Longer Spring Festival holiday elicits cheers for travel

Chinese people will embrace a longer Spring Festival holiday next year after the State Council released the holiday arrangement on Wednesday morning, which soon made headlines online.

According to China's Cabinet, the Spring Festival holiday — the traditional Chinese festival for family reunions — will last eight days from Feb 10 to Feb 17. It is also encouraging government bodies and companies to give employees paid leave on Feb 9, the Eve of Lunar New Year.

The holiday may be extended to nine days including the flexible one-day paid vacation, making it longer than the usual seven days of previous years.