An unofficial version of what could be the 2016 public holiday calendar is making the rounds online, but might be too good to be true to represent the official days off.
What’s too good about it? The lack of make-up days. Overall, it conforms to the spirit of the 2015 calendar, with the longest unbroken working stretch standing at seven days. Make-up days are a sore point with many workers in Beijing, but then again, week-long official holidays are uncommon anywhere else in the world, and China has two of them.
While we’ll have to wait for the traditionally sanctioned very last minute to get the official version of the calendar (it is usually delivered by the powers-that-be in mid to late December), it hasn’t stopped more forward-thinking companies and individuals from getting a jump on their holiday planning.
Here we break the unofficial Year of the Monkey dates down based on believability:
January 1-3: The new year kicks off on a Friday, and adding the weekend to it to make a “three-day holiday” makes perfect sense. 2016 started on a Thursday with that day and Friday off, but with everyone returning to work on Monday, January 4. Seems legit. Our verdict: probable.
February 7-13: Spring Festival/Chinese New Year begins on the night of February 7, and results in a seven-day, inclusive holiday, with everyone going back to work on … you guessed it, Valentine’s Day. which is a Sunday. We can hear the groans from the F&B community already. Sounds about right. February 6, a Saturday, would be a make-up work day. Our verdict: probable.
April 3-5: Qingming/Tomb Sweeping Festival is the first of a run of three spring long weekends. This one is set for Sunday, April 3-5, with Saturday, April 2, as a workday. Our verdict: probable.
May 1-3: May 1/Labor Day holiday is on a Sunday in 2016, plus two additional days. Make it up on April 30. Our verdict: deffo.
June 9-11: Duan Wu Jie or Dragon Boat Festival falls Thursday through Saturday, with a make-up on Sunday. Our verdict: yes.
September 15-17: Another Thursday through Saturday event, Mid-Autumn Festival only got us one day last year, but then of course there was the September 3-5 “victory over fascism” surprise. This one will happen. Our verdict: bank on it.
October 1-7: We know this one will happen. October 8-9 are Saturday and Sunday, respectively, perfect to kick off seven uninterrupted days of work. Our verdict: most certainly.
So while the calendar is unofficial, and we won’t pay for any airline tickets until the official one is released later this month, it looks credible. Plan your holidays and other events at your own risk.
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Photo: cutearoo.com, the Beijinger
