Stir Fried China

Everyone goes back to work today in China after 7 days of forced vacation known as a Golden Week, this one for the October 1 National Day (the other two being the first week of May and Chinese New Year). To cut right to the quick, the Golden Weeks simply have to go, and China should use the 60th anniversary as a turning point where they say that this will be the last one.

The debate over whether to end the Golden Weeks has gone on for some time within China, and to be fair, it is a complicated issue. Here are the three main reasons usually given in support of the holidays.

First of all, there is an argument that without some kind of forced holidays, Chinese companies simply wouldn’t give their employees vacation time. I personally don’t think that this is the case, especially now that Chinese workers have grown accustomed to having at least 21 days of “vacation” (I’ll explain why it’s not really a vacation shortly) annually.

Secondly, there is the issue of the strain on the transportation system, mainly the railroads, but also air and bus routes. The Golden Weeks put an enormous strain on the system when they occur, but on the other hand the argument goes, if Chinese workers could choose when they went on vacation, most would go in the summer, and the system may then be strained during the peak tourist season and for a longer period of time. I can’t imagine that the strain during the summer, however, would approach anything that the Golden Weeks bring.

Third – and probably the reason that the Golden Weeks are still in place – is that they boost the economy. Real estate, cars, retail, tourism, eating out – if it involves consumer spending, these weeks have historically been very strong for sales and a way to get consumers’ money out of the banks and into the market. Basically, the Golden Weeks are like rolling all of the big US shopping days together, and the almight yuan rules the day, so this is the largest obstacle to getting these weeks trashed.

Here are main reasons why this Golden Week needs to be the last.

First of all, these “vacations” are really nothing of the sort. Workers are mandated to work either the weekend before or the weekend after (or both) in order to make up the days during the Golden Weeks that are non-national holidays or actual weekends. It’s national workshifting, and, especially as these Golden Weeks constitute the only “vacation” time that most Chinese workers receive, they are pretty much getting screwed. Even 5 days annually that they can take when they wish, would be a better deal.

Secondly, China’s cultural sites are being destroyed by the millions of people that visit popular destinations during these intense weeks. Curators have no choice but to just stay back and assess the damage and try to pick up all the trash at the end of the week. Although this problem is not exclusive to the Golden Weeks (or to China for that matter), packing in all of these people all at the same time, 3 times a year, is certainly speeding up the rate at which these sites are disappearing.

Another issue that I always thought was a bit underplayed, specifically regards the October holidays, and that is that they provide a major interruption of the school schedule only about one month into the school year. I doubt that this is a good thing.

Finally, and perhaps this in the end is the core problem with the Golden Weeks, is that they are – like too much in China – directed from on high in a way that directly interferes with both personal and corporate life. By pushing everyone to take the same weeks off, the government is taking away the choice of workers and companies to take time off when it is convenient for them, which is what vacations should be all about. People in China will still most likely take a week or more off for Chinese New Year, but that is a very deep rooted cultural holiday, not some made up workshifting holiday. By eliminating the May and October weeks of craziness, however, China will be that much more golden.