China Factory Calendar 2026β2027 & Order Deadline Planner
Every year the same thing happens: an order placed three weeks before Chinese New Year misses the boat, and stock lands in March instead of January. The reason is that the statutory holiday is not the closure. A factory typically stops accepting new orders one to two weeks before the break, ships nothing during it, and runs at partial output for one to two weeks after, because migrant workers return in waves. National Day is milder but still costs seven to ten days, and the autumn Canton Fair pulls management away for most of October. This page lists the official State Council dates for 2026, the estimated dates for 2027, the makeup workdays that catch foreign buyers out, and the wider window when production is actually disrupted. Then it back-plans: give it the day stock must arrive and it works backwards through shipping, inspection and production, skipping closed days, to tell you the last date you can safely place the order.
Order deadline back-planner
Give it the day stock has to arrive; it works backwards to the last date you can order.
FBA check-in deadline, Prime Day, Black Fridayβ¦
Door to door, calendar days. Adjust to your forwarder's quote.
Working days quoted by the factory, holidays excluded.
Final inspection, booking and trucking to port.
Adds the pre-holiday order freeze and post-holiday ramp-up. Use this for sourcing.
Blocked by National Day (Golden Week)γNational Day (Golden Week)γMid-Autumn Festival Β· 13 closed days skipped Β· moved from 2026-09-21
Calendar days from order to arrival, holidays included.
2026 calendar
Official State Council notice, published 2025-11-04. State Council General Office notice on 2026 holidays (ε½εεζη΅γ2025γ7ε·)
| Holiday | Statutory days off | Disruption window | Makeup workdays |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day Most factories take only the statutory days. Sunday 4 Jan is a makeup workday. | 2026-01-01 β 2026-01-033 days | 2026-01-01 β 2026-01-033 days | 2026-01-04 |
| Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) The official break is 9 days, but factories stop accepting new orders 1β2 weeks before it, wind down production in the last few days, and run at low capacity for 1β2 weeks after as migrant workers return late (or not at all). Plan for a 3β4 week gap. | 2026-02-15 β 2026-02-239 days | 2026-02-01 β 2026-03-0533 days | 2026-02-14γ2026-02-28 |
| Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) Statutory days only. Falls in the run-up to the spring Canton Fair, when sample rooms get busy. | 2026-04-04 β 2026-04-063 days | 2026-04-04 β 2026-04-063 days | β |
| Labour Day Many factories take 3β5 days. Saturday 9 May is a makeup workday. Overlaps phase 3 of the spring Canton Fair (1β5 May). | 2026-05-01 β 2026-05-055 days | 2026-05-01 β 2026-05-055 days | 2026-05-09 |
| Dragon Boat Festival Statutory days only; little impact on lead times. | 2026-06-19 β 2026-06-213 days | 2026-06-19 β 2026-06-213 days | β |
| Mid-Autumn Festival Only three days before National Day. Sunday 20 Sep is a makeup workday for National Day, and some factories bridge the two breaks into one long one. | 2026-09-25 β 2026-09-273 days | 2026-09-25 β 2026-09-273 days | β |
| National Day (Golden Week) Factories typically close 7β10 days. Ports and customs slow down, and the autumn Canton Fair opens a week later, so October output is thin. | 2026-10-01 β 2026-10-077 days | 2026-09-30 β 2026-10-0910 days | 2026-09-20γ2026-10-10 |
Other dates that affect sourcing
- Pre-Chinese New Year export rush2026-01-05 β 2026-02-10Everyone ships before the factories close: ocean rates climb, trucks and container slots are scarce, and inspection companies are fully booked.
- Canton Fair, 139th (spring)2026-04-15 β 2026-05-05Three phases: 15β19 Apr, 23β27 Apr, 1β5 May. Factory sales teams are in Guangzhou; expect slow quoting and sample turnaround.
- Christmas-season ocean freight peak2026-08-01 β 2026-10-15Peak-season surcharges, rolled bookings and tight space on trans-Pacific and AsiaβEurope lanes. Book 2β3 weeks ahead and add buffer to transit times.
- Canton Fair, 140th (autumn)2026-10-15 β 2026-11-04Three phases: 15β19 Oct, 23β27 Oct, 31 Octβ4 Nov. Comes right after Golden Week, so factory management is away for most of October.
- Singles' Day (11.11) domestic logistics peak2026-10-25 β 2026-11-20Domestic courier and trucking capacity is absorbed by Singles' Day volumes: slower sample shipments, pickups and drayage to port.
