China’s official holiday schedule for 2018 – the year of the dog - was released in November. If you are doing business with partners there (including customers, suppliers, distributors and your own employees), or plan to do so in the coming year, then make sure you take note of these dates and put them in your own calendar. There are many reasons for doing so, including:
Knowing when they will be on shutdown, and also when they will be working extra-long weeks because of compensation weekend days
Avoiding peak holiday travel times, when tickets are expensive and hard to buy
Remembering to send seasonal greetings, and building your business friendships
As usual, the schedule features two major week-long holidays: Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Year) and National Day.
Unusual as it may seem to those who haven’t experienced this before, China’s holiday schedule often includes additional official work days that fall on Saturdays and Sundays to compensate for long holidays. For example, Sunday 11 February and Saturday 24 February are official work days in 2018.
It is important to note that private companies have the right to determine their own schedules with additional days off as long as the official holidays are maintained.
China’s official holiday schedule for 2018 is as follows:
New Year
30 December – 1 January (3 days in total including the weekend)
Spring Festival
15 – 21 February (7 days in total)
11 February (Sunday) and 24 February (Saturday) are official working days
Tomb Sweeping Day
5 – 7 April (3 days in total including the Saturday)
8 April (Sunday) is an official working day
Labour Day
29 April – 1 May (3 days in total including the Sunday)
28 April (Saturday) is an official working day
Dragon Boat Festival
16 - 18 June (3 days in total including the weekend)
Mid-Autumn Festival
22 - 24 September (3 days in total including the weekend)
National Day
1-7 October (7 days in total)
29 September (Saturday) and 30 September (Sunday) are official working days