Experts call for scrapping of mainland 'golden weeks'

As millions of mainlanders returned to work yesterday after an eight-day holiday, the debate over whether to scrap such "golden weeks" is raging on the mainland, with some holidaymakers recalling horror stories from the past week.

Many experts have called for the introduction of more paid leave to replace the second golden week holiday of the year, but others say the existing holiday arrangements can stimulate consumer spending and better protect workers rights.

State media described the just concluded eight-day golden week holiday, a day longer than usual because the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday fell on September 30, as the worst holiday week in recent years despite a drop in casualties from traffic accidents and a rise in tourism revenue.

During the week, there were 68,422 traffic accidents, killing 794 people - a 46.4 per cent drop in fatalities from last year's National Day holiday week. More than 34 million visitors were received by 119 tourist spots.

However, many major mainland cities were overloaded with tourists and many tourists in major scenic spots were stranded for hours without any food, complaining that their holiday had turned into a nightmare. The golden week arrangement, which sees millions of mainlanders take their holidays at the same time, was introduced in 1999, when the authorities wanted to boost economic growth following the Asian financial crisis.

But Cai Jiming , director of Tsinghua University's Political Economy Research Centre, said the holiday arrangement had resulted in more drawbacks than benefits.