Starting from January 2025, public holidays will be extended by two days as per revised measures on holiday arrangements unveiled by the State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Tuesday.

The Spring Festival holiday will be extended from the previous three days to four days, including the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year on Jan 28, while the May Day holiday will be increased from one day to two days, with May 2 newly added, according to the latest measures.

A new provision was added to the measures, stipulating that public holidays can be arranged to combine with adjacent weekends or paid annual leave to form longer holiday periods.

After the adjustment, the Spring Festival holiday next year will span eight days, starting from Lunar New Year's Eve, and the May Day holiday will be observed with a five-day holiday.

The time off will include days off that people will get for working additional days before and after the holidays to compensate for the long breaks.

For example, for Spring Festival, Jan 26 and Feb 8 will be the make-up days. People will need to report to work on both of these days, which will allow them to enjoy a longer holiday period of eight days instead of just the four.

In addition to the New Year's Day holiday that falls on Jan 1, the Tomb-Sweeping Day and Duanwu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival, will each have a three-day holiday. The Mid-Autumn Festival overlaps with the National Day holiday next year, so the period will be extended to eight days beginning on Oct 1.

In response to public concerns about the additional working days to compensate for the long holiday breaks, the revised measures stipulated that the working days surrounding national holidays generally won't exceed six consecutive days, except in rare cases.

The new measures will come into effect on Jan 1, the State Council said.