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Public holidays in China

22 days in 2026 · 13 in 2027

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Next public holiday

National Day

国庆节

After it: National Day holiday, Monday 5 October

Saturday, 3 October 2026

China's law gives 13 statutory days off a year, but the holidays people actually take are set each year by the State Council, which joins those days to weekends and makes nearby Saturdays and Sundays working days in exchange. The arrangement for 2026 turned the 13 days into seven breaks, among them nine days in a row at the Spring Festival and seven at National Day, paid for with six weekend days worked.

The statutory list was last changed by a revision of the Measures on Having a Holiday for National Annual Leaves and Memorial Days in November 2024, in force from 1 January 2025: the Spring Festival gained a fourth day, Spring Festival Eve, and Labour Day a second, 2 May. Three of the days follow the traditional lunisolar calendar, so their Gregorian dates move from year to year.

The calendar for 2027 shows only the statutory days. It was written before the State Council's arrangement for that year, which will set the long breaks and the make-up working days.

Days off in 2026
22Nationwide public holidays
On a weekday
19Monday to Friday
On a weekend
3Saturday or Sunday
Long weekends
7three days off or more

2026

Public holidays in China in 2026

  1. 1 January: New Year's Day元旦New Year's Day, 1 January, one statutory day. China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912; in 2026 the State Council added 2 January to make a three-day break.Thursday
  2. 2 January: New Year holiday元旦New Year's Day, 1 January, one statutory day. China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912; in 2026 the State Council added 2 January to make a three-day break.FridayDate moves
  3. 16 February: Spring Festival Eve除夕Spring Festival Eve, the last day of the old lunar year. It has been a paid statutory day since 1 January 2025, when the Spring Festival grew from three statutory days to four.MondayDate moves
  4. 17 February: Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)春节The Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar, with statutory days on its first three days. UNESCO inscribed its social practices as intangible heritage in 2024.TuesdayDate moves
  5. 18 February: Spring Festival春节The Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar, with statutory days on its first three days. UNESCO inscribed its social practices as intangible heritage in 2024.WednesdayDate moves
  6. 19 February: Spring Festival春节The Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar, with statutory days on its first three days. UNESCO inscribed its social practices as intangible heritage in 2024.ThursdayDate moves
  7. 20 February: Spring Festival holiday春节The Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar, with statutory days on its first three days. UNESCO inscribed its social practices as intangible heritage in 2024.FridayDate moves
  8. 23 February: Spring Festival holiday春节The Spring Festival, the new year of the traditional calendar, with statutory days on its first three days. UNESCO inscribed its social practices as intangible heritage in 2024.MondayDate moves
  9. 5 April: Qingming Festival清明节Qingming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, about 15 days after the March equinox, when families pay respects to their ancestors. It became a public holiday in the reform of 2008.Sunday
  10. 6 April: Qingming Festival holiday清明节Qingming, or Tomb-Sweeping Day, about 15 days after the March equinox, when families pay respects to their ancestors. It became a public holiday in the reform of 2008.MondayDate moves
  11. 1 May: Labour Day劳动节Labour Day, 1 and 2 May. The second day was added from 2025, and since 2020 the State Council has usually built the two days into a five-day break.Friday
  12. 2 May: Labour Day劳动节Labour Day, 1 and 2 May. The second day was added from 2025, and since 2020 the State Council has usually built the two days into a five-day break.Saturday
  13. 4 May: Labour Day holiday劳动节Labour Day, 1 and 2 May. The second day was added from 2025, and since 2020 the State Council has usually built the two days into a five-day break.MondayDate moves
  14. 5 May: Labour Day holiday劳动节Labour Day, 1 and 2 May. The second day was added from 2025, and since 2020 the State Council has usually built the two days into a five-day break.TuesdayDate moves
  15. 19 June: Dragon Boat Festival端午节The Dragon Boat Festival, on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which commemorates the poet Qu Yuan. A public holiday since 2008.FridayDate moves
  16. 25 September: Mid-Autumn Festival中秋节The Mid-Autumn Festival, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, an autumn harvest festival. A public holiday since 2008; when it falls near National Day the two are joined into one break.FridayDate moves
  17. 1 October: National Day国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.Thursday
  18. 2 October: National Day国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.Friday
  19. 3 October: National Day国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.Saturday
  20. 5 October: National Day holiday国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.MondayDate moves
  21. 6 October: National Day holiday国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.TuesdayDate moves
  22. 7 October: National Day holiday国庆节National Day, 1 to 3 October, marking the proclamation of the People's Republic on 1 October 1949. With the weekend days moved around it, it makes a seven-day break known as Golden Week.WednesdayDate moves

Long weekends

Long weekends in China in 2026

Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.

