Traditional Festivals & Holidays in China

In order to best anticipate and prepare for your next vacation in China, it is important that you are aware of some of the most important dates in the Chinese calendar.

While some events alone may be worth your trip to China, some dates may be best avoided if you prefer a quieter trip without being overwhelmed by crowds!Yes, if you didn’t know, the country’s population exceeds 1 billion 350 million inhabitants, and therefore during the holiday periods, a large part of this population travels throughout the country.

Traditional festivals in China

Traditional Chinese festivals are rich and date back a long way. Most of them took shape during the Qin Dynasty.

Here are the must-see and unusual festivals and celebrations not to be missed during your trip to China.

Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival: Based on the lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year generally takes place in late January or early February. It’s the most important holiday in China, and every Chinese person must return to their hometown or village for a large family reunion. The festivities are warm and welcoming, with plenty of atmosphere: it’s the occasion for fireworks and pop-ups during China’s longest public holiday. And most importantly, we eat Chinese dumplings!
The Lantern Festival : It falls on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar. There are no holidays during this festival, but you can admire the Chinese lanterns lit up all over the street as night falls. It’s also traditional to eat Yuanxiao, small balls of glutinous rice flour filled with jujube.
Qingming Festival: April 4th or 5th of the Gregorian calendar. Traditionally, people engage in three main activities for this festival: cleaning ancestral graves, taking a spring walk, and flying kites.
Dragon Boat Festival: The 5th day of the 5th month according to the lunar calendar, or late May, mid-June. During this festival, people eat Zongzi (glutinous rice cakes wrapped in bamboo leaves) and hold dragon boat races.
Qixi Festival: It takes place in August and is Chinese Valentine’s Day, which comes from the legend of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu.
Mid-Autumn Festival: The 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, or sometime between September and early October. Along with the Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important holidays in China. It is also known as the Moon Festival. It is an occasion to offer and eat mooncakes, which symbolize family reunion.
National Day: The 1st is an opportunity for the Chinese people to take a vacation and travel. This 3- to 5-day holiday is one of the golden weeks when traveling is not recommended if you want to avoid the crowds.
Chongyang: It’s called the Double 9 Festival because it falls on the 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar, which is October. It’s an opportunity to drink chrysanthemum wine and eat chrysanthemum cakes. It’s also an opportunity to climb mountains with family and friends.
Winter Solstice: December 21st or 22nd. A great opportunity to eat Chinese dumplings!

Public Holidays in China

January 1st – New Year’s Day
Chinese New Year – 3 days running from mid-January to mid-February. All the best places are booked up!
March 8 – International Women’s Day (1910)
March 12 – National Reforestation Day
May 1 – International Workers’ Day (1889)
May 4 – Chinese Youth Day (1919)
June 1 – Children’s Day (1949)
July 1 – Anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (1921)
August 1 – Anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army of China (1927)
October 1st – Anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949). The Chinese generally take a 1-week vacation on this occasion: this week is called Golden Week! If you are planning a vacation in China during this period, remember to book your hotels, activities, etc. in advance.

Holidays in China – The “Golden Weeks”

The Chinese calendar includes two major vacation weeks, also called “golden weeks”:

The Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year)
National Day

Dates of the “golden weeks” in 2020

Spring Festival (or Chinese New Year): January 25 to 31, 2020
National Day: October 1-7, 2020

Saturdays and Sundays are sometimes designated as extra workdays in China to compensate for long successions of public holidays. For example, in 2019, Saturday, February 2nd, and Sunday, February 3rd, were officially designated workdays to partially compensate for the seven-day Spring Festival holiday.

Winter and summer holidays in China

Chinese students also have summer vacations in July and August, as well as winter vacations, lasting a month from mid-January to mid-February, which includes the Chinese New Year. During both periods, Chinese students enjoy preferential rates and are increasingly taking advantage of these holidays to travel throughout their country.