Updated 5 October 2026 · LocalKey consultant team
Chinese New Year 2027, also called Spring Festival, falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, with Lunar New Year's Eve on Friday 5 February; the official holiday arrangement and the Chunyun travel-rush dates are still pending, so book trains as soon as sales open and expect some closures.
The dates on the lunar calendar are confirmed. The exact national holiday arrangement, including any make-up working days and the total length of the break, is still pending. This distinction matters when you are planning hotels, attraction visits, domestic trains and any government paperwork.
If you are still choosing between Christmas week and Spring Festival, see our Christmas versus Chinese New Year guide. This page focuses on how to travel in China during Spring Festival 2027.
When is Chinese New Year 2027?
Chinese New Year's Eve is Friday 5 February 2027, and Chinese New Year's Day is Saturday 6 February 2027. The Lantern Festival falls on Saturday 20 February, the 15th day of the first lunar month; 2027 is the Year of the Goat, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.
The table shows the four statutory Spring Festival days set by the holiday measures, applied to the 2027 calendar; the full 2027 arrangement, including its length and make-up days, is still pending.
| Date | Day | What it is | Statutory day off? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 February 2027 | Friday | Lunar New Year's Eve | Yes, statutory |
| 6 February 2027 | Saturday | Lunar New Year's Day / Spring Festival, first day of the Year of the Goat | Yes |
| 7 February 2027 | Sunday | Day 2 | Yes |
| 8 February 2027 | Monday | Day 3 | Yes |
| 20 February 2027 | Saturday | Lantern Festival, 15th day | No — not in the statutory list |
The State Council's National Festivals and Memorial Days Holiday Measures fix four statutory Spring Festival days: New Year's Eve and days 1–3. The Lantern Festival is not a statutory holiday. Statutory days can be combined with adjusted working days to create a longer break.
The full 2027 arrangement has not been published as of 5 October 2026. The General Office of the State Council notice will determine how many days run in a row and which weekend days become working days. Until that notice appears, avoid describing a nine-day break or assigning make-up workdays to your own itinerary.
For context only, the 2026 notice was published on 4 November 2025. It set the 2026 Spring Festival holiday for 15–23 February, nine days in total, with Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February as working days. That is an example of how the notice works, not a prediction for 2027.
The Hong Kong Observatory Gregorian–Lunar calendar for 2027 and the Hong Kong SAR Government's 2027 general-holidays notice confirm the calendar dates; the Hong Kong notice lists Lunar New Year's Day as Saturday 6 February 2027. For wider seasonal planning, see where to go in winter by region.
The photo at the top shows the Qinhuai Lantern Fair beside the Qinhuai River in Nanjing in February 2019. Any 2027 lantern programme is still to be announced, so check the organiser's notice closer to the date.
What closes and what stays open over Spring Festival?
In 2026 the Palace Museum stayed open over Spring Festival but closed on Lunar New Year's Eve, Shanghai's exit-entry document windows closed for the holiday, and the National Immigration Administration still counted 17.796 million border crossings. Independent restaurants and small shops may close for several days while owners travel home.
The Palace Museum's 2026 notice said it was closed all day on Lunar New Year's Eve (16 February), and open on 15 February and on days 1–7 (17–23 February) from 08:30 to 17:00, with last entry at 15:30. For 2027, check the attraction's own notice before fixing a visit.
This is especially important for museums and other timed-entry sites. Check whether the venue has an Eve closure, changed opening hours, a Monday rule or a timed-ticket requirement. Do not assume that a normal weekly schedule will apply across the holiday.
Government errands need a separate check. Shanghai's exit-entry document windows were closed from 15–23 February 2026 and opened on the two make-up working days, Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February, before returning to normal service from 2 March. For any other permit errand, confirm opening days with the responsible office before placing it inside the Spring Festival holiday.
Border crossings continued during the 2026 holiday: the National Immigration Administration counted 17.796 million entries and exits over the 2026 holiday, including 1.313 million foreign nationals. The figure shows that international movement continues during the holiday, even while individual offices may close.
For food and everyday supplies, use a little redundancy. Confirm directly with your hotel or accommodation before relying on a particular restaurant, supermarket or service.
The same principle applies to attractions: verify the venue's own 2027 notice, especially for Lunar New Year's Eve and the first few days of the festival. If you want a December route instead, see our China Christmas and New Year itinerary. You can also use the Christmas in China hub and our Christmas in China 2026 guide for separate seasonal planning.
When is the 2027 Spring Festival travel rush (Chunyun)?
Chunyun is the official Spring Festival transport period, and it ran for 40 days in both 2025 and 2026. The 2027 Chunyun window has not been announced; if the recent pattern repeats, it could begin around late January 2027, but that is only an expectation pending the official announcement.
The recent pattern gives a useful planning frame. In 2025, Chunyun began on 14 January and lasted 40 days, through 22 February. In 2026, it ran from 2 February to 13 March, again for 40 days: 15 days before Spring Festival and 25 days after, according to the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission.
The scale of movement is substantial. Ministry of Transport results for 2026 recorded 9.41 billion cross-regional person-trips during Chunyun, including 540 million by rail and 94.39 million by civil aviation. These are national totals, not a forecast for your particular route, but they explain why intercity trains and transport hubs need early planning.
The Ministry of Transport's 2026 forecast placed the single-day peak on the sixth day of the new year, the second-to-last day of the holiday. For a 2027 itinerary, treat the last days of the holiday as a period requiring extra flexibility, then recheck the official holiday notice and Chunyun announcement when published.
