China's State Council marked up the official calendar yesterday with the holiday schedule for next year.

Here's the rundown, with the usual mix of weekend work to string out the vacation time:

The 2005 New Year holiday will run from January 1 through 3. As the New Year falls on Saturday, most people will have off from work on Monday, January 3.

The Chinese lunar New Year will go from February 9 to 15. Workers will have to be on the job the previous weekend, February 5 and 6, so they can have a weeklong break.

The Golden Week for the May 1 Labor Day holiday will run from May 1 to 7. People will need to work on April 30, a Saturday, and business will resume on May 8, a Sunday.

For next year's National Day, the time off goes from October 1 to 7. Vacationers will need to return to their jobs on the weekend of October 8 and 9, giving them a nine-day work week.

(Shanghai Daily December 21, 2004)