Public holidays in China

thumb|right|Chinese National Day in 2004 at [[Beihai Park, Beijing]]There are currently seven official public holidays in the People's Republic of China. Each year's holidays are announced about one month before the start of the year by the General Office of the State Council. A notable feature of such holidays is that weekends are usually swapped with the weekdays next to the actual holiday to create a longer holiday period. Generally, by adjusting the adjacent weekends, a "golden week" or a three to five-day "short holiday" is formed.

Festivals in mainland China have been around since the Qin dynasty around 221–206 BC. During the more prosperous Tang dynasty from AD 618–907, festivals involved less sacrifice and mystery to more entertainment. Culminating to the modern era Between the 1920s until around the 1970s, the Chinese began observing two sets of holidays, which were the traditional and what became "official", celebrating the accomplishments of the communist regime. There was then a major reform in 2008, abolishing the Labour Day Golden Week and adding three traditional Chinese holidays (Qingming Festival, Duanwu Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival). From at least 2000 until this reform, the Spring Festival public holiday began on New Year's Day itself. From 2008 to 2013 it was shifted back by one day to begin on Chinese New Year's Eve. In 2014, New Year's Eve became a working day again, which provoked hostile discussion by netizens and academics. However, since 2015, Chinese New Year's Eve is usually swapped with nearby weekends so that people need not work on Chinese New Year's Eve.

Overview

Holidays in China are complicated and are one of the least predictable among developing nations. In all these holidays, if the holiday lands on a weekend, the days will be reimbursed after the weekend. The National Holidays and Anniversary Holidays Measures issued by the State Council is the highest administrative regulation for regulating national holidays. The establishment of theme holidays and industry-specific holidays is stipulated by law or approved by the State Council. At present, China's current statutory annual holiday standard is 13 days.

The Chinese New Year and National Day holidays are three days long. The week-long holidays on May (Labor) Day and National Day began in 2000, as a measure to increase and encourage holiday spending. The resulting seven-day or eight-day (if Mid-Autumn Festival is near National Day) holidays are called "Golden Weeks" (), and have become peak seasons for travel and tourism. In 2008, the Labor Day holiday was shortened to three days to reduce travel rushes to just twice a year, and instead, three traditional Chinese holidays were added.

Generally, if there is a three-day or four-day (if Mid-Autumn Festival is near National Day) holiday, the government will declare it to be a seven-day or eight-day holiday. However, citizens are required to work during a nearby weekend. Businesses and schools would then treat the affected Saturdays and Sundays as the weekdays that the weekend has been swapped with. Schedules are released late in the year prior and might change during the year.

The following is a graphical schematic of how the weekend shifting works.

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size: 94%; margin-right:auto"

!Example

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ New Year's Day Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #999;"

| colspan="4" | Dec

| colspan="7" | Jan

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="9%" | 28

| width="9%" | 29

| width="9%" | 30

| width="9%" | 31

| width="9%" | 1

| width="9%" | 2

| width="9%" | 3

| width="9%" | 4

| width="9%" | 5

| width="9%" | 6

| width="9%" | 7

| M || T || W || T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="11" | becomes

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Chinese New Year Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #999;"

| colspan="11" | Feb

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="9%" | 12

| width="9%" | 13

| width="9%" | 14

| width="9%" | 15

| width="9%" | 16

| width="9%" | 17

| width="9%" | 18

| width="9%" | 19

| width="9%" | 20

| width="9%" | 21

| width="9%" | 22

| F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F || S || S || M

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="11" | becomes

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="3" style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Moved Weekend

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Moved Weekdays

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Qingming Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #199;"

| colspan="2" | Mar

| colspan="9" | Apr

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="9%" | 30

| width="9%" | 31

| width="9%" | 1

| width="9%" | 2

| width="9%" | 3

| width="9%" | 4

| width="9%" | 5

| width="9%" | 6

| width="9%" | 7

| width="9%" | 8

| width="9%" | 9

| T || W || T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="11" | becomes

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Labor Day Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #999;"

| colspan="4" | Apr

| colspan="7" | May

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="9%" | 27

| width="9%" | 28

| width="9%" | 29

| width="9%" | 30

| width="9%" | 1

| width="9%" | 2

| width="9%" | 3

| width="9%" | 4

| width="9%" | 5

| width="9%" | 6

| width="9%" | 7

| T || W || T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="11" | becomes

