Hundreds of students at a prominent high school in central China staged a rare protest after the school sharply reduced their summer vacation from about 20 days to just five, according to students and videos circulating online.
The protest took place on July 10 at Anlu No. 1 High School in Anlu, Hubei Province. Students gathered in the school courtyard and inside the main teaching building, chanting “extend the holiday” and demanding that the school restore the original vacation schedule.
This attempt to reduce students’ summer vacation was seen as another example of imposing heavier workloads to achieve performance targets.
Videos shared online show large groups of students marching through campus corridors, holding signs bearing their class names and raising test papers marked with the words “long holiday.” Teachers and school officials could be seen watching from nearby buildings.
A former student at the school, familiar with the situation, spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, saying the immediate trigger was the school’s sudden decision to shorten the summer break.
According to the former student, students had previously been told they would receive roughly 20 days of vacation. However, shortly before the holiday began, the school announced that students would need to return on July 15, leaving them with only about four and a half days off.
Students Reject School’s Attempt to Break Up Protest
The demonstration gained wider attention after students displayed a handwritten banner outside the teaching building that read: “Oppose centralized power, support equality, give us back our 20-day summer vacation.”The slogan appeared to elevate the dispute beyond a holiday schedule issue, reflecting broader frustrations among students over school management practices.
As the protest continued, school representatives came to speak with students. However, instead of immediately addressing the students’ collective demand, school officials attempted to resolve the issues individually, according to video footage examined by The Epoch Times.
In one video, a school representative is seen telling several outspoken students that they could receive individual leave approval immediately.
“I can approve your leave right now. You can leave immediately,” the representative said.
The offer appeared aimed at separating the most vocal protesters from the larger group, while maintaining the original five-day holiday policy for other students.
The approach did not appear to succeed. Students who were offered individual leave rejected the arrangement and remained with the group.
According to some later online accounts, the school eventually agreed to restore a longer vacation after continued pressure from students and the spread of protest videos online.
Student Unity Seen as Key Factor Behind Outcome
The former student said the most important factor in the school’s decision was the unusually high level of coordination among students.“As long as students unite, schools usually compromise,” he said.
The protest involved a large portion of the student body, particularly first- and second-year students. Third-year students had already completed the national college entrance examination and were no longer on campus.
Although the former student graduated from the school in June and was not physically present during the protest, he said he remained active in several student online chat groups where discussions about the action took place. He said the protest developed quickly through student networks.
“It was the last day before the holiday, and normally everyone brings their phones,” he said. “Messages spread quickly in the groups. Students discussed where to gather, what signs to hold, and what slogans to shout.”
Before taking collective action, some students considered filing complaints with the regime’s education authorities, but many had little confidence that official channels would produce results, according to the former student.
He said some students had previously tried to contact local education authorities about school-related issues but received little response.
“Last year, people called the complaint hotline many times, but nothing happened,” he said. “It was always marked as ‘pending.’”
Because of that experience, some students concluded that formal complaints alone would not resolve their concerns.
Anlu No. 1 High School is not an ordinary secondary school. Founded in 1942, it is among Hubei’s designated key high schools and was recognized as a provincial-level model school in 2011. The school currently has more than 60 classes and more than 4,200 students, according to publicly available information.
The protest drew particular attention because it occurred at a school that has received official recognition for educational performance.
Earlier this year, the school was featured in reports by state media Xinhua News Agency for organizing activities, such as agricultural labor programs in rural areas, as part of a “field classroom” initiative.
However, the former student said that dissatisfaction among students had been building for years.
“Some of the school rules were quite unusual,” he said. “I couldn’t tolerate it anymore, so I left in June to begin an internship.”
He criticized the school dormitory’s living conditions, saying many students preferred renting off campus whenever possible because of the poor conditions.
The former student said the shortened summer break became the point at which accumulated frustrations erupted.
“The incident showed that when students have a shared demand and act together, the school has to respond,” he said.
The Epoch Times has reached out to Anlu No. 1 High School for comment.
