New Year's Day
Busy1–3 January 2026 · 3 days
Cities stay lively and shops open late. Intercity trains are busiest on 1 January and on the last evening of the break.
WIDGETS / DATE PLANNER
Is your date a China holiday?
Pick any date in 2026 and see whether China is off work, at work on a weekend, or somewhere in between — and what that means for trains, hotels and queues.
7 public holidays33 days off in total6 make-up workdaysOfficial calendar checked 30 October 2026
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THE 2026 CALENDAR
Seven breaks move the whole country
Crowd levels are our editorial read of each break, not official figures. The dates themselves are the official ones.
Spring Festival
Peak15–23 February 2026 · 9 days
The year's great homecoming: hundreds of millions travel home. Big cities empty out and many small restaurants close, while hometown destinations and famous sights overflow. Book trains the day sales open, fifteen days ahead.
Qingming Festival
Busy4–6 April 2026 · 3 days
Tomb-sweeping meets spring outings. In 2026 an estimated 840 million trips were made across this three-day break, so short-haul trains sell early; book several days ahead.
Labour Day
Peak1–5 May 2026 · 5 days
Five days of nationwide leisure travel in the best weather of the year. Expect peak pricing and queues everywhere famous; book trains and hotels early.
Dragon Boat Festival
Busy19–21 June 2026 · 3 days
Zongzi in every shop window and dragon-boat racing in the cities that stage it. A manageable short break: book trains a few days ahead.
Mid-Autumn Festival
Busy25–27 September 2026 · 3 days
Mooncakes, family dinners and a full moon the whole country schedules around. It runs straight into the National Day build-up, so late-September trains tighten early.
National Day
Peak1–7 October 2026 · 7 days
Golden Week. The other great peak of the year alongside Spring Festival: treat its trains, hotels and headline sights with the same respect, and book the day sales open.
THE CATCH
Weekends when China works
Six weekend days in 2026 are make-up workdays: offices and schools run as if it were a weekday, while sights and trains are often calmer than a normal weekend. They are 4 January 2026 · 14 February 2026 · 28 February 2026 · 9 May 2026 · 20 September 2026 · 10 October 2026.
The swap is how long breaks are built: a Saturday at your desk buys the extra weekday inside the holiday next to it.
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SOURCES
Where the dates come from
General Office of the State Council, notice on the 2026 public holiday arrangements (Guo Ban Fa Ming Dian [2025] No. 7), published 4 November 2025 — read the notice. Calendar checked 30 October 2026.