中国两座城市正式实行周末2.5天休假

Government employees in two Chinese cities can now enjoy 2.5 days' weekly leave, twice a month, starting from April 1.

中国两座城市的机关事业单位工作人员自4月1日起，每月可以享受两次2.5天的周末。

Jinzhong in north China's Shanxi Province and Ji'an in east China's Jiangxi Province, are the first in China to adopt a new policy which encourages people to take Friday afternoons off to make a longer weekend.

中国北部的山西省晋中市和中国东部的江西省吉安市成为全国第一批采取这一新政策的城市。该新政策鼓励人们每周五下午休息，从而拥有一个较长的周末假期。

The change comes after the central government issued a document on promoting tourism, which called on local authorities to allow flexible work schedules to give employees more weekend vacation time.

这一转变是在中央政府出台促进旅游业发展的文件后开始的。该文件呼吁当地政府允许弹性工作计划，让员工有更多的周末假期。

Giving further details, the National Tourism Administration said the 2.5 days weekly leave policy would not involve a cut in working hours, as time could be made up on other days, guaranteeing a 40-hour working week.

国家旅游局进一步解释称，2.5天的休假政策将不会使得工作时间减少，因为其他工作日的时间可以用来弥补并保证每周40小时的工作时间。

The new policy applies to people working for government departments as well as some public institutions.

据悉，这项新政策适用于在政府部门工作的人员，也适用于一些事业单位。

The local authorities in Jinzhong and Ji'an have promised the new system won't affect the availability of their services for the public on Friday afternoons.

晋中和吉安两市的地方政府已经承诺，新政策的实施不会影响到周五下午公众服务的可用性。