There are currently seven official public holidays in the mainland territory of the People's Republic of China. There was a major reform in 2008, abolishing the Labour Day Golden Week and adding three traditional Chinese holidays (Qingming Festival, Duanwu Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival).[1] A notable feature of mainland Chinese holidays is that people are often required to work at weekends in lieu of weekday holidays.
Note on duration and 2010 dates: Most sources in China count the total number of days off (including statutory holidays, transferred days and weekends), which is important for Chinese people working a seven-day week. E.g. a holiday on a Friday is always announced as a three day holiday (Friday-Sunday). See the references for details of transferred holidays in 2010. The table above does not count weekends.
Transferred holidays
In all these holidays, if the holiday lands on a weekend, the days will be reimbursed after the weekend.
The Chinese New Year and National Day holidays are three days long. The week-long holidays on May (Labor) Day and National Day began in 2000, as a measure to increase and encourage holiday spending. The resulting seven-day holidays are called "Golden Weeks" (黄金周), and have become peak seasons for travel and tourism. From 2008, the Labor Day holiday was shortened to one day, and three traditional Chinese holidays have been added.
Generally, if there is a 3 day holiday, the government will declare it to be a 7 day holiday, making the weekend after normal working days. This means that shops, banks, schools, etc., treat Saturday and Sunday as if they were Monday and Tuesday (or whatever weekdays they have been 'swapped' with). The resulting disruption is accepted as normal. In 2010, this applies on 20-21 February, 12-13 June, 19 September, 25-26 September, and 9 October.
Additional holidays for specific social groups
In addition to these holidays, applicable to the whole population, there are four official public holidays applicable to specific sections of the population:
| Date |
English name |
Chinese name |
Duration |
Applicable to |
| March 8 |
International Women's Day |
国际妇女节 |
half-day |
Women |
| May 4 |
Youth Day |
青年节 |
half-day |
Youth above the age of 14 |
| June 1 |
Children's Day |
六一儿童节 |
1 day |
Children below the age of 14 |
| August 1 |
Army Day |
建军节 |
half-day |
Military personnel in active service |
The closeness of Labor Day and Youth Day resulted in an unexpectedly long break for schools in 2008 - the Youth Day half-holiday entitlement had been largely forgotten because it has been subsumed into the Golden Week.
Traditional holiday scheme
Novel holidays
Some Chinese young adults have begun to celebrate 11 November as Singles' Day because of the many ones (1s) in the date.
2006 example
New Year's Day Holiday, 2006
| Dec |
Jan |
| 28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
| W |
T |
F |
S |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
| Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
Weekend |
| becomes |
| Weekdays |
Holiday |
Moved Weekend |
Weekdays |
Weekend |
Chinese New Year Holiday, 2006
| Jan |
Feb |
| 27 |
28 |
29 |
30 |
31 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
| F |
S |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
S |
M |
| Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
| becomes |
| Weekdays |
Holiday |
Moved Weekend |
Moved Weekend |
Weekdays |
Labor Day Holiday, 2006
| Apr |
May |
| 29 |
30 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| S |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
S |
M |
T |
| Weekend |
Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
| becomes |
| Weekdays |
Holiday |
Moved Weekend |
Weekend |
"Weekdays" |
National Day Holiday, 2006
| Sept |
Oct |
| 29 |
30 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
| F |
S |
S |
M |
T |
W |
T |
F |
S |
S |
M |
| Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
Weekend |
Weekdays |
| becomes |
| Weekdays |
Holiday |
Moved Weekend |
Moved Weekend |
Weekdays |
See also
Works Cited
- ^ Xinhuanet.com "Xinhuanet.com." How will people spend China's 1st Qingming Festival holiday?. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
- ^ "国务院办公厅关于2010年部分节假日安排的通知" (in Mandarin). General Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. 2009. http://www.gov.cn/zwgk/2009-12/08/content_1482691.htm. Retrieved 2009-12-09. Issued 9 December 2010.
- ^ Friday 1 is a statutory holiday.
- ^ a b The three-day public holiday began on Chinese New Year's Day itself from 2000 to 2007. In 2008 it was shifted back by one day, and now begins on Chinese New Year's Eve.
- ^ Saturday 13 (New Year's Eve), Sunday 14 (New Year's Day) and Monday 15 are statutory holidays. Because New Year's Eve and New Year's Day fall at the weekend, Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 are given in lieu. Thursday 18 and Friday 19 are also holidays; work schedules transfer to Saturday 20 and Sunday 21. This is officially counted as seven days' holiday (Saturday-Friday).
- ^ Monday 5 is a statutory holiday. The authorities count this as three days' holiday (Saturday-Monday).
- ^ 1 May is a statutory holiday, but this falls on a Saturday, so the holiday is transferred to Monday 3. This is officially counted as three days' holiday (Saturday-Monday).
- ^ Wednesday 16 is a statutory holiday. Monday 14 and Tuesday 13 are holidays; Monday and Tuesday work schedules transfer to Saturday 12 and Sunday 13. This is officially counted as three days' holiday (Monday-Wednesday).
- ^ Wednesday 22 is a statutory holiday. Thursday 23 and Friday 24 are holidays; Thursday and Friday work schedules transfer to Sunday 19 and Saturday 25. The whole weekend of 25-26 September is cancelled. This is officially counted as three days' holiday (Wednesday-Friday).
- ^ Friday 1 October is a statutory holiday. Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 are statutory holidays, but fall at the weekend, so Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 are given in lieu. Wednesday 6 and Thursday 7 are holiday; working schedules are transferred to Sunday 26 September and Saturday 9 October. The whole weekend of 25-26 September is cancelled. This is officially counted as seven days' holiday (Friday-Thursday).
References
- "Chinese Holidays" (in Chinese). Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2003-01/18/content_695315.htm.
