
Use this page to check China's national public holidays: a continuously updated calendar covering both past and upcoming dates. China observes 3 official public holidays mandated by national law (including New Year's Day, Labour Day, National Day (Guóqìng Jié)). Some holidays fall on a fixed calendar date every year — an Independence or Republic Day, for instance. Others, governed by the Easter calculation, the Islamic lunar calendar, or an "nth weekday of the month" rule, shift from year to year, so each year carries its own actual date rather than an assumed repeat. Jump straight to the live calendar below, or read on for how the dates are worked out.
Why This Matters: Public holidays in China directly affect cross-border trade timing and payment settlement windows. This calendar is a standard reference point for location intelligence teams mapping regional operating calendars working with partners, offices or operations in China.
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Live public holiday calendar for China, embedded directly from Google's official public calendar — always shows Google's current data.
◀ Showing upcoming holidays — use the back arrow in the calendar's toolbar to see earlier dates this year.
ℹ Calendar supplied and maintained by Google. See the full travel profile for emergency numbers, electrical standards and more.
Statutory public holidays mandated by national government law in China. These fixed dates reflect official non-working days. For dynamic, movable religious observances (e.g., Eid, Easter), refer to the live calendar embed above.
| Holiday Name | Date / Observance | Category / Type | Closure Impact | Official Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day Official national holiday decreed by the State Council of the People's Republic of China. | January 1 | National Holiday | Full Statutory Closure (Banks & Govt Administration) | www.gov.cn → |
| Labour Day International Workers' Day public holiday across mainland China. | May 1 | National Holiday (Golden Week) | Full Statutory Closure (State Council Mandated Holiday Period) | www.gov.cn → |
| National Day (Guóqìng Jié) Commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. | October 1 | National Day (Golden Week) | Full Statutory Closure (7-Day Golden Week Vacation Period) | www.gov.cn → |
Statutory holidays landing on a Monday, Friday, Tuesday or Thursday create a long-weekend opportunity — here's what's coming up.
| Holiday | Date | Opportunity |
|---|---|---|
| National Day (Guóqìng Jié) | Thu, Oct 1, 2026 | Take the Friday after off for a 4-day weekend |
| New Year's Day | Fri, Jan 1, 2027 | Automatic 3-day weekend |
Two calendar mechanics sit behind most public holiday lists: a fixed-date system for civic anniversaries, which repeat annually, and a second, older calendar system behind a country's religious or lunar-based observances, which don't. China's calendar can include holidays governed by an Easter-based calculation, the Hijri lunar calendar used for Islamic observances, or a lunisolar calendar — each running independently of the standard Gregorian civic calendar. China, like much of Asia, likely carries at least one holiday from each category on its calendar — one reason the list above shows a specific date per year instead of a single recurring one.
Under China's labor law, fixed-date national public holidays carry mandatory non-working status for public administration, financial institutions, and commercial enterprises — 3 such holidays are documented for China in the table above, all individually cross-checked against independent corroborating sources, including New Year's Day on January 1. Official gazette announcements are published by government authorities to confirm these mandated closures.
Worth separating, too: a true public holiday is a legally mandated non-working day — banks, schools and government offices close by law or long-standing custom. An observance is different — culturally or religiously notable, but without a mandated closure (Valentine's Day and Earth Day are common examples worldwide). This page focuses specifically on public holidays, the ones that actually affect scheduling.
China is also divided into states and provinces, and countries structured this way often layer a regional founding day, a local patron festival or a province-specific holiday on top of the national calendar — observed in one state but not nationwide. The calendar above covers China's national holidays; see the China states & provinces directory for population and government data on each one.
| 📊 Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| 👥 Population Rank | #2 of 249 |
| 📏 Area World Rank | #4 |
| 🏙️ Population Density | 151.8 / km² |
| 🌊 Land / Water Split | 97.2% / 2.8% |