Labor Day 2021-23 is FIVE DAYS!

[Randy W]

Please spend money!

"China has extended its upcoming Labor Day holiday to five days hoping to boost the country’s pandemic-battered tourism industry. Some 200 million trips are projected to happen, potentially surpassing the same period in pre-pandemic 2019."

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/1570821646570023/posts/2933319910320183/

Quote

Many Chinese who were either unable to travel or had postponed their trips during the Lunar New Year holidays because of sporadic coronavirus outbreaks are looking at the May 1-5 holiday as an opportunity for a much-needed break.

 

[Randy W]

But then they take two of them back, and two other days were Saturday and Sunday, leaving a net holiday gain of ONE day.

That's three days off, but two are made up on the weekend before and the weekend after. THREE days off becomes FIVE when you include the weekend days,

Chinese Resent Public Holiday System That Steals Their Weekends
To compensate for the upcoming Labor Day holiday, many in China are begrudgingly trading their Saturdays and Sundays.

from the Sixth Tone 

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Because of the upcoming five-day Labor Day holiday in early May, Su and millions of Chinese workers like her have to work two weekend days to compensate. With the second makeup work day scheduled for Saturday, May 8, the Saturday-to-Wednesday holiday yields just one “free” day off. Su isn’t alone in disliking China’s public holiday system, which bites off free Saturdays and Sundays around other festivals. Social media site Weibo is currently full of complaints from workers bemoaning their lost weekends. “The weekend was supposed to belong to me, and now I have to work six days in a row. The so-called five-day holiday is paid for by my Sunday. If there’s no time for these days off, then don’t give them to us,” one angry Weibo user wrote on Sunday morning.

 

[Randy W]

THIS is the result

Tourist sites across China are drawing enormous numbers of visitors over the Labor Day holiday, creating scenes of overcrowding rarely glimpsed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

See more: http://ow.ly/Kqw350EDbFY

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook 
https://www.facebook.com/1570821646570023/posts/2939525266366314/

People Mountain, People Sea: China’s Labor Day Holiday, in Photos
A selection of photos from the annual travel rush by Sixth Tone’s visual editors.

[Randy W]

Chinese tourists out for May Day holiday

“The pandemic has been over for a while” — In a sign that Covid-19 fears in China have waned, more than 56 million domestic trips were made at the start of the May Day holiday.

https://www.facebook.com/scmp/videos/2974495322873838/

[Randy W]

People Mountain, People Sea: China’s Labor Day Holiday, in Photos
A selection of photos from the annual travel rush by Sixth Tone’s visual editors.

from the Sixth Tone 

A nice butt shot!

Edited May 8, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

April 23 and May 6 are the working (make-up) days this year (2023). Again for a net gain of ONE holiday day.

China will observe a five-day Labor Day holiday from April 29 to May 3. Many of my friends will be traveling in the country and abroad! 
Happy #LaborDay! 

from Jessica Zhang on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/JessicaZanginChina/posts/pfbid0MjL2EGHKxY1bdsocVM53gMdKe5uTozQ5B61RbzpM97QGV4x68btGLXe6RHJPzirtl

 

 

 

 

Edited May 1, 2023 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

China is witnessing a travel boom during this year's five-day May Day holiday, the first such holiday since the country optimized its COVID-19 response measures.
Domestic travel bookings for the holiday, which starts on April 29 this year, have surged more than 700 percent from last year, the latest data from online travel agency Trip.com Group shows.
Apart from first-tier cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, smaller ones like Zibo of Shandong province are gaining prominence due to their various attractions.

from China Pictorial on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ChinaPic/posts/pfbid02p7FbuT71tkh9vMovBj8Pgvn1VrAqiQo2heZ86xA8bCQBp21xGZp8bYv2dwfPuAgHl

 

 

 

 

[Randy W]

China’s consumers spend US$21 billion during May Day holiday, but easy part of economic recovery ‘is done’

• Domestic tourism revenues jumped to 101 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, reaching 148 billion yuan (US$21.4 billion), during the five-day ‘golden week’ holiday
• Around 274 million people travelled over the Labour Day or May Day holiday, but the ‘easy part of China’s post-reopening recovery is done’, analysts said

from the SCMP

Some 274 million people travelled over the Labour Day or May Day holiday, which concluded on Wednesday. Photo: Bloomberg
 

Quote

 

China’s services sector enjoyed a long-awaited recovery in consumer spending over the five-day “golden week” holiday, with the level of domestic tourism revenue exceeding 2019 levels for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

But after domestic tourism revenues jumped to 101 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, reaching 148 billion yuan (US$21.4 billion), analysts warned the explosion of pent-up demand might not be sustainable, with the next leg of the economic recovery set to be more arduous.

Around 274 million people travelled over the Labour Day or May Day holiday, which concluded on Wednesday, with the figure reaching 119 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as tourists flocked to attractions after China lifted its last remaining virus restrictions at the start of the year.

 . . .

“The next leg of consumption recovery will rely on higher income growth and improved consumer confidence, which will make the recovery model more sustainable.

“The pro-growth policy stance signalled from April Politburo meeting suggests policymakers are working on this front.”