Students play sports to welcome spring
NANJING — Ten-year-old Zhang Zijian recently traded his textbooks for hiking trails. During a rare six-day break from his fourth-grade studies, he found himself deep in the scenic hills of eastern China, tracing the contours of a season in bloom rather than the lines of a chalkboard.
"For a six-day holiday, I spent five days outdoors," Zhang said. "I also picked spring tea leaves and dug bamboo shoots with friends. It was exhausting, but the experience felt fresh and rewarding."
Zhang's holiday is part of a burgeoning national experiment. Following a recent government work report suggesting that regions with "suitable conditions" introduce spring and autumn breaks, provinces including Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Sichuan and Hunan have rolled out three-day spring holidays.
This year, by aligning these breaks with the Qingming Festival from April 4 to 6, authorities created a six-day "window" specifically designed to pull families out of the city and into the wild. The initiative echoes winter "snow holidays" introduced in some northern regions, where students are encouraged to take to the ski slopes. In spring, the classroom now gives way to open fields and forested paths, as young people flock to hiking, cycling, frisbee and other outdoor pursuits, sweating freely under soft sunlight.
Local authorities have leaned into the momentum. Jiangsu's provincial sports bureau unveiled a slate of student-friendly spring itineraries featuring kayaking, cycling and simulated combat games, with a kite-flying carnival in Yangcheng drawing more than 1,000 families.
Farther south in Guizhou, youth sports events during the break included football, basketball and volleyball competitions alongside martial arts, rock climbing and roller skating, with tens of thousands taking part.
Schools in Anhui's Huainan wove spring excursions and sports meets into their holiday schedules, encouraging family-oriented activities such as group rope-skipping and tug-of-war.
The push comes amid concern over nearsightedness and obesity among Chinese youth. With its mild weather, spring is widely seen as an ideal season for exercise that can boost cardiovascular health, build strength and improve coordination.
Even in cities like Beijing, where a formal spring break is still under discussion, the Qingming holiday saw a surge in "tactile learning", with children venturing into the mountains for foraging, tree climbing and slacklining.
In the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, middle school students are being encouraged to combine exercise with cultural learning by practicing traditional grassland sports such as wrestling and archery.
Public sports facilities have also expanded access. Across Jiangsu, venues have extended hours and offer free or discounted entry for students. At the Nanjing Olympic Sports Center, selected tennis courts, badminton halls and swimming pools opened free of charge to young visitors during the break.
Beyond physical benefits, the spring break policy is also seen as a step further to ease academic and psychological pressure.
Schools were encouraged not to assign written homework during the holiday, while group tutoring and off-campus training were strictly restricted. "Without homework, my child just comes out to play football," said Nanjing resident Wang Junjun, watching from the sidelines. "As long as he's happy and healthy, we parents are happy too."
Experts say the push dovetails with broader nationwide efforts to promote school sports, which now mandate no fewer than two hours of daily physical activity for primary and middle school students.
"Holidays like this do more than improve children's well-being," said Wang Shuhua, a researcher at the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences."They also stimulate the integration of sports and tourism, encourage spending on sporting equipment, and energize the broader sports economy. Some regions are already preparing to introduce autumn breaks as well."
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