Chinese workers will get one more paid day off each year if a draft amendment to the country's statutory holiday law is approved. A copy of the draft was published today.

The three-day May Day holiday will be cut to one day, while the Tomb-sweeping Festival, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival will become national holidays, according to the draft, which was released by the central government's office in charge of national holidays. That would raise the number of paid holiday days to 11 days from the current 10 days.

The Spring Festival break will begin on lunar New Year's Eve instead of the first day of the New Year, and the holiday will end one day earlier, the draft said.

The government is seeking public opinions on the draft and people can vote on China's major Websites such as Xinhuanet.com, Sina.com and People.com.

The Tomb-sweeping Festival, or the Qingming, which usually falls on April 4 or 5, was established by an emperor in memory of a loyal official who sacrificed himself to save the monarch's life more than 2,500 years ago.

The day gradually became a traditional time for paying homage to departed ancestors.

The Dragon Boat Festival has been celebrated for thousands of years to commemorate Qu Yuan, a poet who lived in the state of Chu during the Warring States period (475 BC-221 BC). He drowned himself in the Miluo River in today's Hunan Province in 278 BC, on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, hoping his death would alert the king to revitalize the kingdom.

The tradition arose that on the day of his death dragon boat races would be held and people should eat zongzi, glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves.

The Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar, is considered an occasion for a reunion of family members and loved ones.

The festival was flavored by the legend of Chang'e, a "lonely fairy on the moon." According to legend, she was the beautiful wife of Hou Yi, a hero who shot down nine suns that scorched Earth. He was slain by his apprentice Feng Meng. Threatened by the murderer, Chang'e drank an elixir and "flew to the moon."

Chinese people currently have 10 days of national holidays. Three days each are given for the May Day, National Day and Spring Festival breaks, with one day for New Year's Day.

The weekends on one side of the first three holidays are designated as two working days, and people enjoy two days off on the working days, making the holidays seven consecutive days. Millions of Chinese travel during the holidays, thus earning them the moniker of "Golden Week."

China introduced the "Golden Week" holidays in 1999 to boost domestic consumption.

Tourism revenue soared from 14.1 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion) during the 1999 National Day holiday to 64.2 billion yuan during the recent Golden Week in October.

However, complaints about overcrowding, poor service, a scarcity of hotel rooms and damage to scenic spots, especially historic sites, during the "Golden Week" breaks have spurred debate over the merits of the weeklong holiday concept.

(Shanghai Daily November 9, 2007)