China’s 2026 Spring Festival Holiday Schedule: What Every Foreign Investor Must Know About Holidays & Wages

If you are planning to open or run a factory in China, mark 15-23 February 2026 now. During this nine-day window the country virtually stops: ports, customs, banks and most factories operate with skeleton crews or close completely. Below is the short version of what the law requires you to pay, when you must release goods, and how to keep both workers and customers happy.

1. 2026 Spring-Festival Calendar (State-council release)

   • Legal holiday: 15 Feb (Sun) – 23 Feb (Mon)

   • Make-up workdays: 14 Feb (Sat) & 28 Feb (Sat)

   • Effect: 9 consecutive days off, but two Saturdays become working days

     

     China’s 2026 Spring-Festival Shutdown

2. Which days are “statutory” vs. “adjusted-rest”?

   
   

   Only the first three days of the Lunar New Year (15-17 Feb 2026) are “statutory holidays” under the National Holidays Measure. The remaining six days are “adjusted rest” created by swapping weekends. The distinction decides the wage rate.

3. Wage rules (Labour Law Arts. 40, 44 & 2004 Wage Provisions)

   
   

   A. Statutory holidays (15-17 Feb): work must be paid at 300 % of the worker’s normal daily rate, without substitution by time off.

   
   

   B. Adjusted-rest days (18-21 Feb): if you ask staff to work, you must first give them a weekday off later; if no time off is given, pay 200 %.

   
   

   C. Weekly rest days that were moved (14 & 28 Feb): treated as normal workdays; no extra premium.

   
   

   D. Night shift or overtime beyond 8 h: still attracts the usual 150 % on top of the holiday premium.

4. Typical cost illustration

   
   

   Assume a line worker earns the local minimum daily wage of RMB 100.

   • 15-17 Feb: 3 days × 300 % = 9 daily wages

   • 18-21 Feb (no compensatory leave): 4 days × 200 % = 8 daily wages

   • Total extra labour cost for one worker during the holiday: 17 daily wages (RMB 1,700) – before overtime.

5. Planning checklist for factory owners

   
   

   ■ Purchase raw materials early: domestic freight stops 7-10 days before the holiday.

   
   

   ■ Clear customs by 12 Feb: both customs and China Inspection & Quarantine run limited shifts from 15 Feb.

   
   

   ■ Bank wires: the People’s Bank of China payment system closes from 15 Feb evening until 17 Feb evening; schedule supplier payments accordingly.

   
   

   ■ Labour retention bonus: many plants pay a “stay-on” bonus (equal to 30-50 % of monthly pay) to workers who return before 1 March; budget this into February cash-flow.

   
   

   ■ Written notice: labour bureaus require 30-day written notice if you do need employees on statutory days; keep copies on file.

6. Can I negotiate my way out?

   
   

   No. The three statutory days are mandatory. Even if a worker signs a waiver, the labour inspectorate can still levy fines equal to 200 % of the under-paid wages per worker. In 2024 one Shenzhen electronics maker was fined RMB 1.86 million for forcing 310 workers to sign “voluntary” overtime letters during Spring Festival.

7. Key take-away

   
   

   Treat Spring Festival like Christmas Day in Germany or Golden Week in Japan: plan three months ahead, price the premium wages into your export quotations, and ship at least one week early. Workers will return happier, and your customers will not even notice the world’s largest annual human migration.

Spring Festival Holidays

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