Chinese New Year and Vietnamese Tết: two calendars, one festival

Same festival, different rules

In 2026 and 2027 the Lunar New Year falls on the same day in both countries: Tuesday 17 February 2026 and Saturday 6 February 2027. Vietnam's lunar calendar is calculated for its own time zone, UTC+7, one hour behind Beijing, so in rare years its dates can differ from China's by a day.

What differs every year is how the days off are arranged. Mainland China's break is set in one annual notice from the State Council. Vietnam's is set by law as five paid days, and the government decides how they fall for its own offices, while private employers choose within the law.

Mainland China: a nine-day break with makeup Saturdays

Since 2025 mainland China gives four statutory days for the Spring Festival: Lunar New Year's Eve and the first three days of the year. The State Council joins them with weekends and moves working days around to make a longer break.

In 2026 the break runs from Sunday 15 to Monday 23 February, nine days. In exchange, Saturday 14 February and Saturday 28 February are working days for offices that follow the national schedule.

Vietnam: five paid days, arranged by the government for its offices

Vietnam's Labour Code gives five paid days for Tết. For civil servants and public bodies, the Ministry of Home Affairs announces the exact days once the Prime Minister has approved them. In 2026 government offices are off from Saturday 14 to Sunday 22 February, nine days including two weekends, with no working Saturday in exchange.

Private employers choose how to split their five days around the New Year: one day before and four after, two and three, or three and two. Many follow the government's dates, but a Vietnamese supplier may close a day earlier or reopen a day later than government offices.

February 2026 side by side

Both countries are off for nine days, but the breaks are shifted by a day and only mainland China works on Saturdays to make up. Counted over February, mainland China has 16 working days:

February in Vietnam

Vietnam's government offices have one working day fewer in February, because they do not work on Saturday 14 or 28 February:

Example: a five-working-day job

Suppose a mainland supplier and a Vietnamese supplier both confirm a job on Monday 9 February 2026 and promise it in five working days, counted from the next day. In mainland China those are 10 to 13 February plus Saturday 14 February, a makeup workday just before the break:

The same job in Vietnam

In Vietnam only four working days are left before Tết, 10 to 13 February, and Saturday 14 February is already a day off. The fifth working day is Monday 23 February, after the break and nine days after the mainland date.

With ten working days instead of five, the two dates are close again: Saturday 28 February in mainland China, another makeup Saturday, and Monday 2 March in Vietnam. The five-day count on Vietnam's calendar:

Looking ahead to 2027

Vietnam has already set Tết 2027 for its government offices: seven days, from Thursday 4 February to Wednesday 10 February 2027, approved on 2 October 2026. Lunar New Year's Day is Saturday 6 February.

Mainland China's 2027 dates come with the State Council's notice, usually published in early November. Until then the mainland break for 2027 is not known, and our calculator shows it as not published.

Planning across both calendars

A few habits help when the same order passes through both countries:

• Count lead times in working days on each side's calendar, not in calendar days.
• Expect replies from mainland China on makeup Saturdays, and none from Vietnamese government offices on the same days.
• Ask Vietnamese suppliers which five days they take for Tết; private employers choose their own split.
• Remember the one-hour time difference: 9:00 in Hanoi is 10:00 in Shanghai.

Questions

Is Vietnamese Tết on the same day as Chinese New Year?

In 2026 and 2027, yes: 17 February 2026 and 6 February 2027. Vietnam's lunar calendar is calculated for UTC+7, so in rare years the two can differ.

How many days off does Vietnam give for Tết?

The law gives five paid days. Joined with weekends, government offices were off for nine days in 2026 and will be off for seven in 2027.

Does Vietnam work on Saturdays to make up for Tết?

Not in 2026 or 2027. In 2026 Vietnam's government offices did swap two other weekdays for working Saturdays, around New Year's Day and National Day.

Which country has more working days in 2026?

Vietnam's government offices have 249 working days in 2026, mainland China 248.