I read in China Daily that you were seeking contributions for the 13th Five-Year Plan of the People’s Republic of China. I have been working in China for a year and a half, and would like to make a very modest contribution.

First of all, let me introduce myself. I am Pierre Puskarczyk. I’m French. I’m 38 years old. I’m married and have three children. I live in Jiangsu, Nanjing, and work for the French group Saint-Gobain in Anhui, Ma’anshan.

As a French citizen, I was very surprised by the holiday system in China. France has been divided into three zones since the ’70s, with different dates for school holidays, while everybody remains on holiday at the same time for Christmas. But for winter and spring holidays, not everybody is on holiday at the same time, which helps reduce traffic jams on the roads, but also — and this is the main point — helps the tourism economy by optimizing the occupancy of the tourist structures. This is said to have a significant impact on the revenue of the tourism industry.

I would therefore suggest that China takes a similar measure, at least for the National Day holidays. I am convinced that this would have a very positive impact on the Chinese economy as well, encouraging more middle-class and urban citizens to travel and spend more, while reducing the peaks observed during those periods.