How China's makeup workdays work

What a makeup workday is

A makeup workday (调休上班日) is a Saturday or Sunday that the government has turned into a working day. In exchange, a weekday next to a public holiday becomes a day off, so the holiday joins up with the weekend into one longer break.

Saturday 10 October 2026 is an example. China had a seven-day National Day break from 1 to 7 October, and part of that break was paid for by working on Sunday 20 September and Saturday 10 October. On those two days, offices, schools and most businesses that follow the national schedule open as on any weekday.

Where the rules come from

Two documents set the calendar. The first is the national measures on public holidays (全国年节及纪念日放假办法), last revised by State Council Decree No. 795 in November 2024 and in force since 1 January 2025. They fix which days are statutory holidays and the general rules for moving days.

The second is a notice from the General Office of the State Council for each year, which sets the actual dates, including every makeup workday. It usually appears in November of the year before: the 2025 notice was published on 12 November 2024, the 2026 notice on 4 November 2025.

The 13 statutory holiday days

Since 2025 there are 13 statutory days off a year, up from 11. Lunar New Year's Eve and 2 May were added.

• New Year's Day: 1 day (1 January)
• Spring Festival: 4 days (Lunar New Year's Eve to the third day of the first lunar month)
• Qingming Festival: 1 day (the Qingming solar term, 4 or 5 April)
• Labour Day: 2 days (1–2 May)
• Dragon Boat Festival: 1 day (5th day of the 5th lunar month)
• Mid-Autumn Festival: 1 day (15th day of the 8th lunar month)
• National Day: 3 days (1–3 October)

How holiday blocks are built

The measures say that when a statutory day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, a weekday off is given instead. They also allow days to be rearranged into longer breaks, and say that, apart from special cases, nobody should work more than six days in a row before or after a holiday.

Officials explained the usual pattern when the revision was announced: Spring Festival runs eight days from Lunar New Year's Eve, National Day seven days from 1 October, Labour Day five days, and New Year's Day, Qingming, Dragon Boat and Mid-Autumn three days each. A one-day holiday that falls on a Wednesday is not stretched. When Mid-Autumn falls close to National Day the two are merged, as in 2025, when they made one eight-day break.

The pattern is a guide, not a formula. The 2026 Spring Festival break ran nine days, from 15 to 23 February, because the extra days fit around the weekends. Always check the year's notice for the real dates.

Example: October 2026

In October 2026 the National Day break covers 1–7 October. Three of those days (1–3 October) are statutory. The rest come from weekends, which is why Saturday 10 October is worked, and Sunday 20 September before it.

Counted across the whole month, October 2026 has far fewer working days than the 22 or so a normal month would have:

Statutory days and moved days are paid differently

Not every day in a holiday block is a statutory holiday. Under Article 44 of the Labour Law, an employee who works on a statutory holiday is paid at least 300% of normal wages. Work on a rest day is paid at least 200%, unless the employer gives time off in lieu instead. The non-statutory days inside a holiday block are rest days that were moved from weekends.

A makeup workday is an ordinary working day, so working on it earns ordinary pay. This page summarises the law. It is not legal or payroll advice.

Who doesn't follow the national schedule

The State Council calendar is the default for mainland China, but not everyone follows it exactly.

• Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have their own holiday calendars. Taiwan stopped scheduling makeup workdays from 2026.
• Some holidays apply only to certain groups, such as the half day for women on 8 March. Offices stay open on those days.
• Businesses can set their own schedules, and many close for longer around the Spring Festival. Banks and stock exchanges publish their own calendars.

Checking a date

To see whether a particular date is a working day, or to count working days between two dates, use the AcrossKit calculator. Years whose notice hasn't been published yet show as not published, so you never get a guess dressed up as an answer.

Questions

Are makeup workdays the same every year?

No. They depend on where the holidays fall in the week, so every year's notice sets different dates.

Do makeup workdays only fall on Saturdays?

No. Sundays can be makeup workdays too. In 2026 both Sunday 4 January and Sunday 20 September were working days.

Does a makeup workday count as a business day for deadlines?

Under the national schedule it is a normal working day. Contracts can define business days differently, so check the contract.

When will next year's makeup workdays be known?

When the State Council publishes the notice, usually in early November. We add it the same day.