Primary and secondary school students in Zhejiang Province took their first statutory autumn break in November 2025, marking a new holiday period for the region [1]. Sichuan Province and Foshan city in Guangdong Province also held their inaugural autumn breaks from November 12 to 14, 2025 [1]. Earlier in June 2025, Jiangsu Province issued a notice encouraging the pilot designation of spring and autumn breaks around major holidays to boost consumption. [1]
The introduction of these breaks led to significant tourism activity. Tourist attractions in Zhejiang and Sichuan implemented visitor flow controls as visitor numbers neared or reached capacity during the autumn break period in early November 2025 [1]. In Sichuan, bookings for scenic spot tickets, air tickets, and hotels increased sharply. Overall ticket bookings jumped 3.4 times year-on-year and 1.4 times compared to five days before the holiday. Flights departing from Chengdu rose 22 percent week-on-week during the breaks [1].
Online search popularity for travel products in many Sichuan areas surged by more than 50 percent year-on-year during this time [1]. These figures reflected growing demand for travel during the new autumn holiday periods.
Jiang Yiyi, a professor at the School of Leisure Sports and Tourism at Beijing Sport University, said these flexible leave policies help stimulate tourism by allowing families to avoid peak travel periods. "Spring and autumn breaks reflect flexible leave arrangements, enabling people to organize vacation plans better," Jiang said [1]. The professor added that spring and autumn are ideal seasons for student outings, and combining study with travel through educational trips complements classroom learning and deepens students’ understanding [1].
The autumn breaks in these provinces represent an effort to provide more balanced school holiday scheduling and to encourage domestic tourism. Visitor flow management measures at popular destinations helped control crowding during the peak travel windows in Zhejiang and Sichuan [1].
