BEIJING, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's plan to overhaul the national holiday system has won majority support in an online government poll that ends at midnight Thursday, but many are unhappy that they will have to lose a "Golden Week" in the reforms.

About 80 percent of the 1.55 million netizens who responded to the questionnaires, designed by the National Development and Reform Commission, back the plan, but support drops off sharply when it comes to reforms that will see the May Day "Golden Week" disappear - getting 68 percent backing.

The proposal, released last Friday after more than a year of deliberation by the Chinese government, would increase the number of national holidays annually from 10 to 11 days.

However, the week-long May Day break would be reduced to just one day in order to create holidays on three ancient traditional festival-related days - Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon-Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Negative opinions on canceling the May Day holiday shown in the BBS (online forum) posts are in sharp contrast with the overwhelming 'support' in the poll figures," noted an active columnist Bi Shicheng, who works with a newspaper in northwestern city of Xi'an.

"Canceling the May Day holiday deprives many Chinese of the chance to return to their hometowns for family gatherings," wrote a netizen by the name of Zheng Shihu.

On the official questionnaire devised by a government panel, there were no specific questions about this controversial arrangement.

The new arrangement would go along with draft regulations on paid vacations published a few days earlier. China's Labor Contract Law, which took effect in January 1995, stipulates that employees who have worked for more than one year should get paid vacation, however, no specific regulations have been issued until now.

Paid vacations, if secured, could in a way compensate for the public's loss of a week-long holiday. However, people are widely concerned whether paid vacations could be guaranteed, according to messages posted on major Chinese websites, including Xinhuanet.com, Sina.com, Sohu.com and Peopledaily.com.

The government has vowed to take into account comments and criticisms from the public revealed in its online poll, or via postal mail, e-mail or phone.

It might be enacted in time for the 2008 lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 7.

Chinese people currently enjoy 10 days of legal holidays: three days each are given for the May Day, National Day and Spring Festival breaks, and one day given for New Year's Day.

In practice, people usually have seven consecutive days off for each of the May Day, National Day and Spring Festival breaks by borrowing weekends on both sides of the three main holidays. They are known as the "golden weeks" since 1999.

Debates over the merits of week-long holidays after years of experience and complaints about overcrowding, poor service, a scarcity of hotel rooms and damage to scenic spots, especially historic sites, have prompted the Chinese government to reconsider the arrangement.