Public Holidays in China (for 2021 & 2022) 🤔 Your Complete Guide

Q: Are shops open during Public Holidays?

Yes they are. Chinese national holidays are unlike a lot of holidays in the West in that shops and attractions are busier and more open than ever! Many travel during Chinese national holidays, especially during the long holidays of National Day and Chinese New Year . LESSON - do not travel during public Chinese holidays if you can avoid it.

Q: Do Chinese celebrate International New Years?

The international New Year is much less significant in China than for many westerners but it is still celebrated with firework displays and the like.

Q: Do China celebrate Christmas?

No they don't Despite this though, the bigger cities of China still decorate shopping malls and supermarkets with Christmas Trees and the usual Christmassy things.

Q: Is Chinese New Year the same date every year?

Not this changes and depends on the Lunar Calendar. Normally, Chinese New Year would be around the end of January to mid February.

Q: What is the most important holiday in China?

Chinese New Year is the most important.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN CHINA (FOR 2021)

Need to find out the Public Holidays in China for 2021?

Great we have them all here for you.

Starting from January…

January 1st, 2021 – International New Year
February 12th to 17th 2021 – Chinese New Year *
April 5th 2021 – Qing Ming Jie (Tomb Sweeping Day)
May 1st 2021 – Labor Day
June 14th 2021 – Dragon Boat Festival
September 20th & 21st 2021 – Mid Autumn Festival **
October 1st – 7th 2021 – National Holiday ***

Now in China there is a little system where you have to work Saturday’s and Sunday’s to compensate for holidays. Sounds weird right? We’ll talk more about soon.

For 2021, the work compensation days are as follows.

* February 7th (Sunday) and February 20th (Saturday) are worked to compensate for February 11th (Thursday) and 17th (Wednesday).
** Saturday 18th is worked to compensate for September 20th (Monday).
*** September 26th (Sunday) is worked to compensate for October 6th (Wednesday). October 9th (Saturday) is worked to compensate for October 7th (Thursday).

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN CHINA IN 2022

From December 31st to January 2nd 2022 – International New Year
From January 31st to February 6th 2022 – Chinese New Year*
From April 3rd to 5th 2022 – Qing Ming Jie**
From April 29th to May 1st 2022 – Labor Day
From June 3rd to 5th 2022 – Dragon Boat Festival
From September 9th to 11th 2022 – Mid-Autumn Festival
From October 1st to 7th 2022 – Golden Week***

* Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th January are worked.
** Saturday 2nd April is worked to compensate for Monday 4th.
*** Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th October are worked to compensate for the Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd October.

These dates are just an estimate and still need to be officially confirmed.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN CHINA – WHAT’S THE DEAL?

So the theory behind moving working days to weekends is this:

Family time in China is so important given the distances many travel to get home

China is a big country. If you were born in the south and work in Beijing, your journey home is not a short one.

For some people trains take a whole day, even longer, so spending two days of travelling means a 3 day holiday shows no reason to go home.

How about making a 3 day holiday a 7 day on instead? Then it becomes worthwhile.

Let’s say we have a holiday Monday-Wednesday. Including the weekend that gives us a 5 day break. Nice, but it could be even better.

By working on two other Saturdays (one before and one after the holiday) this allows two more days of leeway.

These two days can be added onto the current 5 day break (let’s say in this example – Thursday and Friday), meaning the 3 day holiday has become a 7 day one.

Sure working on weekends is no ones idea of fun, but due to the sheer size of China and mass of people, it makes sense for families who wish to spend that valuable time together that may only occur just once a year in many cases due to such busy working schedules.

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PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN CHINA AT LTL SCHOOL

We are open all year round at LTL Mandarin School so don’t worry, you never miss any classes due to Public Holidays in China.

Your teacher may well be travelling home during the holiday season in China so this might be some re-arranging of classes or a different teacher for a few lessons.

If you have any doubts or questions, just let us know but you’ll never miss any classes with us due to Public Holidays in China.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS IN CHINA – FAQ’S

Are shops open during Public Holidays?

Yes they are.

Chinese national holidays are unlike a lot of holidays in the West in that shops and attractions are busier and more open than ever!

Many travel during Chinese national holidays, especially during the long holidays of National Day and Chinese New Year.

LESSON – do not travel during public Chinese holidays if you can avoid it.

Do Chinese celebrate International New Years?

The international New Year is much less significant in China than for many westerners but it is still celebrated with firework displays and the like.

Do China celebrate Christmas?

No they don’t

Despite this though, the bigger cities of China still decorate shopping malls and supermarkets with Christmas Trees and the usual Christmassy things.

Is Chinese New Year the same date every year?

Not this changes and depends on the Lunar Calendar.

Normally, Chinese New Year would be around the end of January to mid February.

What is the most important holiday in China?

Chinese New Year is the most important.

When does China’s Golden Week begin?

October 1st, the same date every year. This is the National Day of China.