If you would like to come to China for business or tourist purposes, we advise you to check the dates for the China Holidays 2020 beforehand to avoid unpleasant surprises. In China, there are public holidays during seven festivals in a year: New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and National Day. Often few days proceeding or following these festivals are also non-working days. Some festivals don’t have fixed days as their dates are set based on the moon calendar, which is different from the Gregorian one. Moon-month consists of 29-30 days. The times of Chinese New Year, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Day fall every year on different dates. Below we present a list of China Holidays in 2020.
China Holidays 2020
Chinese New Year
January 25, days off: January 24-30, 2020
Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar or New Year Spring Festival, is the most glorious and most important festival in China, with a whole week-long holiday. Sometimes celebration lasts longer, up to two weeks or even a month, and the climax arrives around Lunar New Year’s Eve. The Chinese New Year in 2020 marks the beginning of The Year of the Rat.
As it is the time for family reunions, many Chinese people travel across China. Other Asian nationalities also celebrate the New Lunar Year and migrate. Therefore, the period is called the Chunyun period, the largest annual human migration on our planet. If you happen to go to China during that time, you should prepare for crowds, transport difficulties, and raised prices. It’s better not to come to China for business-related events or meetings because many banks and companies have shorter opening hours or even close for the holiday.
Qingming Festival
April 4; days off: April 4-6, 2020
Qingming Festival (also known as Tomb-sweeping Day or Pure Brightness Festival) has a close relationship with agriculture. Around the time of the Qingming Festival, temperatures begin to rise and rainfall increases, marking the beginning of farm work. During the period of the festival, the Chinese spend time on many activities, among which the main ones are tomb sweeping as of paying respect to the dead, flying kites, and taking a spring outing. The period is considered to be a public holiday, therefore banks, as well as other public service sectors, could be closed.
May Day
May 1, days off: May 1-3, 2020
As it is in many other countries, the Chinese celebrate Labor Day. In 2020, it falls on Friday, so during the whole weekend or even a week, the Chinese will take the opportunity to travel and go sightseeing. Holiday travelers overrun the most famous places. Therefore we suggest visiting places which are equally interesting but less crowded. Moreover, many companies could close for business.
Dragon Boat Festival
June 25; days off: June 25-27, 2020
Dragon Boat Festival, also called Duanwu Festival, is a traditional holiday with a history of over 2,000 years in China to commemorate Qu Yuan (340-278 BC), an ancient Chinese patriotic poet and minister. He drowned himself in a river as an act of opposition to having his country conquered. As it originates in southern China, the festival enjoys higher popularity in southern areas. The most prominent traditions are Dragon boat racing and eating zongzi, a pyramid-shaped rice dumpling wrapped in reed leaves.
Mid-Autumn Day
October 1, 2020
The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second grandest festival in China, following the Chinese New Year. As the name implies, the celebration falls around the middle of the autumn season. At that time of the year, the moon is at its roundest and brightest, so the day is also called the Moon Festival. The Moon Cake is the special food of the festival. It is a custom to sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. They are also given as presents to family and friends. It is appropriate to gift moon cakes to business partners.
National Day
October 1, days off: October 1-7, 2020
Chinese National Day is celebrated annually on October 1st to commemorate the founding of the People’s Republic of China. On that day, lots of large-scale activities are held all over the country. The seven-day holiday is called Golden Week, during which many Chinese go traveling. The weather is very suitable for this activity, leading to an overwhelming tourist crowd. If possible, avoid traveling during the Golden Week, or at least avoid hot destinations. Banks, other public service sectors, and most restaurants and shops close for business.
If you are planning to travel to China, we advise you to familiarize yourself with the China holidays 2020. During the festivals mentioned above and festive days, access to transportation, banks, public service sectors, and more is hindered. It is also important to check the eventual regional festivals happening in your destination area.