Chinese National Holidays in 2021
All you need to knowAs the year 2020 is coming to end, itโs time to make plans for 2021 โ hopefully, with the world getting back in order, and everyone getting a chance to travel again.
Here comes a list of all Chinese public holidays in 2021 including dates, duration and compensation work days, to help you better plan your year.
Chinaโs National Holidays in 2021 are:
- Jan 1โ3: New Year Holiday (ๅ ๆฆ)
- Feb 11โ17: Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year (ๆฅ่)
- Apr 3โ5: Tomb Sweeping Day (ๆธ ๆ่)
- May 1โ5: Labour Day Holiday (ๅณๅจ่)
- Jun 12โ14: Dragon Boat Festival (็ซฏๅ่)
- Sep 19โ21: Mid-Autumn Festival (ไธญ็ง่)
- Oct 1โ7: National Day (ๅฝๅบ่), or Golden Week (้ป้ๅจ)
Chinese National Holidays in 2021
January 1 โ 3
New Year Holiday (ๅ
ๆฆ)
In 2021, the New Year holidays will last 3 days: from Jan 1 to Jan 3 (Fri โ Sun).
Good news: This year, January 1 falls on a Friday, so it will be combined with the weekend into a 3-day holiday. No need to work on weekends to compensate!
๐ก About New Year in China
January 1st is considered to be the first day of the year by the Gregorian calendar, commonly used around the world including China.
Chinese people also celebrate some holidays according to the Lunar Calendar โ but in everyday life, everyone uses the Gregorian calendar.
February 11 โ 17
Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year (ๆฅ่)
The Spring festival holiday in 2021 will last 7 days, from February 11 to February 17 (Thu โ Wed).The Chinese New Year Day this year falls on February 12.
Bad news: Weโll need to work on Feb 7 (Sun) and Feb 20 (Sat) to compensate for the long break.
๐ก About Chinese New Year
It can also be referred to as the Lunar New Year or Spring Festival.
The years of the Chinese calendar work on a 12-year cycle. Each year is represented by an animal. The animals, in order, are as follows: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. It is thought that people born during a certain year will have the attributes of their corresponding zodiac animal.
2021 will be the Year of the Ox.
April 3 โ 5
Tomb Sweeping Day (ๆธ
ๆ่)
The ๆธ ๆ่ (Qฤซngmรญng Jiรฉ), or Tomb Sweeping Day break will last 3 days, and it will take place from April 3 to April 5 (Fri โ Sun).
Good news: This year, April 3 falls on a Friday, so it will be combined with the weekend into a 3-day holiday. No need to work on weekends to compensate!
๐ก About Tomb-Sweeping Day
Tomb Sweeping Day dates back to over 2500 years ago. It is recognized as an important day to show respect to oneโs ancestors.
On this day, Chinese people honor and commemorate their ancestors by visiting their graves. They make offerings of food and tea and burning incense. They also repair and sweep the tombs.
May 1 โ 5
Labour Day Holiday (ๅณๅจ่)
The Labour Day holiday in 2021 will be 5 days long, and last from May 1 to May 5 (Sat โ Wed).
Bad news: Weโll have to work on April 25 (Sun) and May 8 (Sat) to compensate.
๐ก About Labor Day
Labour day is also called Workerโs day. It is a public holiday that celebrates workers contributions to the country. Unlike other Chinese holidays, labour day is based on the traditional Gregorian calendar. That is opposed to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Traditionally, the labour day holiday is a time where people get together for family fun. Due to the warm weather over this period, itโs common for people to travel to natural settings and enjoy time outside.
While there are no traditional foods or cultural activities on this day, you can be sure there will be plenty to do in and outside of the cities.
June 25 โ 27
Dragon Boat Festival (็ซฏๅ่)
This year, the Dragon Boat Festival holiday will last 3 days: from June 12 to June 14 (Sat-Mon).
Good news: Since the holiday falls on a Monday, it will be combined with the weekend โ no need to work afterwards to compensate!
๐ก About the Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat festival is considered an important and traditional holiday in China. The dragon boat festival is called ็ซฏๅ่ in Chinese and takes place on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The origin of the dragon boat festival is said to go all the way back to the 3rd century BC to the time of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet who was a loyal official to the state of Chu. When the state of Qin conquered the state of Chu, Qu Yuan was so distraught that he drowned himself in a river.
When the local people heard of Qu Yuanโs death, they were very sad and rowed out on the river in search of his body. In order to keep fish from eating Qu Yuanโs body they threw balls of rice into the water for them to eat.
On this day Chinese people commemorate Qu Yuan by racing dragon boats and eating special sticky rice dumplings called Zongzi.
October 1 โ 8
Mid-Autumn Festival (ไธญ็ง่)
This year, the mid-Autumn festival lands on September 21.
The holidays will last 3 days: from September 19 to September 21 (Sun-Tue).
Bad news: Weโll have to work on September 18 (Sat) to compensate.
๐ก About the Mid-Autumn Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival is often called โmoon dayโ or โmooncake dayโ. Traditionally it is a day to gather with family, eat mooncakes and light paper lanterns. The Mid-Autumn festival is also the most important national holiday after Chinese New Year. It is originated more than 3000 years ago when Chinese emperors worshipped the moon in Autumn to thank it for the harvest.
October 1 โ 8
National Day (ๅฝๅบ่), or the Golden Week (้ป้ๅจ)
In 2021, the National Day holidays will last 7 days: from October 1 to October 8.
Bad news: Weโll have to work on September 26 (Sun) and October 9 (Sat) to compensate.
๐ก About National Day
October first is National Day. It is a day to commemorate the founding of the Peopleโs Republic of China in 1949. The holiday that follows lasts until the 7th and it usually referred to as โGolden Weekโ.
Itโs important to remember that if you want to travel in China during golden week, you must book well in advance! Transportation is also very crowded during this time and hotel prices generally increase so plan out your trip wisely.
Other notable holidays
While weโve covered the main public holidays above, there are four other notable holidays which are only observed by specific social groups. These are:
- International Womenโs Day (March 8) โ Observed for half a day by women only
- Youth Day (May 4) โ Observed for half a day by youths between 14-28 years of age
- Childrenโs Day (June 1) โ Observed for a full day by children below 14 years of age
- Army Day (August 1) โ Observed for half a day by military personnel in active service
- Chinaโs Valentineโs Day (August 14) โ ไธๅค่ (Qฤซxฤซjiรฉ), takes place on the 7th day of the 7th month on the lunar calendar
Summing up
Well, there it is, all the Chinese National Holidays for 2021. Remember, if youโre planning on traveling around China during any of these holiday breaks, itโs important to book early and plan wisely as things can get quite chaotic. Especially if youโre planning to visit any tourist attractions.
We hope youโve enjoyed reading this article. We wish everyone a wonderful year ahead!