Chinese Festivals

Moon Cake Chinese people celebrate a seemingly endless series of festivals during the course of a year. Most of these festivals take place on important dates in the Chinese lunar calendar. The following are the most important festivals celebrated by Chinese people. If you are fond of local pageantry, you might want to check to see whether your visiting dates coincide with local festivals at your particular destinations. Check out China Highlights festival tours.

There are also three longer-period national holidays in China, besides the usual one-day holidays, when almost everyone is free, except for employees in key sectors. It is a time when a large segment of the population is on the move. All travel bookings are extremely tight at these times, hotels generally increase their rates and airports and train stations can be very crowded, as the Chinese people love to travel. The main, multiple-day holidays are as follows: Chinese New Year, in the month of February; International Labour Day, which is the first week of May; and finally, National Day, which is celebrated during the first week in October.

Traditional Chinese Festivals

Spring Festival

place: All Over China

Date: The first day of the first lunar month

Features: Lighting firecrackers, eating new year feast and waiting for the First Bell Ringing. Read more »

Dragon Boat Festival

place: All Over China

Date: The fifth day of the fifth lunar month

Features: Dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and

hanging Calamus and Chinese Mugwort. Read more »

Check out More traditional Chinese festivals »

Lantern Festival

place: All Over China

Date: The 15th day of the first lunar month

Features Eating Yuanxiao, displaying lanterns and appreciating the full moon. Read more »

Middle Autumn Festival

place: All Over China

Date: The fifteenth day of the eight lunar month

Features: Eating moon cake and appreciating the moon. Read more »

Ethnic Minority Festivals

Sisters' Meals Festival

place: Kaili in southwest China's Guizhou Province

Date: April 10th to 12th

Features: Ethnic performances, Lusheng shows and making glutinous rice, known as "sisters' rice". Read more »

Shaman Festival

place: Tongren in West China's Qinghai Province

Date: July 27th to August 6th

Features: Ritual dancing, singing folk songs and piercing steel needles through the mouth. Read more »

Check Out more ethnic minority festivals.

Lusheng Festival

place: Kaili in southwest China's Guizhou Province

Date: The first day of the first lunar month

Features: singing, bullfighting, horseracing, and dancing to the rhythm of the Lusheng. Read more »

Water Splashing Festival

place: Xishuangbannan in Yunan Province

Date: April 11st to 15th

Features: Folk performances and splashing water onto each other. Read more »

Check Out more ethnic minority festivals.

Tourist Festivals And Events

Pingyao International Photography Festival

place: Pingyao Ancient Town in Shanxi Province

Date: September

Activities: Folk performances and displays of photos. Read more »

Check out more tourist festivals and events »

Yuanyang Hani Terraced Fields Festival

place: Yunyang in Yunan Province

Date: Middle November

Activities: Folk performances and distinguished local dinner. Read more »

Foreign Festivals in China

Christmas in China

China is starting to adopt Christmas celebrations especially in major cities where Christmas festivities are becoming more popular year by year. We love to have a good time and to celebrate with presents, good food and entertainment. Christians in China celebrate by lighting their houses with beautiful paper lanterns and decorating their Christmas trees, which they call "Trees of Light". They decorate the trees with paper chains, paper flowers, and paper lanterns. Many of the large department decorate their shop and Christmas carols can be heard over the noise of the crowds. Chinese "Father Christmas" helps to make the scene complete. Big Christmas celebrations can be found in lots of city like Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Guilin. Read More

China Festival Tours

9 Day Glorious Tours

Departure Date: November 10th, 2009(Travel in a group with minimum of 2 adults)

Destination: Guiyang → Anshun → Kali → Huangping →Rongjiang → Congjiang → Zhaoxing→Guiyang

Features: This tour will give you an opportunity to join this large annual celebration which is one of the biggest donkey roasts of Miao ethnic minority.

Price from: $ 1239

Tongren Shaman Festival Tour

Departure Date: From Aug 3rd- 5th, 2009

Destination: Aug 1st, 2009 (Travel in a group with minimum of 2 adults)

Features: Shaman's Festival is a traditional folk festival which takes place in many of the small villages around Tongren presided over by each village's local shaman. There are numerous ceremonies and activities including ritual dances, the beating of holy drums.

Price from: $ 436

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China Festival Photos

More festival photos

China Festival Videos