The holiday mood of Chinese New Year continued to linger in some government departments two days after the annual holiday ended, with some civil servants continuing to be off duty or in no mood for work.

Chinese people are given three days off for Spring Festival, which runs Feb 9 to 15 this year, with the following Saturday and Sunday becoming workdays to make up for the time.

However, for many State-run institutions as well as companies in the service sector, the holiday was much longer than the official one.

Government employees of Shuichuan township in Baiyin city, Gansu province, won't return to work until seven or eight days after the holiday, Xinhua News Agency quoted the county's Party chief, Nian Ping, as saying.

The holiday was also extended for some civil servants at the county government of Shangri-La in Diqing Tibet autonomous prefecture in Yunnan province.

Qilin Wangdui, a civil servant with the county government, said that he was playing cards on Sunday as he still has two extra days off for the holiday.

In Henan province, the service hotlines for the Zhengzhou vehicle management bureau also went unanswered on Saturday, according to Xinhua.

Only half of the staff at the bureau were on duty on Saturday, and two were busy using their cellphones, Xinhua reported.

In Beijing, phone calls to the social security service center in Beijing's Xiaoguan and Yayuncun communities in Chaoyang district also went unanswered on Sunday afternoon.

At Xiaoguan social service center, most civil servants were on duty, but one worker could be seen playing cards on her computer.

Many office workers who returned to work after the holiday said they in no mood to work.

"I was totally dejected and irritable yesterday. I was waiting for the end of day from the first minute I started to work," said Luo Menglin, 28, a bank clerk in Chongqing.

Sheng Li, a doctor of psychological research at Peking University Sixth Hospital, said post-holiday syndrome results from changes in life rhythms and can be treated with some minor adjustments.

"It can be gradually eased as you get back into your normal lifestyle. It is also important to control your intake of meat and alcohol and eat more fruits and vegetables," he said.

Guo Anfei in Kunming contributed to this story.

xuwei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/18/2013 page5)