During long holidays such as May Day and National Day in China, large-scale mass migrations are a common sight across the country. To stimulate tourism consumption, the Chinese Communist Party officially extends holidays to 5-8 days by adjusting work schedules. However, due to difficulties in taking personal leave on regular days, some companies still operate on a single-day-off or alternating weekend system, forcing people’s long-distance travels and home visits to be concentrated during statutory holidays.
This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival coincided with the National Day holiday, totaling 8 days. However, 2 additional workdays before and after the holidays have sparked complaints on social media platforms, with many netizens lamenting that “it’s better to not have holidays at all.”
According to a report by the mainland media “Caixin” on September 29, China’s public holidays are unevenly distributed, with fewer holidays in the second half of the year. This, coupled with adjustment days, greatly diminishes workers’ “holiday enjoyment.”
In fact, China’s long holiday system is primarily aimed at boosting consumption. The “Golden Week” of May Day was abolished in 2008 and was only reinstated to 5 days in 2019. At that time, the Xinhua News Agency quoted Liu Simin, Deputy Director of the China Tourism Association, stating that restoring long holidays “benefits promoting consumption and boosting domestic demand.”
Liu Simin mentioned that short holidays of around 3 days are insufficient for long-distance travel or extended family visits. This is why the phenomena of concentrated travels during a few long holidays like May Day, National Day, and Chinese New Year prevail.
The concentrated demand for long holidays is directly related to the long-term lack of daily rest for Chinese workers. According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security’s 2020 data, only about 60% of workers can actually take paid annual leave, with almost 40% unable to utilize their entitled time off. A survey by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions indicates that manufacturing employees work an average of 5.68 days per week, with many companies still practicing single-day-off or alternating weekend systems.
A recent article by Luo Zhiheng, Chief Economist at Yuekai Securities, pointed out that Chinese residents commonly face issues of “not enough rest, not good rest, and cannot rest enough.”
With excessive working hours, China’s National Bureau of Statistics data shows that in 2023, the average weekly working hours for employed individuals in China was around 49 hours, equivalent to about 2500 hours annually, exceeding the OECD average of 1717 hours and even surpassing developing countries like Mexico with 2323 hours.
Regarding leisure time, the official “National Survey on Time Use” in 2024 highlighted that the average leisure time per day for Chinese residents is only 3.5 hours, significantly lower than Europe (averaging over 5 hours), the United States (4.7 hours), and Japan (4.6 hours).
A survey initiated in 2017 by CCTV and the National Bureau of Statistics called the “Chinese Economic Life Survey” revealed that residents in cities like Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing only have daily leisure time of 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.3 hours respectively.
The main issues in residents’ holiday enjoyment stem from the limited paid annual leave entitlements in China. Employees in China are granted 5 to 15 days of paid annual leave, with an average of 10 days, much lower compared to countries like France with 25 days, Germany with 20 days, and even Mexico (12-20 days), Brazil (10-22 days), and Russia (at least 28 days).
The “not good rest” aspect of resident holidays primarily reflects the uneven distribution of public holidays throughout the year and the scarcity of holidays in the second half, leading to a diminished sense of holiday satisfaction due to adjustment days. China’s public holidays are mainly concentrated in the first half of the year (9 days), with fewer holidays in the second half (4 days), resulting in a nationwide concentration of holidays leading to subpar vacation experiences, overcrowding, and traffic congestion becoming the norm during holidays. Furthermore, the extended work after adjustment days leaves workers physically and mentally exhausted, weakening the holiday enjoyment, as the sentiment of “the number of holiday days is fine, but the exhaustion from adjustment days overwhelms us” is widespread.
The consequence of lengthy holidays is the simultaneous mass exodus, resulting in a significant decline in the tourism experience. Traffic congestion and overcrowded tourist spots have become commonplace. During this year’s May Day holiday, Guilin’s Li River even witnessed a rare “blockage of boats,” humorously likened to a modern version of the “Battle of Red Cliffs.”
As reported by “Jimo News,” on the first day of the October 1st holiday, various regions nationwide experienced a peak in travel traffic. Some netizens expressed frustration, saying, “Traffic jam! Many drivers have experienced suddenly getting stuck in traffic, inching forward bit by bit. Vehicles keep piling up, gradually spreading far behind, causing severe traffic congestion.”
According to Baidu Maps’ big data, the average congestion mileage on the national highways during the National Day holiday has increased by 75.8% compared to historical periods, while visitor flows at scenic spots and amusement parks have doubled.
Looking at the outbound situation, with the combined flow of travelers during the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival, the intensity of travel on the first day of the holiday was significant, reaching its peak congestion at 11:00 on October 1st at 9109.28km. The average congestion mileage on national highways rose by 50.1% compared to historical periods.
A popular blogger with over 400,000 followers, “Lao Zhou,” expressed on social media, “Traveling is supposed to be relaxing, but for many Chinese, it’s more taxing, tiring, and tormenting than work.”
China’s adjustment day policy has been in place for over two decades, consistently resulting in public discontent during long holidays. “Lao Zhou” pointed out that adjusting workdays doesn’t actually increase holidays but merely redistributes them, leading to a nationwide situation of concentrated travel.
“Lao Zhou” believes that the issue lies not in China’s population density but in the “unified holiday system throughout society.” Comparing cities with significantly higher population densities than China, cities like Singapore have over 8000 people per square kilometer, while Beijing has only 1330 people and Shanghai around 3900 people. However, these cities rarely experience China’s style of overcrowding during holidays. The real culprit, according to “Lao Zhou,” is the detrimental adjustment day system.
So why doesn’t the Chinese Communist Party reform the adjustment policy? “Lao Zhou” indicated that the logic behind the adjustment system not only aims to boost consumption, as the real reason behind it is a deeply concealed social control mechanism. It shapes the official narrative while creating the illusion among the public that they are being given more holidays. It’s as if the government is generously providing welfare to the people. In reality, the total rest time for workers has not increased; instead, it has left them even more fatigued due to additional workdays.