Pencil this in: Your 2010 Chinese holiday schedule

Need a break? Ask ye shall receive. The government has released the 2010 Chinese national holiday schedule. The powers that be in the Middle Kingdom are gracing China’s 1.4 billion people with 11 official holidays and a pared down two Golden Weeks.

Spring Festival runs over Valentines Day this year, spanning from February 13-19. In true Chinese holiday style, people will come back to work on Saturday, February 20 and Sunday, February 21 to make-up for having time off.

The National Holiday Golden Week runs from October 1-7, with Sunday, September 26 and Saturday, October 9 designated work-on-weekend days. If you're not heading out of town, this is the time to check out the 2010 Shanghai Expo before it closes on October 31, 2010.

The Western New Year’s celebration is January 1-3, which essentially means everyone gets Friday off and the normal weekend ro recover. The Qingming Festival (aka Tomb-Sweeping Day) is April 3-5. Labor Day is May 1-3, and the Dragon Boat Festival is June 14-16 with people working on June 12 and June 13. Joy.

The Mid-Autunm Festival is September 22-24 (most people will have to work on Sunday, September 19 and Saturday, September 25) but at least October holiday is only a few days later.