and then everyone went on holiday

Literally everyone.

According to the GT, visitor numbers for 119 top tourist attractions this year are up 30%.  Beijing' has always insisted that it could make up for the decline in exports over the past few years by an increase in domestic consumption. Here at least is a datapoint that this may be true. Holidays mean disposable income, especially in a society that doesn't run on credit. Maybe what we have here is that familiar aspect of Chinese development, the disastrous success.

This is all for Golden Week, the annual holiday around national day. Think of it as Wakes Week or the Potters Fortnight, except on a cosmic scale.