Take It From Us: Get the Hell out of Beijing for the October Holiday

Golden Week may still be a couple of months away, but the sooner you can make arrangements to be anywhere other than Beijing, the better. This year's National Day celebrations, on and around Oct 1, are going to be even bigger than ever given that it's the 70th anniversary of the PRC. Our advice? Plan your trip now, because you won’t want to be stuck here.

If it's anything like (and it will be a lot like, if not even worse) 2015's 70th Anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression the entire city will go on lockdown to make way for the military parade celebrations that will make Beijing a lot less fun than it usually is. (For example, we’ve already had to postpone our annual Pizza Festival as a result.)

Fear not though, as the rest of the world will keep on turning even while Beijing installs snipers on rooftops and confines you to your apartment (this did actually happen four years ago), which is why you should consider...

Going back home

For those taking the opportunity for a quick run-back to see the folks, now is definitely time to book those tickets. Round trip flights to Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Moscow are all available right now for under USD 400, and we wouldn’t expect them to go much lower than that. Also, remember to browse our tips on how to have a happy trip back home.

Traveling in China

Be forewarned that traveling anywhere in China during the holiday carries a risk of drowning in a wave of crowds, but it beats sitting at home. Autumn is a great time to leave the confines of your air-conditioned room as the temperatures become tolerable, giving you the opportunity to travel Sichuan by rail, head to the historic city of Pingyao, see what all the fuss is about in Shanghai, or catch the new high-speed rail to the coastal city of Qingdao, fly further south to Xiamen, or simply head to the Beijing suburbs. Read all of our travel tips right here.

Traveling in Asia

Countries that are quite rainy in the summer months such as Vietnam, Burma, and Laos should catch a break from the showers in October, making it a perfect time to go and have fun in the sun. It’s also a month for great weather in Bhutan and Nepal. Or if you fancy an excellent view of autumn leaves, check out the national parks of Japan (Kyoto is pictured above) or the countryside of South Korea.

Taking a Mystery Vacation

Finally, if you don't have any specific travel requirements except "get me the hell out of here" check out aggregate sites like Skyscanner and Kayak. Each has a function where you simply input where you are flying from, and when, and it will show you a range of great deals for flights all over the world on those dates. Your new favorite travel destination might be somewhere you'd never even heard of yet.

READ: Save Hundreds of Renminbi on Plane Tickets With This One Simple Travel Hack

Images: Delta Airlines, HuffPost, Japan Rail Pass, Ross Parmly on Unsplash