英语新闻丨Mianyang proposes 4.5-day flexible work trial

To comprehensively enhance residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the city of Mianyang in Southwest China's Sichuan Province has proposed piloting a 4.5-day flexible workweek system, encouraging eligible regions to implement a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model.为全面提升居民消费能力和市场活力，位于中国西南部的四川省绵阳市提出试行4.5天弹性工作制，鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午+周末”2.5天的休假模式。The Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau recently issued the 2025 work plan for the city's consumption revitalization initiative, proposing seven core actions comprising 29 specific measures to enhance local residents' consumption capacity and market vitality, the Xinhua News Agency reported.据新华社报道，绵阳市商务局近日印发了《绵阳市提振消费专项行动2025年工作清单》，提出了七大核心行动，共29项具体措施，旨在提升居民消费能力和市场活力。The sixth action focuses on the optimization of consumption environments with the implementation of leave initiatives, said the report.报道称，第六项行动重点是优化消费环境，落实休假举措。Relevant departments are asked to ensure full implementation of annual leave and paid leave systems, encourage flexible scheduling for companies and promote simultaneous leaves for couples, Xinhua reported.据新华社报道，要求有关部门确保全面落实年休假和带薪休假制度，鼓励企业灵活安排工作时间，并推行夫妻双方同步休假。Notably, the plan also advocates for a 4.5-day flexible workweek and encourages eligible regions to adopt a "Friday afternoon plus weekend" 2.5-day leave model, per Xinhua.值得注意的是，据新华社报道，该方案还倡导每周4.5天弹性工作制，并鼓励符合条件的地区实行“周五下午加周末”2.5天的带薪休假模式。An official from the Mianyang Municipal Commerce Bureau, who requested to remain anonymous, told the Global Times on Monday that, as the lead authority for consumption promotion, the bureau proposed the model as an exploratory initiative under the framework of implementing central and provincial government policies to boost consumption.绵阳市商务局一位不愿透露姓名的官员周一向《环球时报》表示，作为消费促进工作的牵头部门，该局提出该模式是在落实中央和省级促进消费政策框架下的一项探索性举措。The proposal quickly became a trending topic on social media platform Sina Weibo, generating 210 million views and 55,000 discussions by 1 pm Monday. Many netizens expressed hopes for province-wide implementation.该方案迅速成为社交媒体平台新浪微博的热门话题，截至周一下午1点，阅读量已达2.1亿次，讨论量达5.5万次。许多网友表示希望该方案能在全省范围内推广。A Mianyang resident surnamed Yang told the Global Times that extended weekends would allow more leisurely travel. "It takes about five hours to drive from Mianyang to the Siguniang Mountain scenic area, which is equivalent to half a day," noting that an extra half day would mean the sightseeing time wouldn't be so rushed, and they could better enjoy the local scenery.一位姓杨的绵阳居民告诉《环球时报》，延长周末将使人们有更多时间享受休闲旅行。“从绵阳开车到四姑娘山景区大概需要5个小时，相当于半天时间。”他表示，多出半天时间，观光时间就不会那么紧张，可以更好地欣赏当地的风景。A Chengdu-based employee surnamed Xu, whose child currently lives in Mianyang, said that he currently drives to Mianyang every Saturday morning and returns to Chengdu Sunday afternoon, adding that, excluding travel time, he and his wife only have about a day to spend with their child.一位目前在成都工作、孩子住在绵阳的徐性员工表示，自己现在每周六早上开车去绵阳，周日下午返回成都。除去路上的时间，他和妻子能陪伴孩子的时间只有一天左右。"The time is really short, just when we start to get close to our child, we have to head back," Xu said, expressing a strong hope that this initiative can be further implemented, so that he can spend more time with his child.“时间真的太短了，刚刚和孩子亲近一点，就得离开了。”徐先生说，他非常希望这项举措能够进一步落实，这样他就能有更多时间陪伴孩子了。However, some netizens question the practical implementation of this initiative, wondering whether it will be put into effect and whether implementing this initiative in some public service institutions would cause an inconvenience.然而，一些网友对这项举措的具体实施情况提出了质疑，他们担心这项举措是否会真正落地，以及在一些公共服务机构实施这项举措是否会造成不便。The official from the bureau clarified that the specific implementation rules for the 2.5-day weekend leave have not yet been introduced. 该局负责人澄清，周末2.5天休假的具体实施细则尚未出台。"We need to combine specific circumstances and conduct discussions and research with other departments," the official noted.“我们需要结合具体情况，与其他部门进行讨论研究。”该工作人员指出。The 2.5-day weekend initiative is not novel in China. Over the past years, more than 10 provinces including North China's Hebei Province, East China's Jiangxi Province and Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality have proposed similar initiatives, China Central Television (CCTV) News reported.周末2.5天休假在中国并非新鲜事。据中国中央电视台（CCTV）新闻报道，过去几年，包括河北省、江西省和重庆市在内的10多个省份都提出了类似的举措。According to the report, Longnan in Gansu Province also encouraged that all administrative and public institutions should facilitate Friday afternoon leave for officials and employees after essential services, provided they complete required working hours through schedule adjustments, CCTV News reported.据报道，甘肃省陇南市也鼓励所有行政事业单位，在通过调整作息时间完成规定工作时间的前提下，为干部职工提供周五下午的休假。Professor Yang Haiyang, dean of the Research Institute of Social Development at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, said that reducing working hours is an inevitable trend of social and economic development and civilizational progress, but its promotion needs to be combined with practical conditions to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach, according to the People's Daily.西南财经大学社会发展研究院院长杨海洋教授在接受《人民日报》采访时表示，缩短工作时间是社会经济发展和文明进步的必然趋势，但推广时应结合实际情况，避免“一刀切”。flexible workweek弹性工作周municipal/mjuːˈnɪsɪpl/adj.市政的；地方政府的leave model休假模式one-size-fits-alladj.一刀切的