Chinese tourists made 428 million domestic trips, an increase of 15.1 percent year on year, according to the China National Tourism Administration. Tourism revenue surged 21.2 percent from the same period a year ago to 223.3 billion yuan ($36.02 billion). Averaged spending reached 521 yuan ($85). China's 125 major scenic areas received 31.25 million tourists; revenue from admission tickets hit 1.66 billion yuan ($271.2 million).

Robust holiday spending falls in line with the Central Government's plans to shift the world's second largest economy away from dependence on investment and exports and toward domestic consumption. "The strong Golden Week tourism data suggest stable employment, rising wages and robust consumer confidence," Lu Ting and Robbie Li, China economists with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a research note.

Tackling a 'golden mess'

Despite the record spending, many Chinese people found themselves even more exhausted than usual as they battled large crowds at some of the country's most prized scenic and cultural spots.

Tourists could only inch forward on the Great Wall just outside Beijing. At the West Lake in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, only heads could be seen as visitors walked over the lake's many bridges. And elbowroom was scarce at one of China's most famous sites, the Terra Cotta Warriors in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. The roads were no better. Travel clog made some highways look like super-sized parking lots.

With all the discomfort and complaints, why do Chinese still choose to travel during this seemingly unbearable occasion?

Liu Simin with the Tourism Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has some idea.

"A lack of long holidays and a poorly implemented paid leave policy will inevitably lead to over-crowdedness during the Golden Week."

But tourist numbers weren't the only dark cloud over Golden Week: So were bad manners. Vandalism and messy behavior were rampant during the week, despite the government's new Tourism Law, which came into effect on October 1 and states that travelers can be fined for littering or causing damage to tourism property. For instance, more than 100,000 visitors who watched the Tiananmen Square flag-raising ceremony on October 1, the National Day, left behind 5 tons of garbage. After more than 1 million tourists visited West Lake in Hangzhou, volunteers picked up more than 7,000 cigarette butts on a 1.5-km road alongside the lake.

A source from the Shandong tourism authority told Shandong Business Daily that not a single fine was issued during the holiday in the province.

"Although the Tourism Law came into effect during this year's National Day holiday, it hasn't been very well carried out," he said. "There are several obstacles. First, it's hard to find those responsible for littering and graffiti as travelers are constantly on the move. Second, staff at scenic sites are extremely busy. They don't have time to look into bad tourist behavior. Moreover, the law doesn't offer tourism workers the power to issue tickets and fines. We would have to coordinate with other authorities before punishing uncivilized behavior. That takes time."

Liu Zhongquan, a professor in sociology at the Dalian University of Technology, said the Tourism Law is more of a guideline for civilized travel behavior and less of a means to punish those who show poor etiquette.

"Uncivilized behaviors can be divided into a lot of types," says Liu. "Some should be punished by the law and others should be guided by morality. To reduce uncivilized travel behavior, the government should first differentiate between the two."

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