On a recent spring night, nearly a thousand drones took flight simultaneously at a college in southwest China's Sichuan Province, lighting up the sky with messages like "set aside studies and work" and "savor our nation's beauty" in announcing an upcoming seven-day break.

"It was definitely a surprise when I first learned about the additional break. Most of us choose to travel with friends," said a student at Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Civil Aviation.

Such spring breaks are now popular among Chinese schools and universities, as it provides more opportunities for students to connect with nature and engage in hands-on learning, while also unleashing great consumption vitality for the country.

Traditionally, besides public holidays, students in China have only had breaks in summer and winter. Now, however, many higher education institutions, such as Renmin University of China in Beijing, allow students to enjoy extra breaks.

Notably, additional breaks are becoming increasingly common for younger Chinese students as well. In March, Chinese authorities issued an action plan, encouraging regions with suitable conditions to implement spring and autumn breaks for primary and secondary schools based on local realities, with such breaks forming part of efforts to stimulate tourism-related consumption.

To date, the plan has received positive responses from over a thousand schools in at least 12 provincial regions.

In Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, a total of 310 students from Yuyan Middle School recently enjoyed an additional five-day holiday, going on a journey to explore history and science at sites like the Museum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Zhuhai Aerospace Land. "While others are stuck in classrooms, we're out enjoying ourselves," a student said excitedly.

According to the school, the break was a pilot program for seventh-grade students only, but it may be expanded to include other non-graduating grades next semester.

The implementation of this plan has enjoyed broad public support. A 2024 online survey showed that 71.3 percent of respondents backed the idea of spring breaks for primary, secondary and college students. Many parents are particularly supportive of the new policy.

The mother of an elementary school student in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, said she plans her work schedule ahead of time each year, arranging leave during her child's spring break for family trips. During last year's spring break, they traveled to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China, while this year they will visit the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, experiencing its beauty by boat.

Such arrangements are common among primary and secondary school parents in Hangzhou. As a result, the city's major transport hubs experience a surge in travelers around the spring and autumn breaks.

On April 28, 2024, the first day of Hangzhou's spring break last year, the city's international airport reported 904 scheduled flights, with an estimated 140,000 passengers -- an over 10 percent increase from the previous week. Among the outbound travelers, families with children were a major group.

In China's tourism market, family travel is rapidly emerging as a strong consumption force. According to Trip.com, China's leading online travel platform, family travel accounted for 28 percent of all travelers in 2023, with total travel bookings by this group surging 186 percent year on year.

As the first Chinese city to introduce spring and autumn holidays for students, Hangzhou has been refining the system over the past two decades. "Overall, public feedback has been positive, with parents responding favorably," said Tu Xiaodan, an official in charge of basic education at Hangzhou's education bureau.

These additional holidays help reduce academic pressure on students while enabling families to travel during off-peak periods. "This improves holiday quality and strengthens parent-child bonds," Tu said, adding that in recent years, many officials from other regions have come to learn about the implementation of spring and autumn breaks in Hangzhou.

Cities and schools exploring such seasonal breaks should plan them carefully -- taking economy, climate and other factors into consideration, emphasized Luo Caijun, principal of Hangzhou Maiyuqiao Elementary School. "Adopting different vacation periods is essential in fulfilling the purpose of establishing the additional breaks," he said.

This off-peak travel approach effectively addresses the "tidal effect" in holiday economies, unlocks family spending power, and ensures more sustainable tourism market growth throughout the year.

Additionally, this institutional reform transcends mere adjustments to vacation schedules, as it represents an evolution in educational philosophy and an optimization of public policy frameworks in China.

"Education is not just about classrooms and books. It can happen in museums, libraries and in nature, too. Seasonal breaks are a vital upgrade to China's education model," said Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy.

The inclusion of these breaks in the action plan chapter on protecting rest and vacation rights, alongside measures like strictly enforcing paid annual leave and prohibiting illegal extension of working hours, sends a strong signal of emphasizing the protection of leisure rights, he added. 

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