Qingming, Labour Day, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn: Order Impact

Compare the official holiday patterns before planning an order

For mainland China, statutory holiday days differ from the continuous break created by weekends and adjusted working days. The scheduling principles published in the State Council General Office's 2025 notice normally provide 3-day breaks for Qingming, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn, but only the holiday itself off when it falls on a Wednesday. Labour Day normally has a 5-day adjusted break. Exceptional arrangements are possible, and Mid-Autumn can merge with National Day.

The 2026 notice arranged breaks of 3 days for Qingming, 5 for Labour Day, 3 for Dragon Boat and 3 for Mid-Autumn. Of these four arrangements, only Labour Day included a designated make-up working Saturday. This is an annual example, not a permanent timetable.

Use the China holiday calendar alongside the relevant year's official notice to check holiday dates and adjusted working weekends. The table below combines official patterns with practical planning advice; it does not predict a particular factory's closure.

Qingming: protect the handover between unfinished work and dispatch

Production: ask which operations will be complete before the factory closes and which will resume afterwards. If another workshop supplies a component or performs finishing, obtain its schedule too. Do not treat a salesperson's availability as confirmation that the production line is operating.

Samples: choose between completing approval before closure and deliberately reviewing after reopening. Request the sample's identification, specification and dispatch evidence. If a revision is needed, agree when the revised sample can enter the workshop.

Shipping: obtain the actual collection appointment and warehouse acceptance deadline. Check the collection route and receiving facility even if the goods are already packed.

Practical tip: leave a written handover identifying unfinished operations, the person responsible and the next confirmation required. Avoid an ambiguous promise that the order will be dealt with 'after the holiday'.

Labour Day: confirm the whole production and shipping chain

Production: build the plan around confirmed materials and capacity. Ask the supplier to distinguish material arrival, production completion, inspection and release. Obtain confirmation of the production slot separately from payment.

Samples: establish whether approval is needed to release materials or start manufacture. If a physical sample cannot reach you before closure, agree a revised production plan rather than silently replacing physical approval with photographs.

Shipping: ask the transport provider to confirm collection availability, cargo and document deadlines, and the booked departure. Check warehouse, laboratory and transport schedules separately from the factory's make-up working weekends.

Practical tip: request a milestone plan showing what happens if a component, approval or inspection misses its deadline. Agree any additional freight cost before changing the transport method.

Dragon Boat: keep sample revisions and subcontracted work visible

Production: identify any outside operation still outstanding, such as printing, coating or packaging manufacture. Ask whether that business closes at the same time as the main supplier and whether work returns before final assembly.

Samples: separate sample manufacture, dispatch, receipt, review and revision. Check whether the closure affects any of these stages, and keep the approved version clearly identified.

Shipping: obtain evidence that the parcel or freight has been accepted for transport. Do not use a booking reference or shipping label alone as confirmation of collection.

Practical tip: send a consolidated response to the sample, with clear acceptance criteria and a named decision-maker, to help limit clarification rounds across the closure.

Mid-Autumn: plan together with National Day

Production: inspect the annual calendar before assuming there is a usable production window between Mid-Autumn and National Day. The holidays may be separate or combined. Ask the supplier to show which operations fit into its actual working interval.

Samples: trace approval through to bulk production. For a sample dispatched before Mid-Autumn, check whether review, correction and factory confirmation are still outstanding before authorising bulk production.

Shipping: confirm whether the goods can be inspected, released and collected before the next closure. If not, obtain the next feasible dispatch plan instead of treating factory reopening as a departure guarantee.

Practical tip: agree a fallback delivery plan for time-sensitive stock. For National Day closure and freight planning, use the National Day Golden Week guide.

Turn the holiday calendar into a usable order plan

Work backwards from when the goods must be usable at their destination. Include receiving and any required checks, destination clearance, international transport, origin handling, inspection, production and sample approval. Ask the responsible provider to confirm each stage.

Define when the quoted lead time starts: order acceptance, payment, material availability or sample approval. Confirm which days the supplier counts and how its make-up weekends are treated. See working-day lead times around China holidays when checking the calculation.

Set contingency time from the actual dependencies and available transport options rather than applying a fixed allowance based only on the public holiday's length.

For a personal purchase or small business order, establish whether the item is genuinely finished stock or still needs customisation. Where relevant, also check component suppliers, subcontractors and packaging schedules.

For the broader overview of closures outside Chinese New Year, see other Chinese public holidays that affect factories.

Destination costs: a short UK example

If a holiday disruption leads you to change from sea freight to air freight, update the landed-cost estimate as well as the delivery forecast. Under HMRC's transaction-value method, transport, insurance, loading and handling costs connected with delivery to the UK border must be included in the customs value unless already included in the price.

For UK import VAT, start with the customs value. Add applicable import duty, levies, excise duty and other import charges except VAT itself, plus relevant incidental expenses to the first UK destination. Relevant incidental expenses arising from transport to a further UK destination known at importation must also be included. Ask the declarant to check the additions and avoid counting costs twice.

Buyers importing into the EU, US or another market should check the destination customs authority's guidance before approving a revised shipping arrangement. The UK example is not a calculation for those markets.

Prepare for help checking a holiday-sensitive order

Before asking for a quote check, prepare the specification, supplier's offer, proposed milestones and delivery requirement. Identify any unclear timing or responsibilities.

For a personal purchase or smaller business order, prepare the product details, quantity, destination and required arrival date. Ask the prospective sourcing provider to confirm the scope of assistance.

Sources

The State Council regulations and notices listed below support the statutory holiday days, scheduling principles and annual arrangements. Operational recommendations are planning advice, not official factory closure forecasts. The HMRC sources support the UK valuation example.