2027 calendarestimated
Estimated from the lunar calendar β the official notice is not out yet. Projected from the lunar calendar; the State Council notice for 2027 has not been published yet
| Holiday | Statutory days off | Disruption window | Makeup workdays |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day 1 Jan 2027 is a Friday, so a natural 3-day weekend with no makeup day is likely. | 2027-01-01 β 2027-01-033 days | 2027-01-01 β 2027-01-033 days | β |
| Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) Chinese New Year's Eve is Friday 5 Feb 2027. Expect 8β9 official days (5β12 or 5β13 Feb) with two makeup weekends. Whatever the notice says, factories will be effectively closed from early February until late February. | 2027-02-05 β 2027-02-128 days | 2027-01-22 β 2027-02-2232 days | 2027-01-31γ2027-02-20 |
| Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) Qingming falls on Monday 5 Apr 2027: a natural 3-day weekend. | 2027-04-03 β 2027-04-053 days | 2027-04-03 β 2027-04-053 days | β |
| Labour Day 1 May 2027 is a Saturday; a 5-day break with one makeup Saturday follows the 2026 pattern. Overlaps phase 3 of the spring Canton Fair. | 2027-05-01 β 2027-05-055 days | 2027-05-01 β 2027-05-055 days | 2027-05-08 |
| Dragon Boat Festival Dragon Boat Festival is Wednesday 9 Jun 2027. A mid-week festival usually gets bridged to 3 days with a makeup weekend day; the exact days are a guess. | 2027-06-09 β 2027-06-113 days | 2027-06-09 β 2027-06-113 days | 2027-06-12 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival Mid-Autumn is Wednesday 15 Sep 2027, two weeks before Golden Week. The bridge days are a guess. | 2027-09-15 β 2027-09-173 days | 2027-09-15 β 2027-09-173 days | 2027-09-18 |
| National Day (Golden Week) 1β7 Oct has been the Golden Week every year; 1 Oct 2027 is a Friday so two makeup weekend days are likely. Factories typically close 7β10 days. | 2027-10-01 β 2027-10-077 days | 2027-09-30 β 2027-10-0910 days | 2027-09-26γ2027-10-09 |
Other dates that affect sourcing
- Pre-Chinese New Year export rush2027-01-04 β 2027-02-01Chinese New Year 2027 is early (6 Feb), so the pre-holiday rush starts right after New Year's Day. Ocean rates climb, trucks and container slots are scarce, inspection companies are fully booked.
- Canton Fair, 141st (spring)2027-04-15 β 2027-05-05The spring fair has run 15 Aprβ5 May in three phases every year since 2023; confirm on cantonfair.org.cn.
- Christmas-season ocean freight peak2027-08-01 β 2027-10-15Peak-season surcharges, rolled bookings and tight space on trans-Pacific and AsiaβEurope lanes. Book 2β3 weeks ahead and add buffer to transit times.
- Canton Fair, 142nd (autumn)2027-10-15 β 2027-11-04The autumn fair has run 15 Octβ4 Nov in three phases in recent years; confirm on cantonfair.org.cn.
- Singles' Day (11.11) domestic logistics peak2027-10-25 β 2027-11-20Domestic courier and trucking capacity is absorbed by Singles' Day volumes: slower sample shipments, pickups and drayage to port.
How the back-planner works
- Shipping is counted in calendar days β ships sail and planes fly through Chinese holidays, so only the departure date has to fall on an open day.
- Production is counted in open days only. Thirty production days across Chinese New Year can span seven calendar weeks.
- The order date must land on a day the factory is still accepting orders, which in factory mode is earlier than the first day off.
- Statutory mode uses only the official days off. Factory mode adds the pre-holiday wind-down and post-holiday ramp-up, and is the realistic one for sourcing.
- 2027 dates are estimated from the lunar calendar. The State Council usually publishes the official notice in the preceding November, and anything relying on estimated dates is flagged.
Frequently asked questions
What is a makeup workday (θ°δΌ)?+
To create a long continuous break, China moves the surrounding weekend days into the working week. So a Sunday can be a normal working day, and a factory that told you "we are closed 9 days" may well be running on what your calendar shows as a weekend. The table lists these dates so you do not assume a plant is idle when it is not.
How long do factories really close for Chinese New Year?+
The statutory holiday is 8β9 days, but plan for 3β4 weeks of disruption. Order intake usually stops one to two weeks before, and after the break workers return over one to two weeks, so output only reaches normal levels in the third week. Small workshops recover slower than large plants.
Can I just place my order earlier and avoid all this?+
Partly. Everyone else has the same idea, so the weeks before Chinese New Year are the most congested of the year: quoted lead times stretch, quality slips as lines are pushed, and port and trucking capacity tightens. Ordering earlier works; ordering into the pre-holiday rush does not.
Why does the planner move my ship date backwards?+
Because cargo cannot leave the factory on a day the factory is closed. If the arithmetic lands the departure inside a closure window, the planner walks back to the last open day β which makes the whole chain earlier, not later.
Are the 2027 dates reliable?+
The Chinese New Year date itself is fixed by the lunar calendar and will not change. The exact spread of days off and makeup workdays is set by the State Council, normally announced in November of the preceding year. Anything estimated is labelled, and results that depend on estimated dates carry a warning.
Does this include the Canton Fair?+
Yes. The Canton Fair runs in three phases each spring and autumn, and factory management, sales staff and samples are all at the fair rather than at the plant. It is not a holiday, but it slows quotations and sample turnaround, so it is listed alongside the holidays.