在…期间
during; in the course of (a period)
Structure
（在） 时段／事件 期间 ， 句子
What it means
“During, in the course of”: marks a stretch of time with a start and an end, such as a holiday, trip, meeting or illness.
How it is built
(在) + period or event + 期间，sentence: 在比赛期间，运动员不能离开酒店 (during the competition the athletes may not leave the hotel). 在 can be dropped at the head: 春节期间….
When to use it
More formal than …的时候 and everywhere in notices and the news: 假期期间, 会议期间, 住院期间.
Watch out
期间 comes after the period: ✗ 期间假期 ✓ 假期期间. It does not follow a point in time: ✗ 三点期间 ✓ 三点的时候.
Examples
在黄金周期间，几亿人同时出行。
During a golden week hundreds of millions of people are on the move at once.
在比赛期间，运动员不能离开酒店。
During the competition the athletes may not leave the hotel.
春节期间，很多商店照常营业。
Over Spring Festival many shops stay open as usual.
Learn this in Lesson 19 · HSK 5: 放假与调休 (Public holidays and swapped weekends)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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