BEIJING, March 26 (Reuters) - China ordered provincial governments on Thursday to stick to the central holiday schedule, dashing plans by southern Guangdong to restore a week-long break that coincides with May Day.
The export hub of Guangdong planned to reinstitute the holiday in the hope that tourist spending would help the beleaguered province fight the economic downturn.
The manufacturing centre has been particularly hurt by the international economic downturn, with February marking China's fourth straight month of declining exports.
But the State Council, or cabinet, was not having any of it.
"No local governments are permitted to revise the arrangement," it said on the central government website (www.gov.cn), without explaining why.
The May "golden week" holiday, introduced in 1999, was one of three such week-long holidays in China. It was cancelled last year and replaced by a series of one-day holidays for May 1 and for three traditional festivals, much to the displeasure of many Chinese who count on the long holidays for travel.
Several other provinces and cities had been planning to restore the holiday after Guangdong, according to media reports> (Reporting by Yu Le; Editing by Nick Macfie)