China Holidays 2027: Full Calendar & Travel Guide

Plan around China Holidays 2027 with official holiday dates, the 9-day Spring Festival break, make-up workdays and practical travel tips for mainland China.

China Public Holidays 2027 Calendar

Use the interactive calendar below to see every month at a glance. Red cells mark the official holiday periods in the 2027 State Council schedule; amber cells mark make-up workdays. Months without an announced national holiday are still shown so you can compare dates across the full year. The calendar reflects the mainland China schedule and does not replace an employer’s internal roster.

China Public Holidays 2027 at a Glance

China’s 2027 public-holiday schedule was announced by the General Office of the State Council on November 5, 2026. The year includes a nine-day Spring Festival break, a five-day Labour Day break and a seven-day National Day holiday. The table below separates the official holiday periods from the make-up workdays, which is useful when choosing travel dates.

These are the announced mainland China holiday periods, not a list of every local observance. Hong Kong and Macau follow separate public-holiday calendars. A make-up workday is a scheduled working day even when it falls on a weekend, so it can affect office hours, local traffic and transport demand around the adjacent break. Check your own employer’s roster as well as the national dates before you commit to non-refundable tickets.

The pattern also helps with leave planning. New Year’s Day and Qingming each create a three-day break; Labour Day and National Day are five and seven days respectively; Spring Festival is the longest at nine days. Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn each fall on a Wednesday and are one-day holidays, so they do not form a long weekend without taking extra leave.

New Year’s Day: January 1–3, 2027

Chinese new year - NCAB Group

New Year’s Day falls on Friday, January 1, creating a three-day break through Sunday, January 3. No make-up workday is listed for this holiday. It is a compact option for a nearby city break; travellers can avoid adding leave by keeping the itinerary within the weekend period.

A three-day window works best with one base rather than a route that depends on several long transfers. Choose the neighbourhood or city you most want to explore, check which venues close or shorten their hours on January 1, and keep a second indoor or outdoor option in case the weather changes. If you are connecting from an international flight, avoid scheduling an essential same-day transfer that leaves no recovery time.

Spring Festival: February 5–13, 2027

The Spring Festival holiday runs for nine consecutive days, from Friday, February 5 (Lunar New Year’s Eve) through Saturday, February 13. The Lunar New Year falls on Saturday, February 6. Sunday, January 31 and Sunday, February 14 are make-up workdays, so check the full workweek before extending a trip around the break.

This is the longest announced holiday of the year and one of the busiest periods for domestic transport. If your dates are fixed, compare departure times across nearby days, check train and flight tickets as soon as booking windows open, and confirm each attraction’s holiday hours directly before travelling. Hotels and transport can sell out earlier than on an ordinary winter weekend.

For visitors, the break is a chance to see New Year celebrations and traditional customs, but opening schedules can vary: some businesses close, while major attractions may operate on adjusted hours or require advance reservations. Build in time for station transfers and avoid making the first day after arrival depend on a timed ticket. If your trip spans the make-up workdays, plan those days as working days rather than assuming that the whole fortnight is a continuous holiday.

Qingming Festival: April 3–5, 2027

The Qingming holiday runs from Saturday, April 3 to Monday, April 5. It combines the festival date with the weekend for three consecutive days off, with no make-up workday announced. Qingming is also a traditional time for families to honour ancestors. If you are visiting a cemetery, memorial site or popular scenic area, allow for heavier local traffic and follow any site-specific notices.

For a leisure trip, the three-day period is better suited to a focused itinerary than a multi-city circuit. Decide in advance whether the priority is a family visit, a cultural site or a spring outing, then check local access and transport notices for that exact destination. The dates are fixed in the national schedule, but event programmes and venue opening hours are set locally and may be updated closer to the holiday.

Labour Day: May 1–5, 2027

The Labour Day holiday spans five days, from Saturday, May 1 through Wednesday, May 5. Saturday, May 8 is a make-up workday. As the break covers both a weekend and several weekdays, it offers more room for a multi-stop itinerary, but popular transport routes and hotel areas may be busy. Check whether your own workplace observes the announced make-up day before booking a return that assumes a regular weekend.

A practical approach is to select one main destination and add nearby day trips only after confirming the transport connections. If you plan to change cities, leave a buffer between a long-distance arrival and any pre-booked attraction. Review cancellation terms before choosing a hotel, and check the return journey against the May 8 workday. A holiday itinerary that ends a day early may be easier than trying to travel home with the broader post-holiday flow.

