Chinese Holidays: What Closes (and What Doesn’t)

TL;DR: the 30-second version

Only two Chinese holidays shut the whole country down: Spring Festival (about eight days around mid-February 2026) and National Day (Oct 1–8). The mid-size ones — Qingming, Labor Day, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn — close banks and government offices but barely touch shops or delivery. Retail “holidays” like Double 11 close nothing. Do bank errands a week ahead; stock two days of food before each big break.

The short answer

The short answer: two real shutdowns a year. Spring Festival (Chun Jie) runs about eight days in 2026, built around the Lunar New Year itself on Feb 17; National Day (Guoqing Jie) runs Oct 1–8. A middle tier — Qingming, Labor Day (now five days), Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn — closes offices but leaves the city running. And the loudest “holiday,” Double 11 on November 11, is just a shopping day — nothing closes, malls stay open late.

Tier 1: the two shutdowns

During Spring Festival and National Day, government offices, banks, schools, post offices and entry–exit counters close for the whole stretch — and small shops follow: the noodle place near your flat hangs up a sign and vanishes for a week or two.

The two breaks feel opposite. National Day is the year’s biggest travel rush — trains sell out, sights turn into crowds — while Spring Festival empties Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou: quiet streets, holiday metro timetable. Either way, official stuff waits.

Tier 2: long weekends that close offices, not cities

Qingming (early April), Labor Day (May 1–5), Dragon Boat (June) and Mid-Autumn (late September in 2026) are three-to-five-day breaks. Banks, schools and entry–exit offices close; everything else — supermarkets, malls, delivery, restaurants, metro — runs as normal. Labor Day is the sneaky one: since 2025 it runs five days and has become the second-biggest travel rush, so trains sell out there too.

The fake holidays: nothing closes, ever

Double 11 (November 11) is the biggest shopping day on the planet — and not a holiday at all. Nothing closes: delivery runs red-eye, shops stay open late. Same for 618 in June and 520 on May 20 — retail festivals, zero closures. If a friend back home asks whether everything shut for Double 11: the opposite — it is the one day Chinese retail refuses to close.

What actually closes, street by street

Banks and government offices: closed on every public holiday, no exceptions. Get residence and work permit renewals done a week before — entry–exit offices shut for the stretch.

Hospitals: emergency rooms run 24/7, but outpatient clinics go on thin rosters. Book routine checkups any other week.

Pharmacies: chains rotate, one 24-hour branch per district stays open; medicine is never hard to find.

Restaurants: family-run places close one to two weeks for Spring Festival; mall chains mostly stay open. National Day: nothing shuts, it just gets loud.

Delivery: Meituan and Ele.me thin out hard during Spring Festival, as riders go home — expect surge fees and two-hour waits instead of 30 minutes.

The make-up day trap (tiao xiu)

One thing catches every newcomer: tiao xiu — literally “adjusted rest.” To build those long breaks, the government moves weekend days around, so you normally work a Saturday or Sunday before and after. We have seen foreign managers schedule meetings onto those Sundays and sit in an empty office. The make-up days change every year, so check the notice on gov.cn (out each November) or use your phone’s built-in China holidays calendar — iOS and Google Calendar, make-up days included.

The checklist we run before each shutdown

Two weeks out: finish anything needing a government counter. One week out: refill prescriptions, stock pantry basics, top up the metro card. Three to five days out: buy fresh food early (the good fruit and vegetables go first) and book trains when tickets open — 12306 sells 15 days ahead for regular travel, and popular Spring Festival routes vanish within minutes. During the break, skip same-day delivery.

Then the upside. Spring Festival in a big city is the calmest week of the year: empty roads, no queues, metro seats everywhere. Book two or three favorite restaurants ahead — the ones that stay open fill up fast. National Day is the opposite: skip the sights, do house projects.

Quick answers

Q: When is everything in China closed in 2026? A: Spring Festival (about eight days around Feb 17) and National Day (Oct 1–8); banks and government offices also close on every public holiday.

Q: Does anything close for Double 11? A: No. It is a shopping event, not a holiday — malls stay open late and nothing shuts down.

Q: Do supermarkets and pharmacies close during Chinese holidays? A: Supermarkets close early on Spring Festival eve and reopen by the afternoon of day one; chain pharmacies keep a 24-hour branch per district.

Q: How far ahead should I book train tickets? A: 12306 sells 15 days in advance for normal travel; for Spring Festival and National Day, book within minutes of sale.

Sources: State Council notice at www.gov.cn (published each November) · train booking at www.12306.cn.

Editorial review: EasternReset Team · Snapshot: 2026-09 · Found an error?