Originally Posted by Peter N-H
It's in the larger cities that most people with the discretionary income for travel are found, and overall Beijing and Shanghai, for instance tend to become quieter over the May and October holidays.
I agree that those with coin do a pretty good job at leaving, but it's worth noting that they are replaced, at least to an extent, with droves of Mao-loving peasents that wish to take part in the hoop-la.
I mistakenly stayed in SH during one of the anniversary National Days a few years back; while restaurants and shops were quiet and calm, the streets sure weren't. Just getting to the subway station in Lujiazui was a challenging endeavor. I can only imagine what Tiananmen is like then.