... but leave others smooth

"It's time to travel overseas and go shopping in the US and Europe," says Zhu Hong, who works for a premier company in Beijing. "The US dollar and the euro are falling (against the yuan), so we can save a lot if we shop there now."

This, for some Chinese, is the other way to save when the global financial crisis is forcing people to adopt thrifty ways. There are always some people who feel differently from the majority during a crisis. So it's not surprising to see members of the middle class like Zhu choose to go against the trend.

People bitten by the travel bug are determined to travel despite the financial crisis. Tourism industry insiders say neither domestic nor overseas tour packages have suffered during the past month because of the crisis. On the contrary, more Chinese are expected travel to around the country.