We’ve been busy scouting out the best experiences to be had during the Spring Festival 2021 period.
That time of year is coming again, it’s China’s Spring Festival! Expect the disruption of Christmas elsewhere in the world, but on steroids. This is the largest migration on earth we’re talking about. As well as inflated prices and limited availability typical of national holidays in China, many restaurants and shops will close over Spring Festival as people head home to celebrate the new year with their loved ones. This year, just to add another spanner in the works, local governments have canceled or changed many of the normal celebrations over concerns of large groups congregating in one place.
Here at WildChina, we’ve spent the last couple of months pooling insider info from around China on what will and won’t be happening as normal this Spring Festival. As always, we’ve been working on how best to get you off-the-beaten-path in a way where you’ll still get to enjoy the buzz that makes this time of year in China so special.
Below are the first of a series of Spring Festival journeys we will be hosting as small group tours. Watch this space as there will be more to come in the next few weeks, including a special announcement for an exclusive expert-led tour, which is sure to be a foodie’s dream trip.
So, whether it’s becoming the guest of honor at a Hani celebration in Yunnan or taking a seat at a Long Table banquet in Guizhou, we’ve brought together experiences you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Here are the best places to travel for China’s Spring Festival.
All of the journeys mentioned below are available as a small group tour on the dates outlined (limited to 12 people or less). Each itinerary is also available to be booked as a private journey. Send us a message for more details.
Spaces are limited and fill up quickly during the CNY. Book early to guarantee your spot.
Yunnan Honghe Rice Terraces & Jianshui
Journey to the China-Vietnam boundary and immerse yourself in the traditions, history, and backcountry of the charming Red River Valley, its Hani people, and their ingenious ways of bringing water to their rice terraces.
Travel with us:
February 11th – 17th, 2021
Best for:
Food, Minority Culture, Hani New Year Celebrations
What we love:
- Celebrating the new lunar year with a Hani community in the Honghe Rice Terraces
- Learning how to make traditional Jianshui tofu
- Enjoying the holiday atmosphere at the night market in Wayao village
The Yellow Mountain & Jingdezhen
A chance to walk amidst the otherworldly sandstone pillars in the Yellow Mountains and explore the gilded age of Chinese porcelain making, where for centuries emperors sought the creations of craftsmen from its lands.
Travel with us:
February 9th – 14th, 2021
Best for:
Experiencing New Year Celebrations in the countryside, Hiking, Porcelain
What we love:
- Weaving bamboo in Nanping Village
- Hiking in the Yellow Mountains
- Learning about China’s porcelain heritage in Jingdezhen
Pingyao & Datong
Marvel at China’s ancient past and Qing Dynasty architecture. Be inspired by classical masterpieces of Chinese Buddhist art constructed during the 5th and 6th centuries.
Travel with us:
February 11th – 17th, 2021
Best for:
Northern Chinese Traditions, Architecture
What we love:
- Making “prosperity” noodles in a traditional-style home
- Practicing Chinese calligraphy with a master
- Exploring the Yungang Grottoes with an expert
Festival Seaon in Guizhou
This journey doesn’t quite fall over the Spring Festival national holiday, but we did promise celebrations you won’t find anywhere else in the world. And there is no time of year that’s better to experience Guizhou’s vibrancies than during festival season in the first month of the new lunar year.
On this small group journey (limited to 12 people or less) we will be pulling up seats at the Long Table banquet, watching lusheng dance competitions in Qingman, painting the eyes on a dragon at the Longli Dragon Dance Festival, and participating in the annual “carrying Wanggong” ritual in a Tunpu village.
What more could you want? This is a journey that will be unrefined and filled with delightful surprises, and is certainly at the top of the list for our favorite places to travel this Spring Festival. We can’t wait.
Travel with us:
February 24th – March 2nd, 2021
