"It is farming season now. We decide to take our son to the suburban areas to taste farmers' dishes and plant vegetables," said Li Zhengfeng, a government employee. 

His 9-year-old son Li Yuncong was too excited to sleep after knowing he can plant his favorite beans.

When the seven-day vacation was first implemented in 2000, experts described the swarming Chinese tourist groups as "go to mountain to see temples and get off buses to take photos". However, as Chinese travelers diversified their interest, more and more people chose their own way to travel around.

Millions of car owner families will take the advantage. A career woman Cui Xiaotang and her two friends started from Beijing Saturday in the car. They did not have a firm destination but drove all the way southwards. "Maybe when there is no road for car, we will stop and stay one night in a local farmer's house," Cui said excitedly about her plan.

"Exchanges across north and south and exchanges between cities and rural areas" are two trends during the holiday. Northerners can appreciate the beauty of southern rivers, while southerners can travel to cooler parts of the country. When millions of travelers made their way to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, residents live there choose to move out.

Of course, not all car-owners will drive during the seven-day vacation. Beijing resident Zhang Licheng and his family took the train up to northeastern Heilongjiang Province. "We were really impressed by tourism promotion from the province and then we decided to breathe more fresh air in the forest, to see the volcano museum and look for the minority group people there. Instead of staring ahead and steering the wheel, we chose to see the view from the luxurious train," he said.

A large number of group tourists will travel abroad, farther and farther away. Du Juan and her husband registered for a trip to New Zealand. "With magnificent scenes of the Lord of Rings in mind, I will realize my childhood dream of seeing the Milky Way in the southern hemisphere."

Sun Bin, a graduate student representing a large number of "stayers", choose the simplest way to avoid tourist crowds during the holiday. "I will go to the Beijing Library for the next seven days to read the National Geographic magazine. I will have the whole world in my mind but escaping from queuing up in the airport," he said.
 
(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2004)