living · 5 May 2026
Annual Leave and Public Holidays in China: How the System Works
China has 11 public holidays per year, but the system of compensatory work weekends before and after the main holidays means the calendar is more complex than it appears. This guide explains how Chinese statutory leave works.
China has 11 official public holiday days across 7 occasions: New Year's Day (1 day), Spring Festival (3 days), Qingming (1 day), Labour Day (1 day), Dragon Boat Festival (1 day), Mid-Autumn Festival (1 day), National Day (3 days). Spring Festival and National Day each create 7-day Golden Weeks by reclassifying surrounding weekends as working days — meaning working Saturdays appear immediately before and after each Golden Week.
Statutory annual leave: under 1 year experience, no entitlement; 1–10 years, 5 days; 10–20 years, 10 days; over 20 years, 15 days. International companies typically offer more. Foreign workers have the same statutory entitlement as domestic workers.
Unused statutory leave may be compensated at 200% daily salary if work requirements prevented its use; leave not taken without such justification may be forfeited.
Spring Festival train tickets sell out weeks in advance — book on 12306 in the 30-day advance window. National Day Golden Week sees heavy domestic tourist congestion; many expatriates use it for international travel instead.
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living, work, holidays, practical, expat, employment