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Long Weekend

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Dragon Boat Festival Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #999;"

| colspan="11" | Jun

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="9%" | 10

| width="9%" | 11

| width="9%" | 12

| width="9%" | 13

| width="9%" | 14

| width="9%" | 15

| width="9%" | 16

| width="9%" | 17

| width="9%" | 18

| width="9%" | 19

| width="9%" | 20

| T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F || S || S

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="11" | becomes

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Moved Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Moved Weekend

| style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

{| width="100%" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0" style="text-align: center;"

|+ Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday and National Day Holiday, 2010

|- style="background-color: #999;"

| colspan="14" | Sept

| colspan="11" | Oct

|- style="background-color: #ccc"

| width="3%" | 17

| width="3%" | 18

| width="3%" | 19

| width="3%" | 20

| width="3%" | 21

| width="3%" | 22

| width="3%" | 23

| width="3%" | 24

| width="3%" | 25

| width="3%" | 26

| width="3%" | 27

| width="3%" | 28

| width="3%" | 29

| width="3%" | 30

| width="3%" | 1

| width="3%" | 2

| width="3%" | 3

| width="3%" | 4

| width="3%" | 5

| width="3%" | 6

| width="3%" | 7

| width="3%" | 8

| width="3%" | 9

| width="3%" | 10

| width="3%" | 11

| F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F || S || S || M || T || W || T || F || S || S || M

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="5" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekday

| colspan="25" | becomes

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekday

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Moved Weekday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Moved Weekend

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Moved Weekdays

| colspan="4" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekdays

| colspan="3" style="background-color: #cfd;" | Holiday

| colspan="2" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Moved Weekend

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekday

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Moved Weekday

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #ccf;" | Weekend

| colspan="1" style="background-color: #fcc;" | Weekday

Weekend shifting scheme (since 2014)

Spring Festival

Shift the Saturdays and Sundays nearby to make a 7-day holiday. People may need to work for 6 or 7 continuous days before or after the holiday.

National Day (not near Mid-Autumn Festival)

Shift the Saturdays and Sundays nearby to make a 7-day holiday. The holiday is from 1 to 7 October. People may need to work for 6 or 7 continuous days before or after the holiday.

New Year, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Labor Day (before 2020), Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival (not near National Day)

Wednesday: No weekend shifting. The holiday is only 1 day long. This is to prevent people from working for 7 continuous days since 2014. Sometimes shift the Sundays nearby to make a 4-day holiday. People may need to work for 6 continuous days after the holiday.
Tuesday or Thursday: Shift the Saturdays and Sundays nearby to make a 3-day holiday. People may need to work for 6 continuous days before or after the holiday.
Saturday or Sunday: The public holiday is transferred to Monday.

Labor Day (since 2020)

Shift the Saturdays or Sundays nearby to make a 5-day holiday. People may need to work for 6 consecutive days before or after the holiday.

List of holidays

Statutory holidays

{| class="wikitable"

! Name

! Date !! Length (without weekends) !! Remarks

| New Year's Day ()

| 1 January || 1 day ||

|12 May

|Nurses Day

|护士节

|International Nurses Day

|30 May

|May 30th Anniversary

|五卅纪念日

|Commemorating the May Thirtieth Movement of 1925

|7 July

|July 7th Anti-Japanese War Memorial Day

|七七抗战纪念日

|Commemorating the Marco Polo Bridge incident of 1937

|3 September

|Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression

|中国人民抗日战争胜利纪念日

|Honoring the Allied victory over Japan and the end of the Second World War in the Pacific (new holiday established 2014)

|10 September

|Teachers' Day

|教师节

|18 September

|September 18th Anti-Japanese War Memorial Day

|九一八抗战纪念日

|Commemorating the Mukden incident of 1931

|8 November

|Journalists' Day

|记者节

|Journalists' Day is celebrated on November 8, the day when the China Youth Journalists Association (the predecessor of the All-China Journalists Association) was founded in Shanghai in 1937.

