A college in China has issued an unconventional message to its students: put away the textbooks and focus on finding romance during spring break.
The Sichuan Southwest Vocational College of Aviation announced on its official WeChat platform that the theme for their upcoming spring holiday will be “See the flowers and enjoy romance.” The break runs from April 1 through April 6.
This directive, posted on Tuesday, represents a departure from China’s traditionally academic-focused culture and comes roughly two weeks after the country announced plans to add spring and fall breaks to the school calendar alongside existing summer and winter holidays.
The romance-focused break is part of broader government efforts to increase domestic tourism and consumer spending among China’s 1.4 billion residents. Officials are also implementing staggered paid leave policies to spread out travel throughout the year rather than concentrating it during peak seasons.
Multiple regions are rolling out similar spring break programs, with provinces like Sichuan and Jiangsu, plus cities including Suzhou and Nanjing, scheduling their breaks for April or early May.
Behind these initiatives lies a more serious concern: China’s declining birth rates. The country’s population decreased for the fourth straight year in 2025, with birth rates hitting historic lows that experts predict will continue falling.
Chinese officials released additional guidelines on Tuesday aimed at creating more “child-friendly cities” through improved public services covering education, healthcare, transportation, sports, and entertainment facilities.
James Liang, who co-founded the Chinese travel platform Trip and works as a demographics researcher, supports these new policies but says more action is needed.
“Society needs to have enough time and money to raise children,” Liang stated. He emphasized that “Greater efforts are needed to educate young people on the social and personal benefits of raising larger families.”
Liang suggested the government should create more comprehensive support systems by redistributing resources and increasing financial aid for families.
