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There are currently seven official public holidays on Mainland China.[1] Each year's holidays are announced about three weeks before the start of the year by the General Office of the State Council. A notable feature of mainland Chinese holidays is that weekends are usually swapped with the weekdays next to the actual holiday to create a longer holiday period.
| Date | Length (without weekends) | English name | Chinese name (Simplified) | Pinyin | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | 1 day | New Year's Day | 元旦 | Yuándàn | |
| 1st day of 1st Lunisolar month | 3 days (Chinese New Year's Eve, 1st and 2nd days of 1st Lunisolar month) | Spring Festival[a] (aka Chinese New Year) | 春节 | Chūnjié | Usually occurs in late January or early February. The most important holiday, celebrating the start of a new year |
| 5 April (4 or 6 April in some years) | 1 day | Tomb-Sweeping Day | 清明节 | Qīngmíng jié | Occurs about 15 days after the March Equinox; day for paying respect to one's ancestors |
| 1 May | 1 day | Labour Day | 劳动节 | Láodòng jié | International Workers' Day |
| 5th day of 5th Lunisolar month | 1 day | Dragon Boat Festival | 端午节 | Duānwǔ jié | Usually occurs in June; commemoration of the ancient poet Qu Yuan |
| 15th day of 8th Lunisolar month | 1 day | Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋节 | Zhōngqiū jié | Usually occurs in September; important autumn celebration of harvest and togetherness |
| 1 October | 3 days[2] | National Day | 国庆节 | Guóqìng jié | Commemorating the formal proclamation of the establishment of the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949 |
History
Festivals in 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.[3] 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.[4] 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).[5] 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.[6][7] 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 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" (黄金周), 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.
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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 and Sundays nearby to make a 5-day holiday. People may need to work for 6 consecutive days before or after the holiday.[8][9]
Additional holidays for specific social groups
In addition to these holidays, applicable to the whole population, there are four official public holidays applicable to specific sections of the population:
| Date | English name | Chinese name | Pinyin | Applicable to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 March | International Women's Day | 国际妇女节 | Guójì fùnǚ jié | Women (half-day) |
| 4 May | Youth Day | 青年节 | Qīngnián jié | Youth from the age of 14 to 28 (half-day) |
| 1 June | Children's Day | 六一儿童节 | Liùyī értóng jié | Children below the age of 14 (half-day) |
| 1 August | Army Day | 建军节 | Jiàn jūn jié | Military personnel in active service (half-day) |
The closeness of Labor Day and Youth Day resulted in an unexpectedly long break for schools in 2008 - the Youth Day half-holiday entitlement had been largely forgotten because it has been subsumed into the Golden Week.
Traditional holiday scheme
| Date | English name | Local name | Pinyin | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 January | New Year | 元旦 | Yuándàn | Also the day of the establishment of the first Chinese Republic |
| 1st day of 1st Lunisolar month | Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) | 春节 | Chūnjié | Based on Chinese calendar. Holidays last seamlessly, two full weeks, up to the Lantern Festival (see below). |
| 15th day of 1st Lunisolar month | Lantern Festival | 元宵节 | Yuánxiāo jié | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 2nd day of 2nd Lunisolar month | Zhonghe Festival (Dragon Raising its Head) | 中和节 | Zhōng hé jié | Based on Chinese calendar |
| 8 March | International Women's Day | 国际妇女节 | Guójì fùnǚ jié | |
| 12 March | Arbor Day | 植树节 | Zhíshù jié | Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Public_holidays_in_China