Dragon Boat Festival: June 9, 2027

The Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival holiday is Wednesday, June 9, with one day off and no make-up workday specified in the annual notice. The midweek date does not create a long weekend by itself; a short trip would require taking additional leave. Dragon-boat races and local festival activities vary by city and venue, so check the organiser’s current programme rather than assuming an event is held on a particular schedule.

If you are in China that week, a local event or a one-city visit is easier to fit around the Wednesday break than a long-distance itinerary. Festival food and customs differ by region, and not every destination stages a public race. Confirm the venue, viewing arrangements and any admission requirements from the organiser before setting out, especially if the event is the main reason for your trip.

Mid-Autumn Festival: September 15, 2027

The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday is Wednesday, September 15, for one day. The notice does not assign a make-up workday for this holiday. It is a useful date for a local family gathering or a short evening outing, while a longer trip will require annual leave. Event schedules and opening hours can differ by destination.

For travellers, this works more naturally as an evening experience or as one day added to annual leave than as a standalone long weekend. Public celebrations, lantern displays and venue programmes are organised locally, so there is no single nationwide event timetable to rely on. Check the date and operating information for the place you intend to visit; the September 15 date in the calendar is the announced holiday, not a guarantee that every attraction will run a special programme.

National Day: October 1–7, 2027

Public holidays in China - Wikipedia

The National Day holiday lasts seven days, from Friday, October 1 through Thursday, October 7. Sunday, September 26 and Saturday, October 9 are make-up workdays. This is the other major long-distance travel period in the year. If you plan to visit a major city or a well-known attraction, allow more time for transfers, confirm ticket reservation rules, and build flexibility into the itinerary.

The seven-day block can support a longer route, but it is still worth limiting the number of overnight moves. Pick the cities or regions that matter most, book any timed-entry attractions before finalising the daily sequence, and leave extra time for station access and city traffic. If your plans include a make-up workday, confirm whether the services you need will follow a weekday timetable and keep the return date clear in your calendar.

For a history-focused stop in Xi’an, the Terracotta Army is one of the existing Trip.com attraction options referenced in the earlier guide. Check the attraction’s current admission and entry arrangements before travel; the card below links to its Trip.com listing.

Which 2027 Holiday Is Best for a China Trip?

The best break depends on how much time you can take and whether your priority is a long itinerary or a short local visit. Spring Festival provides the longest announced period, while Labour Day and National Day also leave several consecutive days for travel. The New Year’s Day and Qingming breaks suit shorter trips. Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn each fall midweek, so visitors usually need annual leave to turn them into a longer holiday. These are planning comparisons based on the announced dates, not a prediction of crowd levels or ticket availability.

The 2027 calendar is for mainland China. If your itinerary includes Hong Kong or Macau, check their separate public-holiday calendars and local transport arrangements rather than applying the mainland dates to every stop. The dates in the national notice also do not set opening hours for individual museums, attractions, restaurants or transport operators; those schedules should be checked separately.

How to Plan a China Trip Around the 2027 Holidays

Start with the official dates, then check the make-up workdays against your personal calendar. The holiday block is not the only busy period: the weekend immediately before or after it may also carry heavy demand, especially when a make-up workday changes the usual travel pattern.

• Book around the calendar, not just the holiday label. Compare travel on the first and last day of the break with the surrounding dates. Where possible, avoid placing a long transfer on the busiest departure or return day.
• Check attraction entry rules. Some venues use timed tickets, advance reservations or holiday-specific operating hours. Use the attraction’s current official notice or listing before setting a fixed itinerary.
• Leave room for local transport. City traffic, station transfers and attraction queues can take longer during national breaks. Keep arrival and departure plans realistic rather than relying on a tight connection.
• Confirm your work schedule. The annual notice lists national make-up workdays; employers may communicate roster details separately. Check before booking non-refundable travel.
• Recheck before departure. The schedule above is the announced 2027 arrangement. For later changes, follow updated government notices and the transport or attraction operator’s own information.
• Keep the itinerary geographically realistic. A longer holiday can make a multi-city route possible, but transfer time still reduces sightseeing time. Group nearby places together and avoid booking activities immediately after a long arrival journey.
• Check cancellation and entry conditions. Review the provider’s change rules, attraction reservation requirements and any identity-document instructions before paying. These are set by individual operators and can differ by product.
• Use a flexible first and last day. Keep the first day light if you arrive during a peak period, and avoid making an inflexible booking depend on a tight connection on the return date.

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