Other national themed festivals and anniversaries

{| class="wikitable"

!Date

!English name

!Chinese name

!Establishment

!Remarks

|10 January

|Chinese People's Police Day

|中国人民警察节

|2021

|110 Police Hotline

|3 March

|National Ear Care Day

|全国爱耳日

|2000

|Double ear shape "33"

|Last Monday of March

|National Safety Education Day for Primary and Secondary School Students

|全国中小学生安全教育日

|1996

|15 April

|National Security Education Day

|全民国家安全教育日

|2016

|Day to enhance the national security awareness

|24 April

|China Space Day

|中国航天日

|2016

|The date China's first artificial earth satellite Dong Fang Hong 1 was successfully launched

|18 May

|China Tourism Day

|中国旅游日

|2011

|The opening day of Xu Xiake's Travels

|3rd Sunday of May

|National Disability Day

|全国助残日

|1991

|30 May

|National Science and Technology Workers' Day

|全国科技工作者日

|2017

|6 June

|National Eye Care Day

|全国爱眼日

|1996

|2nd Saturday of June

|China's Cultural Heritage Day

|文化和自然遗产日

|2006

|3rd day of the National Energy Conservation Publicity Week

|National Low Carbon Day

|全国低碳日

|2013

|25 June

|National Land Day

|全国土地日

|1991

|The date the Land Administration Law of the People's Republic of China was promulgated

|11 July

|China National Maritime Day

|中国航海日

|2005

|The anniversary of Zheng He's first voyage

|8 August

|National Fitness Day

|全民健身日

|2009

|The opening day of the 2008 Summer Olympics

|15 August

|National Ecology Day

|全国生态日

|2023

|19 August

|Chinese Doctors' Day

|中国医师节

|2018

|Autumnal equinox day

|Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival

|中国农民丰收节

|2018

|3rd Saturday of September

|National Defense Education Day

|全民国防教育日

|2001

|29 September

|National Love Teeth Day

|全国爱牙日

|1989

|29 September

|Civic Morality Promotion Day

|公民道德宣传日

|2003

|The date the Implementation Outline of Citizen Morality Construction was promulgated

|30 September

|Martyrs' Day

|烈士纪念日

|2014

|Honors all the fallen of the country right before National Day, new holiday established in 2014

|25 October

|Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration

|台湾光复纪念日

|2025

|Commemorates the retrocession of and the end of the Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan

|9th day of the 9th lunar month

|Senior Citizens' Day

|老年节

|2013

|Double Ninth Festival

|9 November

|National Fire Protection Day

|全国消防日

|1992

|Fire alarm number "119"

|2 December

|National Traffic Safety Day

|全国交通安全日

|2012

|Traffic accident alarm number "122"

|4 December

|National Law Publicity Day

|全国法制宣传日

|2001

|The date the Constitution of China was promulgated. Also the National Constitution Day

|13 December

|National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre

|南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭日

|2014

|Commemorates the victims of the Nanjing Massacre

Other holidays

{|class="wikitable"

! Date !! English name !! Local name !!Pinyin!! Remarks

| 2nd day of 2nd Lunisolar month || Zhonghe Festival (Dragon Raising its Head) || || || Based on Chinese calendar

| 1 July || Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party|| || || Formation of 1st National Congress in July 1921

| 7th day of 7th Lunisolar month || Qixi Festival|| |||| The Chinese Valentine's Day, based on Chinese calendar

| 15th day of 7th Lunisolar month || Spirit Festival (Ghost Festival) || || || Based on Chinese calendar

|10 October || Wuchang Uprising || || || Commemoration of the anti-monarch uprising against the Qing which began the Xinhai Revolution

| 9th day of 9th Lunisolar month || Chongyang Festival || || || Based on Chinese calendar.

Ethnic minorities' holidays

There are public holidays celebrated by certain ethnic minorities in certain regions, which are decided by local governments. The following are holidays at the provincial level.

