As the 2024 China public holiday schedule flies by, the arrival of 2025 makes it essential to understand the public holiday schedule of Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. Whether you plan to travel to these regions, work and live there, or trade with Chinese companies, knowing the dates of "2025 China, Hong Kong and Macau Public Holidays" can help you better arrange personal and family time, ensuring that you don't miss any important holiday celebrations and order shipping arrangements.
2025 Mainland China Public Holiday Schedule
2025 is the Year of the Snake, which symbolizes wisdom, adaptability, and strategy in Chinese culture.
This is the official holiday schedule.
Holiday
Date
Duration
New Year’s Day
January 1 (Wednesday)
1 day
Spring Festival
January 28 (Tuesday) – February 4 (Tuesday)
8 days
Qingming Festival
April 4 (Friday)
1 day
Labor Day
May 1 (Thursday) – May 5 (Monday)
5 days
Dragon Boat Festival
May 31 (Saturday) – June 2 (Monday)
3 days
National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival
October 1 (Wednesday) – October 8 (Wednesday)
8 days
When talking about the Spring Festival, we have to talk about the Spring Festival travel rush.
The Chunyun, also known as the "Spring Festival travel rush," is a peak travel period when people return to their hometowns to reunite with their families. The 2025 Spring Festival travel rush will last from January 14 to February 22, according to China State Railway Group Co., Ltd.
BEIJING - About 9 billion inter-regional trips are expected to be made in China during the upcoming Spring Festival travel rush, according to a national teleconference on Tuesday.
Cross-regional rail journeys and civil aviation passenger trips are also expected to hit record highs of 510 million and 90 million, respectively.
However, each company has different holiday arrangements.
Hubei Qingbang has about 20 days of holiday during the Spring Festival, from 18th January to 6th February.
Qingbang's vacation starts early and ends late, creating better travel conditions for employees.
If you contact Qingbang during the Spring Festival and they don’t respond, it’s likely that they are playing Mahjong.
Chinese Festivals and Mahjong Traditions: Embracing Joy and Togetherness
Chinese festivals are vibrant and joyous occasions that celebrate China’s rich traditions and cultural heritage. These festivals bring people together, fostering a sense of community and shared experiences. As part of these celebrations, the beloved game of Mahjong holds a special place, enchanting players with its strategic gameplay and social connection.
Mahjong has long been considered a social game during holiday gatherings. Players come together to enjoy a strategic game and strengthen relationships. The Mahjong table becomes a focal point for lively conversation and laughter.
The symbolism of mahjong tiles aligns with the spirit of various festivals. Holiday-themed mahjong sets often feature auspicious symbols and vibrant designs. Red mahjong tiles symbolize good luck, while dragon and phoenix mahjong tiles represent prosperity and harmony.
Besides mahjong, what else takes up a lot of Chinese people's time during the Spring Festival?
There is the feasting, other well-known traditions include setting off firecrackers and fireworks (which are said to ward off evil spirits), street parades and lion dances (which bring prosperity and good luck), red envelopes filled with money, and returning home to reunite with family.
Chinese traditional food is also unforgettable to many foreigners.
During the Spring Festival, each region prepares traditional food, but there are a few foods that are the same across the country.
In addition to Jiao Zi, the most common foods for Spring Festival are Nian Gao (or New Year Cakes) and Yuan Xiao, a kind of round sweet dumplings made partly or wholly of glutinous rice flour served in soup. The northerners eat Jiao Zi, but southerners like to eat Nian Gao, which translates to "New Year Cake".
In 2024, China opened up visa-free policies for many countries.
In order to further facilitate cross-border travel and help China's high-quality development and high-level opening up, China decided to expand its unilateral visa-free policy to more countries, and grant visa-free treatment to passengers holding ordinary passports from 38 countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Malaysia, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Slovenia, Slovakia, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Andorra, Monaco, Liechtenstein, South Korea, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Japan, and Brunei.
From November 30, 2024 to December 31, 2025, ordinary passport holders from the above 38 countries can enter China for business, tourism, visiting relatives, exchange visits and transit purposes, and stay for no more than 30 days without a visa. Those who do not meet the visa exemption reasons and time limits still need to apply for a visa to China.
In addition to expanding the unilateral visa exemption policy to more countries, exchange visits will also be included in the visa exemption scope. Compared with the original policy, the visa-free stay period is extended to 30 days.
We warmly welcome people from all over the world to visit China, experience the enthusiasm and openness of the Chinese people, try the special Chinese cuisine, and enjoy a safe and healthy living environment!
As the New Year approaches, Hubei Qingbang wishes everyone good health, smooth work and a happy life!