The 2027 dates may not follow exactly the 2026 pattern. We will label any later update according to the official announcement rather than treating an estimated start date as confirmed.
If you are combining the festival with Harbin's ice season, see our Harbin ice and snow winter trip guide. For sample routes across China, browse our China itineraries. The month-by-month China travel guide covers the rest of the year.
How far ahead should you book trains for Chinese New Year 2027?
China Railway 12306's standard presale period is 15 days, including the day of purchase, for online and phone bookings as well as station windows, agents and machines. If that rule is unchanged, a Saturday 6 February 2027 departure would go on sale on 23 January 2027.
As of 5 October 2026, the 12306 presale page showed sales through 19 October, which is the 15-day rule counted with the day of purchase. Counted the same way, a train goes on sale 14 calendar days before its departure date, so a 6 February 2027 departure would open on 23 January 2027 if the rule is unchanged; 12306 has not published 2027 holiday ticket dates yet.
There is also a specific reservation pilot for Beijing–Shanghai high-speed railway and Beijing–Shanghai railway pilot trains. From 27 October 2026, the pilot becomes routine with 12306 app reservation requests accepted from the 30th to the 17th day before departure; it was previously the 60th to the 17th day. It is separate from the standard presale rule, so check which system applies to your train.
A Shanghai government FAQ explains what happens when a reservation is not met: you can buy during presale or submit a waitlist order with several date-and-train combinations. Where capacity allows, the railway adds trains or carriages, and new seats are matched to waitlist orders first come, first served.
For the registration and passport process, use our guide to buying 12306 tickets as a foreigner. We do not repeat those steps here. Instead, build your travel plan around the sale dates that follow from each departure date.
Our practical approach is to fix intercity dates early, set a reminder for each sale date, and prepare more than one acceptable train where possible. If your preferred service sells out, use the waitlist described above rather than abandoning the route immediately.
Avoid placing every long journey on the last days of the holiday, when the 2026 single-day peak was forecast. A slightly more flexible route can make the trip easier to manage, but the official holiday arrangement and later transport announcements should decide the final sequence.
Holiday demand also reaches resort areas. Hainan received 12.32 million visitor trips during the 2026 Spring Festival holiday, up 28.9% year on year, according to Xinhua citing the provincial tourism department. If Hainan is part of your plan, book island hotels early and confirm cancellation terms.
For travel style, our private China tours can be arranged as either Independent travel on your own with the LocalKey app and 24/7 backup, or Private Guided travel with a private guide and driver/car across the trip. Independent travel can add airport pickup, a private car and driver, or a local guide on demand; the guide is optional.
Private Guided travel can be useful at Spring Festival for station transfers when hubs are busiest, a guide who checks holiday opening hours, and local trips by car instead of crowded intercity legs. It does not remove national demand, so train and hotel planning still matters.
What should you recheck when the 2027 holiday notice is published?
When it is published, the State Council notice will fix the exact days off and make-up working days. At that point, recheck the official holiday dates, Chunyun timing, transport sales dates, attraction notices, government service windows and the separate 1 January 2027 New Year's Day arrangement.
- The official 2027 Spring Festival dates and total number of days, including which weekend days become working days.
- The 2027 Chunyun dates from the Ministry of Transport and National Development and Reform Commission, plus the 12306 sale dates that follow from your travel dates.
- Each attraction's own Spring Festival notice, including Lunar New Year's Eve closures, Monday rules and timed tickets.
- Local government service windows if you need any permit errand, plus any adjusted working days around 1 January 2027 (the holiday measures already fix 1 January as one statutory day). See our guide to New Year's Eve in China for the separate holiday context.
Check the State Council policy releases for the national notice. We will update this page when the notice is published.
Visa and entry rules are a separate check. If you are considering visa-free transit, use our 240-hour visa-free China guide and check the rules for your nationality and route.
Plan a Spring Festival trip with LocalKey
We can build your own China trip — planned, booked and backed — around the confirmed lunar dates, then fine-tune the sequence once the State Council arrangement and the Chunyun window are published. A 1:1 specialist can help sequence cities, set realistic train connections, check holiday opening notices and keep the route adaptable as Chunyun information becomes available.
We provide 1:1 planning and 7×24 WeChat/WhatsApp support. For families travelling during half-term or school holidays, see our China family tours.
Sources
- Hong Kong Observatory — Gregorian–Lunar calendar 2027 — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Hong Kong SAR Government — general holidays for 2027 — verified_on 2026-10-05
- State Council — National Festivals and Memorial Days Holiday Measures — verified_on 2026-10-05
- General Office of the State Council — 2026 holiday arrangement — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Ministry of Transport — January 2026 press conference on Chunyun — verified_on 2026-10-05
- National Development and Reform Commission — 2026 Chunyun briefing — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Ministry of Transport — 2025 Chunyun opens — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Ministry of Transport — 2026 Chunyun results — verified_on 2026-10-05
- China Railway 12306 — presale period — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Xinhua / China Railway — reservation pilot window — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Shanghai Municipal Government — reservation and waitlist FAQ — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Palace Museum — 2026 Spring Festival opening — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Shanghai Public Security Bureau — 2026 Spring Festival service windows — verified_on 2026-10-05
- National Immigration Administration — 2026 Spring Festival crossings — verified_on 2026-10-05
- Xinhua — Hainan Spring Festival 2026 visitors — verified_on 2026-10-05
