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There are currently seven official public holidays in the People's Republic of China. On April 4, 2008, the Qingming Festival was reinstated as a national holiday.[1]
Note: The three-day Chinese New Year public holiday began on Chinese New Year's Day itself from 2000 to 2007. It will be shifted back by one day, and will begin on Chinese New Year's Eve, starting from 2008.
In all these holidays, it the holiday lands on a weekend, the days will be reimbursed after the weekend.
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.
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 Chinese New Year and National Day holidays are three days long. In addition, surrounding weekends are moved in order to create a longer holiday period for the public holidays.
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. In 2008, the Labor Day holiday will be shortened to 1 day, and three traditional Chinese holidays will be added.
[edit] Traditional holiday scheme
[edit] 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 |
[edit] See also
[edit] Works Cited
- ^ Xinhuanet.com "Xinhuanet.com." How will people spend China's 1st Qingming Festival holiday?. Retrieved on 2008-04-04.
[edit] References
- Chinese Holidays (Chinese). Xinhua.
