Every year in late April, students at Renmin University of China become the subjects of admiration and jealousy of their peers on other campuses in Beijing. Why? Because they get a week off in the middle of term, the so-called spring break.
每年四月末，中国人民大学的学生总能成为京城其他高校学子们羡慕和嫉妒的对象。原因何在？因为他们拥有一周的期中“春假”。
“It’s been a unique tradition of our school for a decade,” said Wang Yueran, 20, a journalism major at Renmin University, who organized a weeklong trip to Sichuan with 12 classmates last year.
“我们学校的这项独特传统已有十年的历史了。”人大新闻系学生、20岁的王悦然（音译）说。去年春假期间，她和12位同学一起组织了一次为期一周的四川之行。
But having fun is just one dimension of the spring break. Field trips, voluntary work, and social projects are all on students’ to-do lists. Experts say the spring break is not just for students to enjoy a few days off, but for them to gain new experiences beyond the campus walls.
而吃喝玩乐仅仅是春假的一个方面。学生的任务清单还包括校外实习、志愿工作、社会实践等等。专家称，春假不仅是为了让学生享受数日清闲，更是要让他们走出象牙塔外，体验新事物。
Push them out
将学生推向社会
The traditional Chinese belief of the exploration of knowledge and truth emphasizes “reading 10,000 books and traveling 10,000 miles”， which indicates the importance of experience as much as theory. But while Chinese universities have the tradition of spring outings, what’s the benefit of making spring break an institution?
对于探索知识和真理，中国传统观念强调：“读万卷书，行万里路。”这说明经验与理论同等重要。尽管中国大学素有春游传统，但春假制度又能带来哪些益处呢？
Qin Jianguo, of the student affairs office at Shenzhen University, thinks the idea of the spring break in some universities in China comes from the intention of pushing students out of the ivory tower to experience more diversity in their lives.
来自深圳大学学生事务服务中心的秦建国（音译）认为，一些国内高校之所以“试水”春假制度，目的是让学生走出象牙塔，去经历多彩生活。
“Take traveling for example. A week traveling is a very different experience to a one- or two-day outing,” said Qin. “Students are expected to acquire the spirit of teamwork and compromise, and learn survival and communication skills when put out there in an unfamiliar context.”
“以旅游为例。一周的旅行与一两天的短途游玩是完全不同的两种体验，”秦建国说。“学生需要具备团队协作精神，学会在陌生环境中的生存和交流技能。”
Diverse approaches
多姿多彩的春假文化
Many countries have similar vacations in the middle of the semester for students to do things out of their own interest. Taking Japan as an example, instead of partying like their US counterparts, many Japanese students choose to work as interns or engage in study-related projects.
很多国家也会推行类似的期中春假制度，以便学生去从事自己感兴趣的活动。比如：与美国学生春假期间派对不断有所不同，在日本，许多学生会选择去实习或从事项目研究。
“The spring break is an opportunity for many of our students to put their learning to use,” said Hiroshi Kanno, dean of the Graduate School of International Corporate Strategy at Hitotsubashi University, in the school’s description of a recent spring break project.
“春假是一个契机，学生们可以借此机会将理论付诸实践。”日本一桥大学国际企业策略研究院院长菅野博史在该校最新春假计划概述中指出。
As for Chinese students who take a week off around the Labor Day holiday, many tend to do volunteer work. Duan Zhipeng, a 22-year-old economics major at Renmin University, applied for a project to go back to his hometown in Jiangxi province to introduce his university’s enrollment policies and campus culture to local high school students.
很多中国学生会享有长达一周的五一假期，而他们中的许多人会利用这段时间来参加志愿活动。人民大学经济系学生、22岁的段志鹏（音译）便申请参加了一项义务活动：回到江西老家，向当地高中生介绍人大的招生政策和校园文化。
Not a trend yet
未成“气候”
Apart from Renmin University, only a few other universities, such as Yantai University, have a spring break for their students. The concept in China is still far from the culture and norms built around it in the US.
除了人民大学之外，只有烟台大学等几所高校正在推行春假制度。与美国的春假文化及习俗相比，中国的春假还有很长一段路要走。
Wei Xiang, a professor specializing in holiday economics at Beijing International Studies University, said that the spring break is a good experiment for universities to make study schedules smoother in order to give students more options to arrange their own leisure and study activities.
北京第二外国语学院中国闲暇经济研究中心的魏翔教授认为，春假是国内高校在改进学生课程安排方面一次不错的尝试，可以在休闲与课业安排上，为学生提供更多选择。
