was worried there could be a stampede I told her the police control the area very carefully during holidays like this but honestly when you see that many people packed together it's hard not to think about it too during public holidays scenes like this happen all across China not just in Shanghai, mountains ancient towns, beaches night markets, everywhere become packed with people sometimes I wonder why we keep doing this to ourselves every year but when I look around I think people aren't only here to see the bund they come here to feel the holiday itself the crowds are huge everywhere but that doesn't discourage people they still come out every single year holidays here aren't really about quietly relaxing at home they're about going out feeling the atmosphere and spending time with families or friends after dinner we slowly make our way back through the crowds even late at night the streets are still completely packed with people by the end of the night my legs were hurting and honestly I couldn't wait to go home but at the same time I also understood why everyone still comes here every year holidays like these are exhausting but somehow they also make the whole country feel collected for a moment thanks for watching see you in the next video