One of the best perks of working as a foreign national in China is that you can usually double-dip all the major holidays. The U.S. Embassy, for example, observes both Chinese and U.S. holidays. When I was at the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing (an NGO), we stuck to the Chinese calendar but major U.S. holidays provided an excuse for a half-day, or at least an office party. Getting one week each for the Lunar New Year, May Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day was sufficient consolation for having an unorthodox Thanksgiving and Christmas.
There is a catch, however, for Chinese employees. At least a portion of one's vacation time needs to be paid back, typically over the subsequent weekend. This was the case when I taught English at Liaoning University in Shenyang, a large but obscure city in northeastern China. My students loved that I ignored the make-up requirements. Call it civil disobedience, but my thinking was that a holiday was just that and any attempts to offset the loss of productivity were themselves counterproductive. I had the same attitude while with the Chamber, but our deadline-driven projects meant that I was in the office for at least a part of most weekends, holiday or not.
Things get really tricky when the lunar calendar (which sets most of the traditional Chinese holidays) and the Gregorian calendar (which marks the National Day of October 1, among others) conflict to create an on-again/off-again work schedule that can confuse even the staunchest bureaucrat.
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