China is considering removing two of its three annual Golden Week holidays and replacing them with flexible, paid annual leave for all workers. The two nationwide week-long holidays that may be scrapped are Labour Day and National Day. The third Golden Week is the Lunar New Year.

Former premier Zhu Rongji launched the Golden Week holidays in October 1999 to stimulate domestic consumption to help offset the impact of the Asian financial crisis.

The State Council, or cabinet, recently convened a conference to discuss the feasibility of scrapping the holidays.

Officials of the National Tourism Administration, the Ministry of Railways, the Civil Administration of Civil Aviation and the National Development and Reform Commission attended.

Travellers have no shortage of horror stories about the holidays. Service deteriorates, they say, restaurants and scenic spots become unpleasantly crowded, and hotel room rates soar.

The disadvantages of fixed holidays have come to outweigh the advantages. As travellers became more experienced, they were more and more reluctant to travel during golden weeks.