Editor's profile:

Eva Molaro has lived in China for nearly 20 years and has developed a deep love for Chinese culture, art, and language. Married to a Chinese designer and mother of two, she is committed to serving society by fostering an environment that benefits both the local community and her children’s future. Through storytelling, art, and meaningful exchange, Eva builds bridges between cultures, promoting understanding, collaboration, and mutual respect.

I received a rather curious phone call from my children's school the other day. The person on the other end of the line asked whether I would agree to my children having five consecutive days off this month as a holiday.

"What holidays?" I asked, trying to remember whether I had somehow overlooked another Chinese festival on the calendar.

"Autumn Holidays," came the reply. "The authorities are trying to help parents spend more quality time with their children and give children an opportunity to relax and enjoy themselves."

Well, I thought, who can say no to a holiday after all?

But while the prospect of an unexpected five-day break was certainly welcome, it also raised a few questions. What exactly are these Autumn Holidays, why have they been introduced, and are they here to stay? And didn't Lidong (立冬), the Beginning of Winter, just pass the other day? How can we still be celebrating autumn?

The Autumn Holiday, or qiujia (秋假), is part of China's emerging spring-and-autumn school holiday system. Rather than simply adding extra days off at the expense of teaching time, the idea is to redistribute the academic calendar, giving students a short break around the middle of each semester while keeping the overall number of teaching weeks unchanged.

The national policy push gathered momentum on September 16, 2025, when the Ministry of Commerce and eight other government departments jointly issued measures encouraging local governments to explore spring and autumn holidays for primary and secondary school students. The initiative was part of a broader effort to improve the arrangement of school holidays, taking into account local climates, work schedules and the implementation of employees' paid annual leave.

Importantly, the policy also has an economic dimension. By creating more opportunities for families to travel outside the traditional peak holiday periods, authorities hope to stimulate tourism, cultural activities and other forms of service consumption. At the same time, the initiative aims to help parents better coordinate their work schedules with their children's school holidays, making it easier for families to spend quality time together.

Hainan followed suit in April 2026, when the provincial education authorities and 11 other departments issued guidelines introducing three-day spring and autumn breaks for compulsory education schools, namely primary and junior secondary schools. Kindergartens and senior high schools are encouraged to follow the initiative, too. The breaks are generally scheduled around the middle of the spring and autumn semesters, with local governments deciding the precise dates according to regional circumstances and school calendars. This means that not every city or county in Hainan necessarily observes the holidays at the same time.

The underlying idea is about more than simply giving students a few extra days away from their desks. Authorities hope the breaks will help improve children's physical and mental well-being, ease the rhythm of an otherwise demanding school year, and encourage them to step outside the classroom, get closer to nature and gain experience through social and practical activities.

For Haikou families, the first autumn break of the new system comes in November. Schools have scheduled the break from November 18 to 20, with the weekend immediately following, November 21 and 22, extending the holiday to five consecutive days.

Of course, an extra school break also presents a practical challenge: what happens when children are off school but their parents still have to work? This is certainly a question that policymakers and schools will need to keep in mind as the system develops. Some local arrangements are already addressing the issue. In Sanya, for example, the official arrangements provide for voluntary, school-based childcare for families in need, with activities such as sports, arts and science rather than regular academic lessons. Such provisions, however, depend on local arrangements and should not be assumed to be available in every school across the province.

And what about the name? Lidong, one of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms, fell on November 7 this year, marking the beginning of winter in the traditional Chinese calendar. So technically, winter has already arrived. However, the name Autumn Holiday refers to the autumn school term rather than the precise seasonal calendar.

The more immediate question for parents is what to do with five precious days. A staycation at one of the island's resorts? A road trip exploring Hainan's many destinations? A dip in the ocean, or perhaps a longer jump somewhere on the Chinese mainland or abroad?

Whatever the choice, the new break offers a welcome opportunity to slow down, spend time together and let children discover something beyond the classroom. Now, if only we could persuade the adults' work calendars to follow the same school timetable!