Special rates for Qingming Festival from agoda.com

SINGAPORE – Agoda.com, Asia’s leading hotel booking site and part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN), today announced special rates for Qingming Festival.

SINGAPORE – Agoda.com, Asia’s leading hotel booking site and part of Nasdaq-listed Priceline Group (Nasdaq: PCLN), today announced special rates for Qingming Festival.

Observed in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, Qingming is a day where families honor their ancestors. The day is traditionally spent visiting the burial sites of loved ones to “spring clean” the graves, pray, and make offerings. It is also known as “Tomb Sweeping Day.”

Qingming occurs on the 15th day after the spring equinox – this year falling on April 5. It coincides with the onset of warmer spring weather, and its customs correspond to this change of season. After dusting graves and making offerings, families go on picnics together, take long country walks, and plant trees. Kite flying is also a popular Qingming activity.

An integral part of Qingming and of venerating the dead is the burning of paper offerings. These are believed to cross over to the spirit world for ancestors to use in the afterlife. Elaborate joss paper effigies of gold jewelry, land deeds, iPads and iPhones, games of mahjong, and even celebrity marriage certificates are among some of the offerings available.

During Qingming, places like Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery – the national cemetery of Beijing – become festooned with flowers and offerings. Beijing’s Yuan Ming Yuan Park also bursts into color as locals set up craft stalls and people fly kites against a backdrop of the season’s first blooms.

Outside the major cities, some choose to spend their long weekend by the beach. Sanya is one popular seaside destination promising warm weather, fresh seafood, sandy beaches, and a great range of dining and entertainment. Must-see landmarks here include the Guanyin Statue of Hainan, the scenic Daxiao-Dongtian Park, and the Loubi karst cave. Yalong Bay offers some of the best beaches in the area. Elsewhere in the country, people take advantage of the long weekend by going on short city breaks. Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Xian are all popular weekend destinations year round, easily accessible by train, and with their own unique natural and cultural attractions.

Agoda.com has secured hotel deals in Beijing, Sanya, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Xiamen, and Xian, just in time for the Qingming Festival long weekend. Customers planning to travel during this time should lock in a special rate as soon as they can.

AGODA.COM QINGMING FESTIVAL HOTEL DEALS

BEIJING

Jade Garden Hotel 4*- 35% discount!
From US$88 per night. Valid until June 30, 2012.

Sunworld Hotel 4* – 50% discount!
From US$81 per night. Valid until May 31, 2012.

Inner Mongolia Grand Hotel Wangfujing 4* – 30% discount
From US$69 per night. Valid until April 8, 2012.

Winterless Hotel Beijing 3* – 50% discount!
From US$51 per night. Valid until December 31, 2012.

Shangda International Hotel 4* – 45% discount!
From US$43 per night. Valid until April 10, 2012.

GUANGZHOU

Dong Fang Hotel 5* – 20% discount
From US$110 per night. Non-refundable rate. Valid until December 30, 2012.

Good International Hotel 5* – 32% discount!
From US$110 per night. Non-refundable rate. Valid until February 28, 2013.

Jovenstars Hotel 4* – 20% discount!
From US$44 per night. Non-refundable rate. Valid until April 13, 2012.

Grand Royal Hotel 4* – 20% discount!
From US$53 per night. Valid until April 13, 2012.

Rosedale Hotel & Suite 4* – 20% discount!
From US$54 per night. Non-refundable rate. Valid until August 31, 2012.

SANYA

Phoenix Waterside Gloria Resort Sanya 5* – Third night free!
From US$58 per night. Minimum stay 3 nights. Valid until September 29, 2012.

Huayu Resort & SPA Yalong Bay Sanya 5* – 15% discount!
From US$134 per night. Minimum stay 3 nights. Valid until September 27, 2012.

Shanhaitian Hotel 5* – 10% discount.
From US$78 per night. Must book at least 7 days in advance. Valid until September 27, 2012.

BaoHua Harbour View Hotel Haikou 4* – 5% discount
From US$57 per night. Minimum stay 2 nights. Valid until September 29, 2012.

HNA Beach & SPA Resort Haikou 5* – 10% discount!
From US$99 per night. Minimum stay 2 nights. Valid until September 30, 2012.

HANGZHOU

Hyatt Regency Hangzhou Hotel 5* – 20% discount!
From US$203 per night. Must book at least 7 days in advance. Valid until December 31, 2012.

Wyndham Grand Plaza Royale Hangzhou 5* – 15% discount
From US$187 per night. Minimum stay 2 nights. Stay at least 2 nights. Valid until December 31, 2012.

XIAMEN

Hotel Nikko Xiamen 5* – 15% discount!
From US$121 per night. Minimum stay 3 nights. Valid until August 31, 2012.

Crowne Plaza Hotel Paragon Xiamen 5*- 10% discount!
From US$138. Must book at least 5 days in advance. Valid until December 31, 2012.

XIAN

Bell Tower Hotel 4* – 30% discount!
US$58 per night. Valid until December 31, 2012.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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