Chinese schools extend vacations to reduce study pressure and stimulate tourism

It is expected that high school students will have a longer break than usual to stimulate tourism .

In early September, a national policy document on expanding service consumption emphasized “optimizing student holiday arrangements” as a measure to stimulate economic growth.

Local governments are encouraged to add short breaks in the spring and fall, as long as they do not reduce the total number of teaching hours in the school year. This is seen as a way to both give students more time off and boost spending on travel and entertainment.

Earlier in March, an action plan on promoting consumption also suggested the possibility of allowing localities to pilot additional spring or autumn holidays. In fact, some regions in China have already gone ahead in testing this idea.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was the first locality to introduce spring and autumn breaks in 2004. Enshi, Hubei Province, also introduced spring break in 2014, and later expanded it to all schools in the city's management system. Recently, Foshan, Guangdong Province, announced plans to give high school students a three-day autumn break in November and a two-day spring break tied to the 2026 Labor Day holiday.

These models show that short breaks can be cleverly integrated into the formal school calendar, while also contributing to stimulating demand for family travel.

However, not all parents are on board. Li Tingting, a resident of Tianjin, said she hoped for more flexible options for family travel. On the other hand, a parent surnamed Liu from Zhoushan worried that the short break would put pressure on childcare for families with both parents working.

But advocates say the benefits of extra vacations are not limited to the tourism industry. “A more balanced vacation will reduce academic pressure and improve students’ physical and mental health,” researcher Peng Peng stressed.

In fact, in Lichuan, students returned from spring break with art and cultural projects inspired by their out-of-school experiences. “Children need to be exposed to culture and nature in different seasons. This is also an important part of comprehensive education ,” said Professor Long Liangfu, who teaches at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.

“The additional spring and autumn holidays will help balance supply and demand,” said Associate Professor Liu Deyan of Shanghai Normal University. “The peak season is too crowded, and the off-peak season is deserted. The additional holidays will help ease the pressure on costs and density at destinations.”

According to China Daily

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