China Public Holiday 2025 Schedule

Posted by Written by Qian Zhou Reading Time: 5 minutes
  • China has released its 2025 Public Holiday schedule. Compared to 2024, the number of public holidays for all citizens has increased by two days, specifically for Lunar New Year’s Eve and May 2nd.
  • The announcement also clarifies the adjusted holiday arrangements, stating that the continuous work period before and after statutory holidays generally should not exceed six days, except for certain special circumstances.
  • According to the notice, in 2025, the Spring Festival will have an 8-day holiday, the Labor Day holiday will last 5 days, and the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival will jointly have 8 days off.

The State Council released the official China Public Holiday 2025 schedule through its Circular of the General Office of the State Council on the Arrangement of Public Holidays in 2025 (see here for the official source) on November 12, 2024.

Starting January 1, 2025, there will be some notable changes to public holidays compared to 2024. The total number of holidays for all citizens will increase by two days, with one additional day added to both the Spring Festival and Labor Day.

The State Council has also decided to optimize the holiday arrangements further. Here are the key updates:

  • The Spring Festival will have an eight-day holiday starting from Lunar New Year’s Eve.
  • The National Day holiday will last seven days from October 1.
  • Labor Day will be a five-day holiday.
  • New Year’s DayQingming FestivalDragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival will each have three days off.

If any of these holidays fall on a Wednesday, only that day will be a holiday. Additionally, if National Day coincides with the Mid-Autumn Festival, the holidays will be combined for a total of eight days off.

China has long been considered one of the least generous countries in terms of public holidays. Additionally, people have expressed frustration over the complicated adjustments to holidays and working days that are meant to create longer breaks. The newly introduced changes are expected to address these concerns to some extent.

Beyond the newly introduced changes, China’s 2025 public holiday schedule still features two major week-long holidays: Spring Festival (also known as Chinese New Year) and the National Day holiday (often called ‘Golden Week’).

In 2025, the Spring Festival falls between January 28 and February 4, and the National Day holiday, together with the Mid-Autumn Festival, falls between October 1 and 8.

Foreign human resource managers should note that Saturdays and Sundays are often marked as additional official workdays in China to compensate for long holiday breaks. For example, January 26 (Sunday) and February 8 (Saturday) are designated as workdays to partially offset the eight days off for the Spring Festival.

Private companies in China, however, have the right to determine their own schedules—that is, allow for additional days off—so long as the official holiday calendar is maintained.

China public holiday 2025 schedule: Official calendar

New Year

  • January 1, 2025 (one rest day)

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

  • January 28 and February 4, 2025 (eight rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: January 26, 2025 (Sunday) and February 8, 2025 (Saturday)

Tomb Sweeping Festival (Ching Ming Festival)

  • April 4 to April 6, 2025 (three rest days in total, in connection with two weekend day)

Labor Day

  • May 1 to May 5, 2025 (five rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: April 27, 2025 (Sunday)

Dragon Boat Festival

  • May 31 to June 2, 2025 (three rest days in total, in connection with the weekend)

Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day

  • October 1 to October 8, 2025 (eight rest days in total)
  • Adjusted working days: September 28, 2025 (Sunday) and October 11, 2025 (Saturday)

China Public Holiday 2025 Schedule

Date Name Type
January 1, 2025 Wednesday New Year’s Holiday Public holiday
January 26, 2025 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
January 28, 2025 Tuesday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
January 29, 2025 Wednesday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
January 30, 2025 Thursday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
January 31, 2025 Friday Spring Festival Holiday Public holiday
February 1, 2025 Saturday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 2, 2025 Sunday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 3, 2025 Monday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 4, 2025 Tuesday Spring Festival Holiday Adjusted rest day
February 8, 2025 Saturday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
April 4, 2025 Friday Tomb Sweeping Festival Public holiday
April 5, 2025 Saturday Tomb Sweeping Festival Weekend
April 6, 2025 Sunday Tomb Sweeping Festival Weekend
April 27, 2025 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
May 1, 2025 Thursday Labor Day Holiday Public holiday
May 2, 2025 Friday Labor Day Holiday Public holiday
May 3, 2025 Saturday Labor Day Holiday Weekend
May 4, 2025 Sunday Labor Day Holiday Weekend
May 5, 2025 Monday Labor Day Holiday Adjusted rest day
May 31, 2025 Saturday Dragon Boat Festival Public holiday
June 1, 2025 Sunday Dragon Boat Festival Weekend
June 2, 2025 Monday Dragon Boat Festival Adjusted rest day
September 28, 2025 Sunday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend
October 1, 2025 Wednesday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Public holiday
October 2, 2025 Thursday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Public holiday
October 3, 2025 Friday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Public holiday
October 4, 2025 Saturday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Weekend
October 5, 2025 Sunday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Weekend
October 6, 2025 Monday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Public holiday
October 7, 2025 Tuesday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Adjusted rest day
October 8, 2025 Wednesday National Day Holiday + Mid-Autumn Festival Adjusted rest day
October 11, 2025 Saturday Adjusted working day Working day on the weekend

China's-2025-Official-Holiday-Schedule 3

 

Overtime payment for hours worked on a holiday

Depending on the type of rest days and the working hour system implemented, the overtime payment rates are different:

  • Under the standard working hour system, for work on an official public holiday, not less than 300 percent of the normal wage shall be paid; for work on an adjusted rest day, and where such rest days cannot be postponed and taken at another time, not less than 200 percent of the normal wage shall be paid.
  • Under the comprehensive working hour system, for work performed on public holidays not less than 300 percent of the normal wage shall be paid However, no rest day is outlined under this system, so that for work performed on those adjusted working days and weekends, no overtime payments are available.
  • Under the non-fixed work hour system, no less than 300 percent of the normal wage shall be paid for work on public holidays. However, there are differences in overtime regulations across different regions. For instance, in Beijing, employees under the non-fixed work hour system are not entitled to overtime pay for hours worked on public holidays. However, in Shanghai, these hours are considered overtime, and employers are required to pay compensation of up to 300 percent of the normal wage.
  • For adjusted working days on weekends, no overtime payment is due.

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