When Dragon Boat Festival approaches, my thoughts usually turn to zongzi and all the delicious fillings. However, this year they have unexpectedly turned to how the Chinese state controls both the distribution of land (space) and time. Usually, I spend my time thinking about hukou and land ownership. However, it suddenly occurred to me that something similar happens with the organization of work and rest times. The prompt — how much I dislike “调休 tiao xiu” or “adjust rest time.” In practice, tiao xiu means rearranging work schedules to create a five- or seven-day stretch of time off for consumption. The catch? There may only be one actual vacation day. The other days are made are made up by working on Saturday, creating 6-day work weeks.
Anyway, I haven’t worked out all theoretical details. But. When thought about in conjunction with Beijing Standard Time, tiao xiu suggests the extent to which the state shapes everyday life in China. In turn, this highlights the fact that everywhere space and time are human constructs with contested origins and purpose (Thanksgiving vacation, for example).
Shenzhen Noted 
This might sound too basic but I’ve been thinking of the economic/human & cultural/symbolic migration from the North to the South as simultaneously a national restandardising of temporality. The northeast expression/concept 猫冬 that specifically allocates inactivity into winter time wouldn’t even be a thing in Shenzhen, where inactivity will be formally filled with Strivers Square (even if the content of the latter can be empty).
Along with 调休, you get this sense that time is to be organized according to developmental needs, rather than an agricultural rhythm.