5 . The Albuquerque Balloon Festival

Every autumn, the sky above the city of Albuquerque in the south-western United States turns into a mass of bright colours. This is the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, a nine-day event.

The first festival was held in 1972 to celebrate the 50th birthday of the local radio station. There were about 12 hot-air balloons and they took off from the car park in the middle of Albuquerque. From these small beginnings the festival has grown steadily. This year at least a thousand balloons are expected at its current out-of-town site.

What to do

The pilots light up the burners of their balloons at the same time. These are known as “balloon glows”. However, you must arrive just after night has fallen or before 5:30 am to see these “glows” as the balloons rise into the dark sky.

During the day, you can walk around among the balloons. The balloons come in all sizes and colours, some in the shapes of animals or cartoon characters.

In the afternoon, why not take to the sky yourself by booking a balloon flight with the Rainbow Ryders? This company is allowed to take guests during flight. Another possibility is to take the cable car (缆车) to the top of the nearby mountains and enjoy a bird's-eye view of the festival.

There are other attractions for visitors of all ages, including balloon races.

Practical advice

Tickets are available online. Buy them in advance and save yourself a long wait to get into the festival site. Wear several layers of clothing. At night and in the early morning it can be quite cool, but during the day sunglasses are necessary. Bring a flashlight for night-time events and, of course, bring your digital camera for evening and night-time pictures.

8 . China’s National Day holiday, otherwise known as National Day golden week, is an annual seven-day public holiday, the longest public holiday other than Chinese New Year, which typically falls around February.

Beijing is the biggest city to host celebrations, particularly at Tiananmen Square, which features a special flag-raising ceremony around sunrise. Other common nationwide activities include flag raisings, song and dance performances, and firework displays.

People typically like to travel domestically during the October holiday, with many visiting their hometown. During the holiday period, offices, embassies, factories and restaurants will likely close for at least a day or two—making it the perfect occasion to catch up with family and friends.

Falling in autumn, the weather during the holiday is generally pleasant and sunny, with a cool breeze and low humidity—creating perfect travel conditions. 

In 2019, as a Briton living in China, I faced the same dilemma local citizens did—with pretty much everyone in the country wanting to enjoy a week off work and wondering, “where can I go to enjoy myself without getting stuck in crowds?” I did plenty of research to find a hidden gem in China, somewhere I could avoid the flocks of tourists. It seems there were plenty of options, but I left it to the last moment and discovered flight and train tickets were all sold out, so I decided to just spend some time in the city I was living in: Shanghai. After my first National Day holiday as a foreigner in China, I learned what not to do over this period, that is, try to avoid traveling to popular destinations during the golden week.

Allow me to recall my trip to The Bund in 2017. I first took the metro to East Nanjing Road; I was floored as the queue for the security check was almost 100 people long. On my normal commute to work, I went straight through, scanning my bag in less than 10 seconds, so naturally, I was shocked. Once I finally reached the metro, the doors opened and people swarmed off in the hundreds, while just as many piled on. Once I exited the metro, what would normally be a 10-minute walk took around an hour, as I slowly walked down East Nanjing Road, shoulder to shoulder with other tourists all looking to catch a glimpse as the impressive Bund lit up at night.

Being from a small town in England, I had never before seen so many people gather in one space. I found it fascinating to hear all the different dialects, accents, and people seemingly unphased by so much noise and such a large crowd.

Once I finally reached the front of The Bund, I managed to squeeze through the selfie sticks and tour group flags to gaze in amazement at the buildings that appeared to touch the sky.