The past Golden Week (黄金周) from May 1 to May 7, the 20th golden week in China, is the most Renao (热闹) Golden Week since China’s Golden Week policy launched by the government in 1999. The photo, by frank, shows tourists taking pictures before Tiananmen (天安门) in the last evening of the Golden Week.

According to CCTV，China’s transportation and tourism sectors hit a new record during the May Day Golden Week. Passengers traveling by trains reached over 44 million during the week, up nearly 6 percent from last year. The tourists volume swelled to 1.5 billion, more than one tenth of the total Chinese population. And the retail volume of China’s social consumer goods reached 320 billion Yuan, an increase of 15 percent year-on-year.

According to Xinhua news agency, the Golden week is also a golden business opportunity for foreign invested service providers in China.

China initiated the three Golden Weeks, the May Day Holiday, the National Day Holiday and the Spring Festival Holiday, in 1999, intending to stimulate domestic consumption and promote tourism, hospitality and related industries. The golden week is also a great opportunity for people to make long distance family visits, and for young lovers to have their weddings.