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Guangdong to stretch its May holiday

By Jane Chen | March 25, 2009, Wednesday | Online Edition

SOUTH China's Guangdong Province is the first in the country to reintroduce a week-long May Day holiday.
The provincial government announced it this morning and encouraged local governments, organizations and businesses to adopt the longer holiday.
Now the seven-day holiday will start from May 1. It will comprise the original three-day official holiday, two days of the weekend and another two days of paid annual leave. The two paid-leave days are not compulsory.
Guangdong first proposed this in late December to boost consumption. It invited public comments before submitting the idea to the central government for approval, according to Yang Rongsen, head of the Guangdong Tourism Bureau.
In 2000 the May Day holiday was expanded to seven days and then changed to three days in 2008.
Chongqing Municipality was the first city to propose the restoration of the May Day "golden week" to stimulate tourism. And many other cities are considering similar proposals.
The latest is Hangzhou, capital of the Zhejiang Province.
Hangzhou's proposal is almost the same as Guangdong's -- three days of the official holiday, two days of weekend and two days of paid leave, according to Hua Yunong, an official with the Hangzhou Tourism Committee.
Hua told today's Shanghai Morning Post that the committee has submitted the proposal to the provincial government for approval and a decision will be announced around the end of the month.
The Zhejiang provincial bureau authority has been working on a holiday guide for residents since the end of 2007, the Shanghai Morning Post report said. But details are not available as the guide is still being reviewed.



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