  • 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanNew Year's Day, New Year holiday
  • 10daysSat 14 Feb to Mon 23 FebSpring Festival Eve, Chinese New Year (Spring Festival), Spring Festival, Spring Festival, Spring Festival holiday, Spring Festival holiday
  • 3daysSat 4 Apr to Mon 6 AprQingming Festival, Qingming Festival holiday
  • 5daysFri 1 May to Tue 5 MayLabour Day, Labour Day, Labour Day holiday, Labour Day holiday
  • 3daysFri 19 Jun to Sun 21 JunDragon Boat Festival
  • 3daysFri 25 Sept to Sun 27 SeptMid-Autumn Festival
  • 7daysThu 1 Oct to Wed 7 OctNational Day, National Day, National Day, National Day holiday, National Day holiday, National Day holiday

2027

Public holidays in China in 2027

  1. 1 January: New Year's Day元旦Friday
  2. 5 February: Spring Festival Eve除夕FridayDate moves
  3. 6 February: Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)春节SaturdayDate moves
  4. 7 February: Spring Festival春节SundayDate moves
  5. 8 February: Spring Festival春节MondayDate moves
  6. 5 April: Qingming Festival清明节Monday
  7. 1 May: Labour Day劳动节Saturday
  8. 2 May: Labour Day劳动节Sunday
  9. 9 June: Dragon Boat Festival端午节WednesdayDate moves
  10. 15 September: Mid-Autumn Festival中秋节WednesdayDate moves
  11. 1 October: National Day国庆节Friday
  12. 2 October: National Day国庆节Saturday
  13. 3 October: National Day国庆节Sunday

The make-up working days are part of each year's arrangement but cannot be shown in the calendars above, which list only days off. In 2026 they are Sunday 4 January, Saturday 14 February, Saturday 28 February, Saturday 9 May, Sunday 20 September and Saturday 10 October. Businesses and schools treat those weekend days as the weekdays they replace, so a long break is often preceded or followed by six or seven working days in a row.

The arrangement for 2026 was issued by the General Office of the State Council on 4 November 2025. It joins Qingming to a weekend from Saturday 4 April to Monday 6 April, keeps the Dragon Boat Festival from Friday 19 June and the Mid-Autumn Festival from Friday 25 September as three-day weekends without any make-up day, and encourages employers to let staff add paid annual leave so that travel is staggered.

Four further days are half days off for particular groups only: International Women's Day on 8 March for women, Youth Day on 4 May for young people aged 14 to 28, Children's Day on 1 June for children under 14, and Army Day on 1 August for serving soldiers. The regulations name other anniversaries, among them Teachers' Day and Arbor Day, that carry no day off at all.

Common questions

Questions about public holidays in China

How many public holidays does China have?

Thirteen statutory days off a year since 1 January 2025: one at New Year, four at the Spring Festival including its eve, one each at Qingming, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, two at Labour Day and three at National Day. Each year the State Council turns them into longer breaks by moving weekends, so the breaks run longer than the statutory days alone, with weekend days worked in exchange.

What are make-up working days in China?

Saturdays or Sundays that the State Council designates as working days to pay for a longer holiday. To give nine days in a row at the Spring Festival of 2026, for example, it made Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February working days. Schools and offices treat such a day as the weekday it replaces.

When is Golden Week in 2026?

From Thursday 1 October to Wednesday 7 October 2026. National Day carries three statutory days, 1 to 3 October, and the State Council made Sunday 20 September and Saturday 10 October working days to extend the break to seven. The Mid-Autumn Festival falls separately this year, on Friday 25 September, with its own three-day weekend.

How long is the Spring Festival holiday in 2026?

Nine days, from Sunday 15 February to Monday 23 February 2026. The statutory days are Spring Festival Eve on 16 February and the first three days of the new year, 17 to 19 February; the rest of the break is made by moving weekends, with Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February worked in exchange.

Why do Chinese holidays fall on different dates each year?

Three of them, the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, follow the traditional lunisolar calendar, and Qingming follows the sun, falling about 15 days after the March equinox. The breaks around them also change every year, because the State Council builds each year's arrangement afresh and publishes it late in the year before.

When were Qingming, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn made holidays?

In a reform of 2008, which added the three traditional festivals as public holidays and shortened the Labour Day break, which had been a week long since 2000, to reduce the number of travel rushes each year. Labour Day was lengthened again from 2020, when the State Council began building it into a five-day break, and its second statutory day was added in 2025.

Are there days off only for some people in China?

Yes, four half days. Women have half a day off on International Women's Day, 8 March; young people aged 14 to 28 on Youth Day, 4 May; children under 14 on Children's Day, 1 June; and serving soldiers on Army Day, 1 August. They are not days off for everyone else.

Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-02. The page counts from Saturday, 3 October 2026, the day it was built.