Chinese Festivals and Public Holidays: A Traveler's Guide (2026 Dates)

China's traditional festivals are among the best — and most challenging — times to visit. They fill the streets with red lanterns, dragon boats and the smell of festival food, but they also empty offices, pack trains to bursting and send prices soaring. Knowing when the holidays fall, and what each one means, helps you decide whether to join the celebration or sidestep the crowds. Here is a clear guide to China's main festivals and public holidays, with their 2026 dates.

The seven public holidays and two Golden Weeks

China has seven official public holidays: New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day), Labour Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. Two of them expand into week-long breaks known as "Golden Weeks" — Spring Festival in winter and National Day in early October. During these two periods hundreds of millions of people travel at once, in the world's largest seasonal movement of people. Expect packed trains, sold-out hotels and crowded sights; book everything well ahead, or plan your trip for the quieter weeks on either side.

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

2026 public holiday: 15–23 February. New Year's Day: 17 February (Year of the Horse).

Spring Festival is the biggest holiday of the year — Christmas, New Year and a national homecoming rolled into one. Families gather for a reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, exchange red envelopes (hongbao) of lucky money, set off firecrackers and paste red couplets beside their doors. The 40-day travel season around it, called chunyun, sees billions of trips as people head home. For visitors it is fascinating but tricky: temple fairs and lantern displays are wonderful, yet many small shops and family restaurants close for several days and transport is at its tightest. Major cities and big tourist sights stay open throughout.

Lantern Festival

2026 date: 3 March (not a public holiday).

The Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the lunar new year, marks the official end of the Spring Festival season. Parks and old towns glow with elaborate lantern displays, people puzzle over riddles written on the lanterns, and everyone eats tangyuan — sweet glutinous rice balls that symbolise family togetherness. Because it is not a public holiday, it is an easy, atmospheric celebration to catch without the travel chaos.

Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Festival)

2026 public holiday: 4–6 April.

Qingming is when families visit ancestors' graves to tidy them and leave offerings. It also marks the arrival of spring, so it is a traditional time for outings, kite-flying and enjoying the blossom. The three-day break makes for a busy travel weekend, but nothing on the scale of the Golden Weeks.

Labour Day

2026 public holiday: 1–5 May.

A five-day break in pleasant late-spring weather, Labour Day has become a major domestic travel period in its own right. Popular cities and scenic spots get crowded and prices rise, though less dramatically than during the two Golden Weeks.

Dragon Boat Festival

2026 public holiday: 19–21 June.

This festival honours the ancient poet Qu Yuan with thrilling dragon boat races — long, narrow boats with carved dragon heads, paddled hard to the beat of a drum. The traditional food is zongzi, sticky rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. Races are held on rivers and lakes across the country and are free and exciting to watch.

Mid-Autumn Festival

2026 public holiday: 25–27 September.

Held under the year's brightest full moon, Mid-Autumn is a festival of family reunion and thanks for the harvest. People gather outdoors to admire the moon and share mooncakes — dense round pastries filled with lotus-seed paste, red bean or salted egg yolk. In 2026 it falls just a week before National Day, so the two run together into an exceptionally busy autumn travel stretch.

National Day and Golden Week

2026 public holiday: 1–7 October.

National Day marks the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The seven-day Golden Week that follows is the single busiest domestic travel period of the year: trains and flights sell out weeks ahead, hotel prices spike, and landmark sights such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City reach their absolute peak. If your trip must fall in early October, book transport the moment the booking window opens.

How to plan around the holidays

If you want the festive atmosphere, time your visit for Spring Festival lanterns or a Dragon Boat race — but accept the crowds and book far ahead. If you want smooth travel and lower prices, aim for the weeks just before or after a Golden Week. Train tickets go on sale 15 days in advance and the best ones can vanish within minutes during peak periods, so set a reminder and buy early. Banks and government offices close on public-holiday dates, though ATMs, mobile payments, hotels and transport keep running throughout.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is Chinese New Year in 2026? Chinese New Year's Day falls on 17 February 2026, the start of the Year of the Horse. The official public holiday runs from 15 to 23 February.

Should I avoid travelling in China during the holidays? The two Golden Weeks (Spring Festival and early October) are crowded and expensive, so if you can, travel in the weeks just before or after. That said, experiencing a festival like Spring Festival or Mid-Autumn first-hand can be the highlight of a trip — just book everything early.

Do shops and attractions close during Chinese New Year? Major sights, big-city malls and chain restaurants generally stay open, but many small shops and family-run restaurants close for the first few days, especially in smaller towns. Banks and offices close on the public-holiday dates.

How hard is it to book trains during Golden Week? Very hard — popular routes can sell out within minutes of tickets being released, 15 days ahead. Book the instant the window opens, or consider flying or travelling on the festival day itself, when demand dips slightly.