Flags, fountains and flowers.

You'll find plenty of them in Beijing and everywhere across China, dressing up city squares for the 56th National Day, which falls on Saturday.

On Friday night in Beijing, about 1,500 people from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign countries attended a reception and banquet at the Great Hall of the People. Premier Wen Jiabao gave the keynote speech, offering "festive congratulations" to all and saluting China's greatness, another National Day tradition.

And for the holiday and the rest of the "golden week," people in China have various plans and expectations. Some lavish, some light.

Gilbert Van Kerckhove, senior consultant for the Beijing Municipal Government on Olympics-related projects, said he would spend a plain holiday at home or in the office.

"I will not go touring around China, as I have lived here for many years," said Van Kerckhove, a Belgian national.

"Like many typical Chinese, I will meet some friends and we'll have dinner together.

"Also, I will take this opportunity to concentrate on some jobs since the office will be more quiet during the holiday."

But some would rather travel thousands of miles to make the holiday meaningful.

Sun Yining, a six-year-old girl from Harbin in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, came to Tian'anmen Square with her mother on Friday. It's the first time they've been to Beijing.

"Her father now works in Beijing, and we're very excited to be here for a family reunion," her mother said.

"It is also good to let my daughter feel the greatness of the country in the capital on the National Day."

According to official predictions, the country will see 370 million domestic and overseas arrivals and departures during the golden week. About 330 million passengers will use road transport, up 3 percent from last year, 38 million will travel by train, up 3.8 percent, and 2.6 million by air, up 12 percent.

Airlines are adding 2,100 flights nationwide to meet the demands of air travellers during the holiday.

Liu Hong, a first-year college student at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, was sitting excitedly in Beijing Railway Station's waiting room on Friday for a train to his hometown, Xi'an.

"It is the first time I have been away from home for more than a month, and I miss my parents terribly," said Liu, a big yellow school bag at his side.

"It is great to have some home-made noodles instead of campus canteen food."

Some people's holidays, however, are more about money.

"Generally speaking, we Hui ethnics enjoy the national holiday the same way as other ethnic groups," said a 40-year-old woman who runs a snack-and-souvenir store in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province.

"But it is a peak season for tourism, so we've decided to carry on with business as usual."

Few would be more eager than Zheng Donghong to keep their businesses running during the holiday. As manager of the Beijing Cihang Diagram Text Agency, she takes care of national flag sales.

"We've sold an average of 10 large national flags per day since last week, and there will be more sales during golden week," she said.

Government departments and big companies are her main customers, and local residents also buy a lot.

"More and more Beijingers buy small national flags to decorate their homes, as a way of expressing their patriotism," she said.

(China Daily October 1, 2005)