Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan: three holiday calendars

One time zone, three rulebooks

All three use UTC+8 with no daylight saving time, so office hours line up. Days off do not. Mainland China's calendar is set by the State Council, Hong Kong's by the Hong Kong SAR Government under the General Holidays Ordinance, and Taiwan's government office calendar by the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration.

The biggest difference is what happens to weekends. Mainland China turns some Saturdays and Sundays into working days to build long breaks. Hong Kong and Taiwan move a holiday that falls on a weekend to a weekday, but never make a weekend a working day.

Mainland China: makeup workdays

Mainland China has 13 statutory holiday days a year. The State Council's notice for each year, usually published in November, joins them with nearby weekends into longer breaks and lists the weekend days that are worked in exchange. In 2026 there are six of these makeup workdays, including Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February around the Spring Festival.

Makeup workdays are ordinary working days for offices that follow the national schedule, so a mainland supplier may reply on a Saturday while partners in Hong Kong and Taiwan are off. The long breaks are also longer than the 13 statutory days suggest, so lead times should be counted in actual working days.

Hong Kong: general holidays and substitute days

Hong Kong has 17 general holidays in both 2026 and 2027, plus every Sunday. Alongside Lunar New Year, Ching Ming, Tuen Ng, Mid-Autumn and Chung Yeung, they include Easter, the Birthday of the Buddha and Christmas.

When a holiday falls on a Sunday, another day is given in substitution. In 2027 the second day of Lunar New Year is a Sunday, so the fourth day is a holiday instead. The list for the next year is gazetted around May or June.

Taiwan: substitute days, no makeup workdays

Taiwan's days off come from the Memorial Days and Festivals Act, amended in 2025: six memorial days, five days for Lunar New Year, and single days for festivals such as Tomb Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

A holiday on a Saturday is given on the Friday before; one on a Sunday is given on the Monday after. Neither the 2026 nor the 2027 calendar has a weekend working day. The next year's calendar is published by 30 June, or 31 August at the latest.

The calendar binds government agencies. Private employers follow the Labor Standards Act and agree days off with their staff, so an individual company may handle a substitute day differently.

Lunar New Year 2026 side by side

The three calendars treat the same festival very differently. Mainland China is off from 15 to 23 February and works on Saturdays 14 and 28 February. Hong Kong is off on 17, 18 and 19 February only. Taiwan is off from 14 to 22 February.

Counted over the whole month, February 2026 has 16 working days in mainland China, 17 in Hong Kong and 14 in Taiwan's government calendar.

Example: one order, three delivery dates

Suppose a supplier confirms an order on Monday 9 February 2026 and promises delivery in ten working days. Counted on each calendar, the deadline falls on three different days. In mainland China it lands on a makeup Saturday:

The same order in Hong Kong

Hong Kong loses only three days to Lunar New Year, so the same ten working days end earliest:

And in Taiwan

Taiwan's break is long and has no makeup Saturday, and Peace Memorial Day's substitute day falls on Friday 27 February, so the deadline slips into March. Over the whole year, mainland China has 248 working days in 2026, Hong Kong 247 and Taiwan 245; for 2027, Hong Kong has 248 and Taiwan 244, while mainland China's dates are not published yet.

Questions

Do Hong Kong and Taiwan follow mainland China's makeup workdays?

No. A Saturday that is a working day in mainland China is an ordinary Saturday in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Which of the three has the most working days in 2026?

Mainland China with 248, then Hong Kong with 247 and Taiwan's government calendar with 245.

Are mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in the same time zone?

Yes. All three use UTC+8 and none uses daylight saving time.

Where do these dates come from?

The State Council's annual notice for mainland China, the gazetted general holidays on GovHK for Hong Kong, and the DGPA's government office calendar for Taiwan.