May Day Golden Week in Chinese 五一黄金周

wǔyī huángjīnzhōu

May Day (Labour Day) in Chinese is 五一劳动节 (wǔ yī láo dòng jié).

Also searched for as: Labour Day in China, Labor Day China, May 1st holiday, May Day holiday, Wuyi.

Five days off, and everyone else is travelling too. 15 words and phrases for May Day Golden Week in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.

May Day in Chinese is 五一 (wǔ yī), short for 五一劳动节, the Labour Day holiday that starts on 1 May. In mainland China it usually means a 小长假 (xiǎo cháng jià) of several days, stitched together through 调休 (tiáo xiū), and because everyone travels at once you'll hear 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi) a lot. These words cover planning a trip, getting stuck in traffic and complaining about the crowds.

Usage tips

• In conversation people almost always say 五一 (wǔ yī) rather than 劳动节 (láo dòng jié), as in 五一去哪儿玩？ The full name turns up more in official notices and in greetings like 劳动节快乐 (láo dòng jié kuài lè).
• With 调休 (tiáo xiū), the extra days off are borrowed from nearby weekends, so there's usually a 补班 (bǔ bān) Saturday or Sunday before or after the break; check the official holiday schedule before booking anything.
• 看人头 (kàn rén tóu) and 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi) are the standard jokey complaints about holiday crowds, while 错峰出行 (cuò fēng chū xíng) is the sensible-sounding plan to avoid them.

Common mistakes

• Reading 五一 as "fifty-one" → as a date it means month 5, day 1, i.e. 1 May; fifty-one is 五十一 (wǔ shí yī).
• Adding 很 before an idiom, as in 很人山人海 → four-character phrases like 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi) are already emphatic, so just say 景区里人山人海.

Mini dialogue

1. A五一小长假你打算去哪儿玩？Wǔ yī xiǎo cháng jià nǐ dǎ suàn qù nǎr wán?Where are you going over the May Day break?
2. B哪儿都不去，去景区就是看人头。Nǎr dōu bù qù, qù jǐng qū jiù shì kàn rén tóu.Nowhere. Going sightseeing just means staring at the back of people's heads.
3. A也是，去年我在高速上堵车堵了五个小时。Yě shì, qù nián wǒ zài gāo sù shang dǔ chē dǔ le wǔ gè xiǎo shí.Fair point. Last year I was stuck in traffic on the motorway for five hours.
4. B所以我就宅在家，等过了五一再错峰出行。Suǒ yǐ wǒ jiù zhái zài jiā, děng guò le wǔ yī zài cuò fēng chū xíng.So I'm staying in, and I'll travel off-peak once May Day's over.

Example sentences

• 五一你打算去哪儿玩？Where are you going for May Day?
• 劳动节一般放五天假。We usually get five days off for Labour Day.
• 黄金周去哪儿都是人。During Golden Week there are people everywhere.
• 五一小长假你出去玩了吗？Did you go anywhere over the May Day break?
• 因为调休，这个星期天要上班。Because of the day swap, we have to work this Sunday.
• 放假前要补班，太累了。We have a make-up workday before the holiday, it's exhausting.
• 今年五一出游的人特别多。Loads of people went travelling this May Day.
• 五一回老家得提前抢票。To go home for May Day you have to fight for tickets early.
• 五一高速免费，所以路上车特别多。Motorways are toll-free over May Day, so the roads are packed.
• 高速上堵车堵了三个小时。We were stuck in traffic on the motorway for three hours.
• 这个景区五一要提前预约。You have to book ahead for this site over May Day.
• 西湖边人山人海。West Lake was absolutely packed.
• 五一去景点就是看人头。Going sightseeing on May Day just means looking at people's heads.
• 我们打算错峰出行，晚两天走。We're going to travel off-peak and leave two days later.
• 五一我就宅在家里休息。I'm just staying in and resting over May Day.

Practise speaking

Ready to use these words? The May Day Golden Week speaking island has 8 everyday questions about May Day Golden Week to prepare your own answers to.

Related topics

• Mother's Day & Father's Day 母亲节和父亲节
• Children's Day 儿童节
• Canton Fair 广交会
• The Olympics 奥运会
• The World Cup 世界杯
• Football leagues 足球联赛
• Basketball leagues 篮球联赛
• UFC & MMA 综合格斗

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