Spring Festival

The most important holiday in China is Spring Festival, known as the Chinese New Year. It is on the first day of the first month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar,so the time of the holiday varies from late January to early February.

The public holiday lasts three days, but following tradition, special events are planned until the 15th of the month. This period is not work, but for food and fun.

On New Year's eve,families come together to feast. Jiaozi, a steamed dumpling, is popular in the north, while southerners favor a sticky sweet glutinous rice pudding called nian gao. At midnight, where it is not prohibited, people ring in the New Year with fireworks, which serve to drive away the evil spirits.

Qing Ming Festival

A day when people visit cemeteries to pay respect to their departed ancestors,it is also set by the lunar calendar. On the 12th day of the third lunar month, usually around April 4 or 5, show respect for deceased relatives by sweeping their graves and making offerings of food.

In ancient China, Qing Ming was accompanied by much more elaborate ceremonies, but these days people mainly indulge their passion for kite flying, which is an excellent way to enjoy the fresh Spring weather.

International Labor Day

May 1-3(3 days off),Employees will enjoy a paid day-off. Celebration parties in parks took place as parades on the day.

Dragon Boat Festival

This unique Chinese celebration falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month - usually during the dog days of summer. It dates back to earliest times and a number of legends explain its origin.

The best known story centers on a patriotic court official named Qu Yuan, of the Warring States period. Qu tries to warn the emperor of an increasingly corrupt government, but fails. In a last desperate protest, he throws himself into the river and drowns. His sympathizers jump into boats, beat the water with their oars and scatter rice cakes to distract the fish from his corpse.

Today, people eat glutinous rice cakes to mark the occasion. In many places along rivers and on the coast, the holiday also features dragon-boat races. In these high-spirited competitions, teams of rowers stroke their oars in unison to propel sleek, long vessels through the water.

Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn festival is a time for poets and lovers, when the eighth moon (usually in September) reaches its brightest and fullest. Also referred to as the Moon Festival, this is also the time to eat moon cakes, pastries filled with gooey sesame paste, red bean and walnut.

This festival, too, is ancient and its origins are unclear. But in one popular story, a beautiful woman stole the elixir of immortality from her tyrannical husband and fled to the moon, where she has been ever since.

National Day
It is the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Employees enjoy two paid-day off. Celebrations usually take the form of parties in amusement parks by day and fire-works and grand TV ensembles during the evening.