---
title: "China Public Holidays 2026 and 2027: Dates, Golden Week and Their Names in Chinese"
description: "China’s seven public holidays in 2026 and 2027, from 春节 Spring Festival to 国庆节 National Day and Golden Week, with the days off the law gives, why weekends are swapped (调休), and 25 holiday words with pinyin and sound."
canonical: "https://mandarinthewild.com/china-public-holidays"
author: "Mandarin The Wild"
---

Free · 25 words

# China public holidays

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## China’s public holidays in 2026 and 2027

| | In Chinese | 2026 | 2027 | Days off by law |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| New Year’s Day | 元旦 Yuándàn | Thu, Jan 1 | Fri, Jan 1 | 1 |
| Spring Festival, from the eve | 春节 Chūnjié | Mon, Feb 16 to Thu, Feb 19 | Fri, Feb 5 to Mon, Feb 8 | 4 |
| Qingming Festival | 清明节 Qīngmíngjié | Sun, Apr 5 | Mon, Apr 5 | 1 |
| Labour Day | 劳动节 Láodòngjié | Fri, May 1 to Sat, May 2 | Sat, May 1 to Sun, May 2 | 2 |
| Dragon Boat Festival | 端午节 Duānwǔjié | Fri, Jun 19 | Wed, Jun 9 | 1 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | 中秋节 Zhōngqiūjié | Fri, Sep 25 | Wed, Sep 15 | 1 |
| National Day | 国庆节 Guóqìngjié | Thu, Oct 1 to Sat, Oct 3 | Fri, Oct 1 to Sun, Oct 3 | 3 |

## The seven public holidays

yuán元dàn旦

New Year's Day

chūn春jié节

Spring Festival; Chinese New Year

chú除xī夕

New Year's Eve (esp. Lunar New Year's Eve)

qīng清míng明jié节

Qingming Festival; Tomb-Sweeping Day

láo劳dòng动jié节

Labor Day (May 1)

duān端wǔ午jié节

Dragon Boat Festival (5th day of the 5th lunar month)

zhōng中qiū秋jié节

Mid-Autumn Festival

guó国qìng庆jié节

National Day (October 1 in the PRC)

## Their nicknames

wǔ五yī一

May Day; International Labor Day (May 1)

shí十yī一

National Day (October 1 holiday in China)

## Days off

fàng放jià假

to have a holiday; to be on vacation

jià假qī期

vacation; holiday

jié节jià假rì日

holidays; public holidays and weekends

huáng黄jīn金zhōu周

golden week (week-long national holiday)

xiǎo小cháng长jià假

short holiday; mini-vacation

tiáo调xiū休

to take time off in lieu

qǐng请jià假

to ask for leave; to take time off

nián年jià假

annual leave

## Holiday life

chūn春yùn运

Spring Festival travel rush

guò过nián年

to celebrate the New Year (especially Spring Festival)

huí回jiā家

to go home; to return home

lǚ旅yóu游

tourism; travel

dǔ堵chē车

traffic jam

shàng上bān班

to go to work; to be at work

jiā加bān班

to work overtime

## What are the public holidays in China?

Seven, with 13 days off a year by law: 元旦 (Yuándàn), New Year’s Day, 1 day; 春节 (Chūnjié), the Spring Festival, 4 days from New Year’s Eve; 清明节 (Qīngmíngjié), 1 day; 劳动节 (Láodòngjié), Labour Day, 2 days; 端午节 (Duānwǔjié), the Dragon Boat Festival, 1 day; 中秋节 (Zhōngqiūjié), Mid-Autumn, 1 day; and 国庆节 (Guóqìngjié), National Day, 3 days. Three follow the lunar calendar, so their dates move every year.

## What is Golden Week in China?

黄金周 (huángjīnzhōu) is the week off around National Day on 1 October: three days by law, made into seven by swapping the nearby weekends. In years when Mid-Autumn falls close by, as in 2028, the two join into eight days. It is China’s busiest week for travel, so trains, flights and sights fill up early. Chinese New Year gives a second long break of a week or more.

## What is 调休 in China?

调休 (tiáoxiū) is the swap that makes holidays longer: you work a Saturday or Sunday next to the holiday, a 补班 (bǔbān) day, and get a weekday off in return, so three days become five or seven. The exact days off and working weekends for each year are set in a notice from the State Council late in the year before.

## When is the Chinese New Year holiday?

The days off start on New Year’s Eve, 除夕 (chúxī), and run four days by law, usually stretched to eight or nine with swapped weekends. The next Chinese New Year falls on Sat, Feb 6, 2027. The weeks around it are 春运 (chūnyùn), the travel rush, when hundreds of millions go home.

## How do you say holiday in Chinese?

A festival or holiday is 节日 (jiérì), to have a day off is 放假 (fàngjià), and a holiday or vacation is 假期 (jiàqī). People call Labour Day 五一 (Wǔ-Yī), May 1, and National Day 十一 (Shí-Yī), October 1: 十一放假吗？ is “are you off for National Day?”

## Can’t hear it?

Play uses your device’s Mandarin voice. Edge, Chrome and Safari have one; a browser with none plays each character in our recorded voice instead.

## More on Chinese festivals

- [Chinese festivals and their dates](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-festivals)
- [Chinese lunar calendar](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-calendar)
- [Holiday greetings in Chinese](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-phrases/holidays)
- [The 24 solar terms](https://mandarinthewild.com/chinese-solar-terms)

Words, pinyin and meanings from our own dictionary; lunar dates from the Hong Kong Observatory tables, and days off from the State Council’s holiday measures as revised in 2024. Swapped weekends are set each year and not shown.