Starting from January 2025, public holidays will be extended by two days as per revised measures on holiday arrangements unveiled by the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Tuesday.

11月12日，中国国务院发布关于修改《全国年节及纪念日放假办法》的决定，自2025年1月起，全体公民放假的假日增加2天。

The Spring Festival holiday will be extended from the previous three days to four days, including the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Jan 28, while the May Day holiday will be increased from one day to two days, with May 2 newly added, according to the latest measures.

根据最新安排，春节假期将从之前的3天延长至4天，包括1月28日农历除夕；而劳动节假期将从1天增至2天，新增5月2日放假。

A new provision was added to the measures, stipulating that public holidays can be arranged to combine with adjacent weekends or paid annual leave to form longer holiday periods.

《办法》中新增一项规定，即全体公民放假的假日可与相连周末或带薪年休假结合，实际形成较长假期。

After the adjustment, the Spring Festival holiday next year will span eight days, starting from Lunar New Year's Eve, and the May Day holiday will be observed with a five-day holiday.

调整后，明年春节自农历除夕起，放假调休8天；劳动节放假调休5天。

The time off will include days off that people will get for working additional days before and after the holidays to compensate for the long breaks.

新假日将包括人们在节假日前后额外工作的天数，以补偿长时间的休息。

For example, for Spring Festival, Jan 26 and Feb 8 will be the make-up days. People will need to report to work on both of these days, which will allow them to enjoy a longer holiday period of eight days instead of just the four.

例如，春节期间，1月26日和2月8日将是调休日。人们需要在这两天报到上班，这样他们就可以享受长达8天的假期，而不是只有4天。

In addition to the New Year's Day holiday that falls on Jan 1, the Tomb-Sweeping Day and Duanwu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, will each have a three-day holiday. The Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day holiday next year, so the period will be extended to eight days beginning on Oct 1.

除1月1日的元旦假期外，清明节和端午节也将各放假3天。明年的中秋节与国庆节假期重合，因此双节合并自10月1日起放假8天。

In response to public concerns about the additional working days to compensate for the long holiday breaks, the revised measures stipulated that the working days surrounding national holidays generally won't exceed six consecutive days, except in rare cases.

为回应公众对为补偿长假而调休工作日的担忧，修改后的《办法》规定，除个别特殊情形外，法定节假日假期前后连续工作一般不超过6天。

The new measures will come into effect on Jan 1, the State Council said.

国务院表示，新规定自2025年1月1日起施行。

Data from multiple travel platforms revealed a surge in ticket searches and bookings within half an hour of the announcement about the extended holidays.

多个旅游平台的数据显示，在宣布假日增加的半小时内，机票搜索和预订量激增。

The number of ticket searches for the 2025 Spring Festival holiday on online travel agency Qunar was 2.2 times higher than normal, with travelers from cities like Chengdu in Sichuan province, Zhengzhou in Henan province and Shanghai already booking flights for the evening before Lunar New Year's Eve.

在去哪儿网上，2025年春节假期的机票搜索量是平时的2.2倍，来自四川成都、河南郑州和上海等城市的旅客已经预订了农历除夕前一晚的航班。

Similarly, Tongcheng Travel, another agency, reported that searches for Spring Festival flights increased more than threefold compared with the previous day. Some travelers also began looking up international flights for the National Day holiday, it said.

同样，同程旅行报告称，春节假期航班的搜索量比前一天增加了三倍多。该机构称，一些旅客也开始搜索国庆假期的国际航班。

Wang Yalei, an analyst at Trip.com Research Institute, said the addition of two extra public holiday days in 2025 has been widely welcomed.

携程研究院行业分析师王亚磊表示，2025年法定节假日增加两天受到广泛欢迎。

Moreover, the adjustment eases the burden of "holiday shift adjustments", allowing travelers to enjoy longer, uninterrupted holidays. This flexibility supports staggered travel, reducing peak-time crowding, Wang said.

王亚磊介绍，这一调整还减轻了节假日调班的负担，使旅客能够享受更长的连续假期。这种灵活性促进了错峰出行，减少了高峰时段的拥挤。

Zhou Zitong, a 32-year-old who works in the banking industry in Beijing, said he supports the revised measures, but he is still worried that the additional work days on weekends surrounding public holidays would affect his work schedule.

在北京银行业工作的32岁员工周子通表示，他支持修改后的规定，但仍担心法定节假日前后周末调休的工作日会影响他的工作安排。

"According to the new holiday arrangement, we will still work for six consecutive days at least twice next year, which has probably led to negative reactions among the public," Zhou said.

“根据新的放假安排，明年我们仍将至少两次连续工作6天，这可能会在公众中引起负面反应。”周子通说。

stipulate

v. (尤指在协议或建议中)规定, 约定

paid annual leave

带薪年休假

staggered travel

错峰出行

compensate

v. 补偿