Sept. 28 – China’s traditional week long national holiday begins on Monday, September 29 and extends until Sunday, October 5, taking in all of next week.Most mainland China offices are closed during this period. Hong Kong and Macau however have just one day off, the National Day itself, Wednesday October 1. Taiwan does not celebrate the national holiday at this time, but instead has its celebrations on the “Double Ten,” October 10.

China Briefing will continue to post news daily all next week, including a new series on China’s third-tier cities.