China’s list of public holidays for 2025 is out. Due to the additional days off, employers should stay updated. Monitoring such updates is crucial to ensuring that your business remains on schedule without violating holiday-related labour laws. This is especially true for a holiday-generous country like China, with multiple long holidays. You must understand that rest days after a public holiday are also days off in the country.
List of Public Holidays in China: 2025
China follows a lunar calendar with 28 holidays scheduled for 2025.
| Date | Day | Occasion |
| 1 Jan | Wed | New Year’s Day |
| 28 Jan – 4 Feb | Tue – Tue | Spring Festival / Chinese New Year |
| 4 Apr – 6 Apr | Fri – Mon | Qingming-Festival |
| 1 May – 5 May | Thu – Mon | Labour Day |
| 31 May – 2 Jun | Sat – Mon | Dragon Boat Festival |
| 1 Oct – 8 Oct | Wed – Wed | Moon Festival/Mid-Autumn Festival National Day |
Critical Updates to China’s Holiday Schedule
China has added the following holidays for 2025:
- Additional off for Lunar New Year’s Eve
- Additional holiday for Labour Day.
Other updates highlight how holidays may change in case lunar dates change:
- If a public holiday falls on a Wednesday, only that day will be a holiday (otherwise, holidays extend over the weekend).
- The Spring Festival and National Day will last for 8 days.
- Labour Day celebrations will have 5 holidays.
- If National Day coincides with the Spring Festival, all public and private employees will get 8 holidays.
Overtime Regulations in China
Keeping your business shut for so many “long” holidays throughout the year is daunting. Having a fall-back plan with some employees working during holidays may sound tempting. However, you must fully understand the country’s overtime regulations to avoid penalties.
Each of China’s working hour systems has a separate overtime payment guideline. Let’s take a look.
Overtime for standard working hour system
Overtime for public holidays: At least 300% of the regular hourly pay.
Overtime for rest days: Substitute rest days or at least 200% of the hourly pay.
Overtime for the comprehensive working hour system
Overtime for public holidays: At least 300% of the regular hourly pay.
Overtime for rest days: There are no specific guidelines for overtime payments.
Overtime for non-fixed work hour system
Overtime for public holidays: At least 300% of the regular hourly pay.
This guideline varies across regions. For instance, employees in Beijing are not entitled to overtime pay, while those in Shanghai are.
Overtime for weekends
Employees are not entitled to overtime for workdays adjusted against off workdays. Otherwise, the overtime pay calculation is the same as that for rest-day compensation according to the work arrangement.
Need help finding your way in the Overtime and Holiday Maze?
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