New holiday plan reflects public opinion

The Chinese government on Wednesday unveiled holiday arrangements for 2014 after it sought opinions from the public through polls on major websites.

There will be 11 days off for major holidays, including the Spring Festival, the National Day, New Year's Day, Tomb-Sweeping Day, International Labor Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Day, according to a statement released by the State Council, the cabinet.

A major change is cutting the number of three-day holidays made up by "moving" weekends, as specified by draft plans released last month to seek public opinion.

An office responsible for the holiday plans under China's National Tourism Administration released three plans.

Between Nov. 27 and Dec. 1, more than 31,000 people voted online and 55 percent favored plan C, which keeps two seven-day holidays for Spring Festival and the National Day.

Plan C was eventually adopted by the government.

New Year's Day of 2014, will be a one day holiday on Wednesday, according to the plan.

Plan C means weekend days will not be moved if a holiday falls on a Wednesday. One day will be moved from a weekend if the holiday is on Tuesday or Thursday.

This year's Spring Festival, China's most important festival for family reunions, will run from Jan. 31 to Feb. 6, the statement said.

According to the new plan, the Spring Festival holiday will start on the first day of the lunar new year, instead of starting on the eve of the Spring Festival, as was the old plan.

The may turn out to be disappointment for many people, as the eve of the Spring Festival is actually the biggest moment for family reunion.

The seven-day National Day holiday, usually dubbed "the golden week", will be from Oct. 1 to 7, according to the statement.

Tomb-Sweeping Day holiday is from April 5 to 7. The Labor Day holiday is from May 1 to 3. The Dragon Boat Festival is from May 31 to June 2. Finally, the Mid-Autumn Day holiday will be from Sept. 6 to 8, the statement said.

Shi Peihua, a professor with Beijing Jiaotong University, said the holiday arrangements took into account public opinion.

The plan resolves the problem of very long consecutive work days in weeks before or after holidays, Shi said.

Previously, people had to work for up to seven days in a week around a holiday, as Saturdays or Sundays were moved to form a holiday.

Moving weekends had led to complaints.

The new arrangements strive to avoid the interruption of people's regular work and life, said Dong Keyong, a professor with Renmin University of China.

Implementation of the new policy will be more smooth in reality as it was decided based on pooling people's opinions, Dong said.