Checking your phone to see if it’s a holiday in China today is honestly a bit of a gamble if you aren't looking at the official State Council release. Today is Thursday, January 15, 2026.
No. It isn't a holiday. Not yet.
But the air is changing. If you were standing on a street corner in Shanghai or Chengdu right now, you’d see the red lanterns going up. You’d smell the pre-festival cleaning supplies. We are currently in that weird, frantic limbo period. The country is bracing for the "Chunyun" (Spring Festival travel rush), which is basically the largest annual human migration on the planet.
The 2026 Lunar New Year Crunch
The big question—is holiday in china today—usually peaks right around now because people get confused by the difference between the solar calendar and the lunar one.
In 2026, the Year of the Horse officially kicks off on February 17.
That means today, January 15, is just a normal, busy Thursday for the roughly 1.4 billion people living there. Office workers are staring at spreadsheets. Students are cramming for exams. Factories are running at full tilt to finish orders before the country effectively hits the "pause" button in about four weeks.
It’s interesting how the Western world views Chinese holidays. We often think of them as simple bank holidays, like a long weekend in the UK or Labor Day in the States. It’s not that. It’s a total systemic shutdown.
🔗 Read more: Madison WI to Denver: How to Actually Pull Off the Trip Without Losing Your Mind
Why the "Golden Weeks" Matter
China doesn't do "a day off." They do "Golden Weeks."
The government, specifically the General Office of the State Council, releases the official schedule late in the previous year. For 2026, the schedule is already out, and it’s a bit of a headache for foreigners to wrap their heads around because of the "makeup workdays."
Basically, to give people seven consecutive days off, the government "borrows" the surrounding Saturdays or Sundays. You get a week off, but you might have to work six or seven days in a row either before or after the break. It’s a trade-off that many young professionals in Tier-1 cities like Beijing or Shenzhen find increasingly exhausting.
Major Public Holidays in 2026
Since you're wondering about the status of holidays today, you're likely planning something—a shipment, a trip, or a business call. Here is the actual landscape for the rest of 2026.
Spring Festival (Lunar New Year)
This is the big one. It starts February 17, 2026. Technically, the public holiday lasts seven days, but in reality, many private businesses and factories close for two weeks or more. If you have a manufacturing deadline in February, you're already late.
Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Day)
Falls on April 5. It's a day for ancestral worship and, more recently, a popular time for "spring outings" (Taqing). Usually, this results in a three-day weekend.
💡 You might also like: Food in Kerala India: What Most People Get Wrong About God's Own Kitchen
Labor Day
May 1. Another Golden Week. Expect massive crowds at the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. If you don't like shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, stay home.
Dragon Boat Festival
June 19. Zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) everywhere.
Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day
In 2026, these are somewhat close together. National Day is October 1. This is the second-largest travel period in the country.
What Most People Get Wrong About Chinese Holidays
People often think "holiday" means "relaxation."
In China, it’s often the opposite.
If you travel during a holiday, you aren't just a tourist; you are a participant in a logistical miracle/nightmare. High-speed rail tickets sell out in seconds. Seriously, seconds. The 12306.cn booking system is a beast of an app that handles more traffic than almost any other platform on earth.
📖 Related: Taking the Ferry to Williamsburg Brooklyn: What Most People Get Wrong
Also, don't assume that because it's a holiday, everything is closed. While government offices and banks shut down, the service industry—restaurants, malls, cinemas—goes into overdrive. It’s the biggest spending window of the year.
The "Silent" Holidays
There are also days that are holidays for specific groups but don't result in a day off for the general public.
- Women’s Day (March 8): Women often get a half-day off.
- Youth Day (May 4): People aged 14 to 28 might get a half-day.
- Children’s Day (June 1): Primary school kids get the day off, but their parents usually don't, which creates a massive childcare scramble for 24 hours.
Navigating the Logistics Today
If you are asking "is holiday in china today" because you are waiting on a reply from a Chinese colleague, and you haven't heard back, it’s probably not because of a holiday. It's just a busy Thursday.
However, start looking at your calendar for February.
From February 16 through February 24, 2026, the country will be essentially unreachable for professional matters. Email response times will plummet. DHL and FedEx shipments will sit in warehouses.
Actionable Steps for the Next 30 Days
- Confirm your shipping dates now. If your goods aren't on a boat or a plane by February 5, they likely won't move until March.
- Check the "Workday Compensation" schedule. If you are managing a team in China, remember they might be working this coming Sunday to "make up" for a future holiday. Check the specific 2026 State Council calendar to see which weekends are designated as workdays.
- Book travel 15 days out. The China Railway (12306) usually opens bookings 15 days in advance. If you're planning to be in the country for the Spring Festival, you need to be on the app the minute the window opens.
- Verify bank hours. If you need to do a wire transfer, do it today. Chinese banks are notorious for strict holiday cut-off times for international SWIFT transfers.
The "holiday" status of China is a moving target that dictates the rhythm of global trade. Today, the gears are turning. In four weeks, they stop. Plan accordingly.