China public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Dates shift every year because most festivals follow the lunar calendar and the government publishes the next year's arrangement in late autumn. Treat the table as the shape of the year, then confirm exact dates with the official notice before booking.

The pattern that matters for a trip is the swap: a three-day holiday is often made by moving a weekend, which creates a six- or seven-day block and a matching run of working days. Those blocks are when the whole country moves at once.

Spring Festival is the one to plan around or avoid. The travel period around it, Chunyun, runs for about 40 days and covers the largest annual human migration anywhere: hundreds of millions of rail, road and air journeys as people go home. Trains on the main north–south and east–west lines sell out within minutes of the ticket window opening, and flights into smaller cities double or triple in price.

In the cities, the effect is uneven. Beijing and Shanghai empty out as migrant workers leave, so the metro is quiet and some small restaurants and shops close for a week or more. Meanwhile temple fairs, lantern displays and fireworks draw crowds at the major sights. If you are in a big city, it can be a good week; if you need to cross the country, it is the worst week of the year.

Book rail tickets the moment the 15-day advance window opens, and have a backup flight or a different date ready. Hotels in resort towns and anywhere near a major temple fair should be reserved weeks ahead.

National Day on 1 October anchors the biggest Golden Week of the year, usually 1–7 October with swapped weekends extending it. Mid-Autumn sometimes sits just before it, which can merge into an even longer block. Domestic tourism peaks: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Zhangjiajie, Jiuzhaigou, Huangshan and the Yangtze cruises all run at capacity, and hotel rates in those places can double or more.

If your dates are fixed inside a Golden Week, pick one base and stay there rather than trying to move between cities. Reserve timed-entry tickets for the big sights as soon as they open, and use early mornings. If your dates are flexible, the days immediately after the block ends are often the best value of the whole year: the crowds go home, the weather is still good, and prices drop back.

Harbin's ice and snow festival, running roughly from late December into February, is the clearest case for planning around a festival: the city is at its best then, and the ice sculptures and snow park are the reason to come. Book accommodation early because the whole city fills.

The lantern displays of Spring Festival, especially in Xi'an, Nanjing and the water towns, are another good reason to be in China in winter. Dragon Boat races in June are best seen in river cities such as Hangzhou and Guangzhou. Mid-Autumn is a family festival rather than a spectator one, but the moon-viewing evenings at West Lake and along the Bund are pleasant.

Outside the statutory list, regional and ethnic festivals matter in the southwest and in Tibet. Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi have Bai, Miao, Dai and Zhuang festivals through the year, and Lhasa's calendar is busy in the warmer months. Dates follow local calendars, so confirm with a local operator or your hotel before building a trip around one.

On a statutory holiday, government offices, embassies and consulates, banks and many museums close. That matters if you need a visa extension, a document or a bank errand: do it before the block starts. Some museums close on the holiday itself but reopen the next day, and a few keep holiday hours, so check the specific site.

Shops are more resilient than you might expect. Shopping malls, chain stores, convenience stores and most restaurants in big cities stay open, and some run holiday promotions. In smaller towns and in tourist areas, family-run restaurants may shut for several days, especially over Spring Festival. Supermarkets stay open, which is a reliable fallback.

Transport runs, but on a holiday timetable in some cities, and taxis are harder to find on the peak days. Ride-hailing apps still work. If you are driving, expect toll-free motorways during the main blocks, which sounds good until you see the queues.

Book rail tickets as soon as the 15-day window opens and have a fallback date. Flights on the peak days are expensive but sometimes the only option; check both. Hotels near major sights and in resort towns should be reserved well ahead for Golden Week and Spring Festival.

Carry your passport: it is required for train travel, hotel check-in and many timed-entry tickets. Timed-entry systems for the Forbidden City, the Terracotta Army and other big sights release slots on a schedule, and holiday slots vanish fast.

If you are travelling with children, holiday crowds and long queues are the main risk; plan shorter days and book the big sights for opening time. Travel insurance is worth checking for trip-interruption cover if you are flying on peak dates, when delays are more likely.