When you work with China, it’s critical to understand and know the Chinese public holiday schedule. This schedule can appear a little bit strange for foreigners, especially with the system of adjusted working days. Namely, during major celebrations like Chinese New Year and National Day, employees receive extended breaks of up to nine days. To compensate for these long holidays, workers make up time on designated weekends.
Historic Spring Festival Break in 2026
This year will feature the longest Spring Festival holiday in history, lasting a total of nine days starting mid-February. The holiday will run from February 15 to February 23, 2026, offering Chinese workers an unprecedented extended break to celebrate the Lunar New Year with their families.
In 2026, all employees in China will be entitled to a total of 13 days off when adjusted for weekends and additional weekend work days – the same number as in 2025.
Understanding Adjusted Working Days
Foreign human resource managers should note that Saturdays and Sundays are often marked as additional official work days in China to compensate for long holiday breaks. For example, February 14 (Saturday) and February 28 (Saturday) are designated as workdays to partially offset the nine days off for Spring Festival.
This system of adjusted working days is a distinctive feature of China’s public holiday schedule. Similarly, for the National Day holiday in October, September 20 (Sunday) and October 10 (Saturday) will be regular working days.
Complete 2026 Holiday Schedule
Here’s the full breakdown of China’s public holidays for 2026:
Important Reminders for HR Managers
- Overtime Compensation: Work performed on official public holidays must be compensated at a minimum of 300% of the normal wage under the standard working hour system. For adjusted rest days, the minimum is 200% if the rest cannot be postponed.
- Company Flexibility: Private companies in China have the right to provide employees with additional days off beyond the official calendar, so long as the minimum official holiday schedule is maintained.
- Planning Ahead: The adjusted working days can catch foreign managers off guard. It’s essential to plan project timelines and deliverables around both the holidays and the compensatory working weekends.
Download the Calendar
Adapted from China Briefing’s schedule, you can download Management made in China’s ICS calendar for China public holiday 2026 below. This calendar can be directly imported into Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, Apple Calendar, or Google Calendar.
Whether you’re managing a team in China, coordinating with Chinese suppliers, or planning business trips, having this calendar readily accessible will help you navigate the year’s business rhythm in the world’s second-largest economy.
Enjoy!
A graduate of HEC Paris and CentraleSupélec, Jérôme Delacroix began his career at management and organizational consulting giant Accenture, before turning to marketing, writing and entrepreneurship.
Jérôme has been to China more than 12 times and is learning Mandarin Chinese. He hosts a YouTube channel dedicated to the Internet in China.
