Tourists visit the Shenyang Palace Museum in Shenyang, Liaoning province, on Oct 2, 2023. [Photo/VCG]
Topics related to May Day are trending as the holiday approaches. Many are grumbling that the holiday will last just three days, for which they will have to sacrifice a day each from the weekend before and after.
Public holidays mean a lot to people, so anything related to holidays naturally garners a lot of attention. It is worth noting that developing countries, generally constrained by economic and social development, often find it difficult to mandate more paid holidays, with private businesses particularly lacking the initiative to do so. In this context, public holidays ensure the rights of workers to rest.
Compared with other countries or regions, China has 11 public holidays every year, similar to countries such as France and Italy. However, China's statutory paid leave of 5-15 days is not optimum in terms of overall duration, and there is still room for improvement in terms of structure, with problems also in the implementation process.
For example, on the basis of a nationally unified public holiday system, it is reasonable to explore the possibility of increasing the stock of public holidays on a case-by-case basis. Reference can be made to the situation in some ethnic minority areas.
Authorized by the National Holidays and Memorial Day Holiday Regulations, ethnic minority autonomous regions have unique public holidays. For example, Xizang has a unique New Year public holiday according to the Tibetan calendar, while ethnic minority areas in Yunnan province, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Sichuan province and other regions have their own distinct public holidays.
Some other regions also have their own traditions and cultures that need to be further promoted. If more regions in China can increase their unique and local public holidays according to their specific circumstances, it will help alleviate the current concentration effect of unified holiday time and promote the healthy development of tourism consumption.
Of course, the ultimate solution lies in increasing the amount of paid leave and ensuring its implementation. In this process, more opportunities for participation should be provided to the public and various stakeholders. With diversified participants, holiday policy decisions can be more scientific and reasonable, gaining broader understanding and acceptance, thus enhancing the public's holiday experience.
