When is peak tourist season?

In the middle 2 weeks of October I will be traveling through China starting at Chengdu. At that time of the year, is there a need to pre-book my hotels for my journey (I will pre-book Chengdu). I would prefer not to be locked into being at a certain place at a certain time if possible. My other planned locations: Emei, Lijiang, Shanghai, Beijing & Xian. Also, you site shows which hotels have internet, but do you know if it is wifi or cable (wifi saves me bringing my laptop)? Many thanks