2025 Holidays - China

China Public Holiday Observance Rules

1. When a Public Holiday Falls on a Sunday

- No automatic Monday replacement: China does not follow a blanket “if Sunday, then Monday off” rule. Instead, the government’s annual notice may reassign or extend holiday days to create a contiguous break.

- Make-up workdays: Sometimes, if a holiday includes a Sunday, the official schedule might designate another weekend day as a workday so the total holiday forms a continuous block.

- Employer compliance: Employers must follow the official holiday calendar published by the State Council. Employees required to work on a holiday must receive overtime pay or compensatory rest, as per labor laws.

2. When a Public Holiday Falls on a Saturday

- Part of the official arrangement: As with Sundays, there is no fixed rule automatically shifting Saturday holidays. The State Council’s yearly plan may merge the holiday with adjacent days.

- Weekend adjustments: It is common for the official schedule to move a working day to a Saturday or Sunday, so that employees get consecutive days off for the holiday period. In such cases, the originally scheduled rest day becomes a workday, and the weekday becomes part of the holiday.

- Compensation: Employees who must still work on a Saturday public holiday are entitled to overtime pay or compensatory leave, according to national labor regulations.

3. Bridge Holidays (Long Weekends)

- Government-planned “bridges”: China’s holiday schedule frequently features “bridge” days. For instance, a Tuesday holiday might be combined with a Monday or Wednesday, while a workday is moved to the preceding or following weekend. This results in a multi-day break but may require “make-up” work on a weekend.

- Mandatory compliance: Employers are legally obliged to adhere to the official bridging or make-up days announced. Employees typically cannot opt out of mandated weekend work if it’s designated as a make-up workday, unless their employer allows exceptions.

4. Special Cases for Public Holidays

- Spring Festival (Chinese New Year): Usually a multi-day holiday, with the government assigning certain dates off and one or two weekend “make-up” days. The holiday period often spans 7 days, even if the lunar New Year’s Day falls on a weekend.

- National Day (Golden Week): Occurs around October 1. The State Council typically grants a week of holidays, shifting weekend days to create a 7-day break.

- Other holidays: Labor Day (around May 1), Mid-Autumn Festival, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival also follow similar bridging or make-up practices outlined in the annual calendar.

5. Additional Notes

- Annual publication: Each year—often in December—the State Council publishes the “Arrangement of Public Holidays,” specifying exact dates off and which weekend days are designated as workdays.

- Overtime rules: Employees required to work on a designated public holiday must receive at least triple pay for those holiday hours, according to China’s labor laws. If they work on a “make-up” weekend that is officially a workday, standard weekday pay applies.

- Local variations: Certain regions or sectors may have slightly different observances (especially for minor local holidays), but national-level holidays follow the State Council schedule.

- Employer flexibility: Employers may offer additional rest days or different internal policies, but they cannot reduce or override the official holidays set by law.