{|class="wikitable"

! Date !! English name !!Local name!! Chinese name !!Pinyin !!Ethnic groups!! Remarks

| 1st day of Tibetan year || Losar|||||| ||Tibetan||7 days in Tibet

|30.6 of Tibetan calendar||Sho Dun|||| || || Tibetan||1 day in Tibet

|1.9 of Islamic calendar ||Eid al-Fitr|| || || ||Hui, Uyghur and other Muslims||3 days in Ningxia; 1 day in Xinjiang

|10.12 of Islamic calendar ||Eid al-Adha|| || || || Hui, Uyghur and other Muslims||2 days in Ningxia; 3 days in Xinjiang

|3.3 of Lunisolar calendar ||Sam Nyied Sam||||||||Zhuang||3 days in Guangxi

The following are traditional holidays at the prefectural level, and there are more at lower-level divisions, i.e. county-level.

{|class="wikitable"

! Date !! Celebrating location !!English name!! Chinese name !!Pinyin !!Ethnic groups!! Remarks

| 6th day of the 6th Lunisolar month || Qiannan and Qianxinan||Liuyueliu|| ||||Bouyei||1 day in Qiannan and Qianxinan

| 8th day of the 8th Lunisolar month || Qiannan and Qianxinan||Bayueba|| ||||Miao||1 day in Qiannan and Qianxinan

| 10th day of the 9th Lunisolar month || Dehong|| || || ||Achang||2 days in Dehong

| 1st day of Tibetan year ||Dêqên, Garzê, Gannan and Ngawa|| Losar |||| xīnnián||Tibetan||3 days in Dêqên, Garzê, Gannan and Ngawa

| 24th day of the 6th Lunisolar month || Honghe || || || ||Hani||2 days in Honghe

| 24th day of the 6th Lunisolar month || Chuxiong, Liangshan and Honghe || Fire Festival || || ||Yi||5 days in Chuxiong, Liangshan and 3 days in Honghe

| 20 September || Nujiang || || || ||Lisu|| 3 days in Nujiang

| 15th day of the 1st Lunisolar month || Dehong || Manau Festival || || || Jingpo || 2 days in Dehong

| 5th day of the 5th Lunisolar month || Wenshan || || || || Miao ||3 days in Wenshan, often celebrated together with Dragon Boat Festival

| 13 April || Dehong and Xishuangbanna || Water-Sprinkling Festival or Songkran || || || Dai || 2 days in Dehong and Xishuangbanna

| 1st day of the 10th Lunisolar month || Ngawa || Qiang New Year || || || Qiang || 5 days in Ngawa

| 15th to 22nd day of the 3rd Lunisolar month || Dali || Third Month Fair || || || Bai || 7 days in Dali

| 3rd day of the 3rd Lunisolar month || Wenshan || Sam Nyied Sam|||||| Zhuang ||3 days in Wenshan

| 1st day of the Yi Calendar, often falls in the 10th Lunisolar month || Chuxiong and Liangshan || Yi New Year || || || Yi || 5 days in Chuxiong and Liangshan

|1 Shawwal of Islamic calendar|| Linxia || Eid ul-Fitr|| || ||Hui || 3 days in Linxia

|10 Dhu al-Hijjah of Islamic calendar|| Linxia || Eid al-Adha or Kurban Festival || || || Hui ||3 days in Linxia

In addition, the following autonomous prefectures celebrate their founding date ( or ). Generally, the government takes one day off to all people working in such prefectures.

{|class="wikitable"

! Celebrating location !! Date

|Chuxiong||15 April

|Dali||22 November

|Dehong||23 July

|Dêqên||13 September

|Enshi||19 August

|Gannan||1 October

|Garzê||24 November

|Liangshan||1 October

|Linxia||19 November

|Ngawa||2 January

|Nujiang||23 August

|Qiandongnan||23 July

|Qiannan||8 August

|Qianxinan||1 May

|Wenshan||1 April

|Xiangxi||20 September

|Xishuangbanna||23 January

|Yanbian||3 September

Novel holidays

Some Chinese young adults have begun to celebrate 11 November as the Singles' Day () because of the many ones (1s) and many singles in the date.

Serfs' Emancipation Day, celebrated on March 28, was established in Tibet in 2009.

Public holidays in China

Overview

Weekend shifting scheme (since 2014)

Spring Festival

National Day (not near Mid-Autumn Festival)

New Year, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Labor Day (before 2020), Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival (not near National Day)

Labor Day (since 2020)

List of holidays

Statutory holidays

Other national themed festivals and anniversaries

Other holidays

Ethnic minorities' holidays

Novel holidays

See also

Notes

References

External links