For foreign tourists who plan to visit China, we suggest you to avoid the Chinese public holidays. Because during these days, the domestic tourists also start their China tours, the peak time of tourism may cause most destinations more crowded than the usual days.
There are 7 legal festivals in a year, on which all Chinese people will be on vacation. They are New Year's Day, Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, May Day, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.
Here is general information about the
China public holidays in 2016, 2017 and 2018 for your reference (The calendar of 2016 is exact; the calendar of 2017 and 2018 is based on estimate only).
Chinese Public Holidays Calendar
|
Public Holidays |
How many days |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
|
New Year's Day |
3 days |
Jan. 1 to 3 |
Jan. 1 to 3 |
Dec. 30 to 1 |
|
Spring Festival Holiday |
7 days |
Feb. 7 to 13 |
Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 |
Feb. 15 to 21 |
|
Tomb-Sweeping Day |
3 days |
Apr. 2 to 4 |
Apr. 2 to 4 |
Apr. 5 to 7 |
|
Labor Day |
3 days |
Apr. 30 to May. 2 |
Apr. 29 to May 1 |
Apr.29 to May 1 |
|
Dragon-Boat Festival |
3 days |
Jun. 9 to Jun.11 |
May. 28 to May. 30 |
Jun. 17 to 19 |
|
Mid-Autumn Day |
3 days |
Sep. 15 to 17 |
Oct. 4, during National Day holidays |
Sep. 23 to 25 |
|
National Day Holiday |
7 days |
Oct. 1 to 7 |
Oct. 1 to 7 |
Oct. 1 to 7 |
It is not a good idea to travel in China during Chinese Public holidays when huge numbers of Chinese people are travelling around. The busiest three national holidays in China are Chinese Spring Festival (usually in late Jan or early Feb.), International Labor Day (May 01 to 03) and National Day (Oct 01-07)..
Spring Festival is an especially crowded time to travel. The Spring Festival holiday has 7 days break. As the Spring Festival approaching, millions of migrant workers and students come back home to get together with families. The Spring Festival Rush will last for about 40 days. It usually begins 15 days before the festival and 25 days after the festival. According to statistics, during the Spring Festival there are over 315,000,000 passengers.
The advantage of being in China at this time is that you will get the opportunity to experience "first hand" the significance of these celebrations in Chinese culture.