Hot weather gives extra days off to students

Health concerns prompt education officials to extend holiday period

BEIJING - While hundreds of millions of Chinese students are counting down the final hours to the end of their summer vacations on Thursday, the recent hot weather has given four extra days off to 5 million students and teachers in primary and high schools in Chongqing.

"I like having a super long summer vacation," said Qian Qian, a 6-year-old student in Xingguang Primary School in northern Chongqing on Wednesday. "It even makes the heat not seem so bad."