One thing you have to get used to, if you are ever thinking of working and living in China, is that this is a big country with a lot of people. In terms of land size, China is bigger than USA, Brazil, Australia or India and has 1.41 billion people. You will be able to feel the sheer size of China’s population the most during the Spring Festivals. Let me explain.
Normally its about 10 days of public holidays for the Spring Festival including the weekends. All the shops and offices will be closed, practically the whole country. During that time, people travel back to their home towns via buses, trains and flights. These places will be absolutely crowded. I mean like crowds you have never seen before in your life. And after couple of days of family reunion meals and festive celebrations at home, people normally head out to whatever attractions that are still open in their cities or towns. Normally what’s open will be mountains, parks, tourist attractions, temples, shopping streets (with some shops slowly opening up) etc. These places will also be extremely crowded.
My Shenyang office posted me to the Beijing office for a year in 2016. The above photo was taken at a local Buddhist temple during the Spring Festival at that time (you can see that I am wearing a red scarf in respect of the festive occasion). The crowd that day was simply unbelievable. But there is nothing to be frustrated about. Nothing to be surprised about. Nothing to stay away from. When you are in China, do as the Chinese do. Keep calm and join the crowd.