The Possible End of the Golden Weeks

Could you imagine only having a mere three weeks a year to vacation, one week in spring, one in the fall and one in the winter? This is how the Chinese vacation, and many feel that after there vacation they need yet another week or so to regroup following the traveling hassle. With China's current population currently standing at 1.3 billion it seems hard to imagine how anyone could get a vacation with everyone traveling at once. The LA Times article stated that sometimes two or three people will vie for the same seat, with people across the country making the pilgrimage back to their hometowns. Many citizens refer to these weeks as "hell weeks" and even officials are looking into ways that will allow for less complications. Recently, officials have considered the idea of a long-weekend (an American favorite), therefore allowing the citizens more freedom. From an economic standpoint, there would be constant production instead of the traditional decrease in production during the three weeks that everyone is on vacation. There are also environmental implications that are being considered such as; people flocking to the national parks and monuments. This new change would also cause changes in the holiday calendar, giving Chinese citizens 11 days off instead of 10 days. Citizens have mixed reviews, with many considering the tradition that will be lost, and as the article stated it is very difficult to change the habits of over a billion people. Whatever the outcome, any major change is going to be a process.