China School Holidays 2026
🇨🇳 Beijing & Shanghai · school year 2026-2027 · public school calendars
Dates verified against official source for the current school year. Last verified: Jul 29, 2026.
The China school holidays 2026 calendar is set city by city: every municipal education commission publishes its own term dates, and the two cities international families ask about most — Beijing and Shanghai — differ by a few days. This page lists the complete 2026-2027 China school holiday calendar for both: the September 1 term start, the October Golden Week closure, the roughly four-week winter break around Chinese New Year, and the July-August summer break, each with the official source it came from.
Beijing vs Shanghai — Term Dates 2026-2027
| Period | Beijing | Shanghai |
|---|---|---|
| First semester (上课时间) | Sep 1, 2026 – Jan 17, 2027 (high school: to Jan 24) | Sep 1, 2026 – Jan 22, 2027 |
| Winter break (寒假) | Jan 18 – Feb 21, 2027 (high school: from Jan 25) | Jan 23 – Feb 21, 2027 |
| Second semester | Feb 22 – Jul 5, 2027 (high school: to Jul 12) | Feb 22 – Jun 30, 2027 |
| Summer break (暑假) | Jul 6 – Aug 31, 2027 (high school: from Jul 13) | Jul 1 – Aug 31, 2027 |
| Golden Week closure | Oct 1 – 7, 2026 | Oct 1 – 7, 2026 |
Dates are for compulsory education (primary and middle school); high-school differences are noted inline. Chinese labels are the terms the official documents use. Last checked 2026-07-29.
Chinese New Year 2027 & the winter school holiday
The Chinese New Year school holiday 2027 is the moveable centre of the academic year: winter break is scheduled around the Spring Festival (春节), which falls on February 9-15, 2027 as the official public holiday. Schools close for roughly four weeks around it — in Beijing compulsory education is out January 18 to February 21, 2027 (high schools from January 25), in Shanghai January 23 to February 21, 2027 — and classes resume together on February 22, 2027 in both cities. Because the festival follows the lunar calendar, next year's break slides: the 2028 Spring Festival lands in late January, pulling that winter break earlier.
For families travelling over the holiday: the festival week itself (February 9-15) is China's busiest domestic travel period, and train and flight availability tightens weeks ahead. The term-time weeks either side — before January 17 in Beijing and January 22 in Shanghai — run as normal school.
How the Chinese school year works
China's public school year runs on two semesters: the first from September 1 to mid-to-late January, the second from late February to early July. There is no autumn half-term — the first long closure is the National Day Golden Week (October 1-7), a full week off at the start of October.
The winter break is the moving part: it is scheduled around Chinese New Year, whose date follows the lunar calendar (February 9-15 in 2027), so the four-week closure slides between mid-January and late February from year to year. The summer break is fixed and long — essentially all of July and August — and the next school year always begins on September 1.
Two city-level caveats: Beijing separates compulsory education from high school, and the high-school term runs about one week longer at each semester end; and each commission can adjust local and school-based course schedules, so individual schools occasionally shift non-statutory days.
Enrolment & visa timeline for relocating families
General guidance for planning — enrolment rules are set by each city and school type, so confirm with the school before acting.
Public school enrolment (local and expat residents): enrolment for the September intake is typically organised in spring — April to June — through each city's online enrolment platform, with catchment and documentation rules set at district level. Children who turn six by August 31 are of compulsory school age. Mid-year entry into the second semester (late February) is possible but arranged directly with the district.
International schools: most campuses in Beijing and Shanghai hold open houses in October-November, take applications through winter, with deadlines between January and March for the following August/September intake, and fill remaining places on a rolling basis. Because the academic year starts September 1, families targeting a specific campus should plan the application the autumn before — not the spring of.
Student visa (X1/X2): the visa application follows admission, not the calendar: the school issues the admission letter and the visa application documents (JW202 or equivalent), and the X1 visa (for study longer than 180 days) is applied for at a Chinese embassy or consulate and converted to a residence permit within 30 days of arrival. Budget a few weeks between admission and visa in hand — for a September 1 start, that means documents should be complete by mid-summer.
Official sources
- Beijing: Beijing Municipal Education Commission — jw.beijing.gov.cn/ (document 京教办〔2026〕4号)
- Shanghai: Shanghai Municipal Education Commission — edu.sh.gov.cn/ (document 沪教委基〔2026〕14号)
Last verified: 2026-07-29. Subscribe to either city's calendar from its region page below.
China School Holidays 2026 — Frequently Asked Questions
When does school start in China in 2026?
School starts on September 1, 2026 in both Beijing and Shanghai — the term start is set nationally. The first semester then runs to mid-to-late January 2027 (January 17 in Beijing compulsory education, January 22 in Shanghai).
How long is winter break in China 2027?
About four weeks, scheduled around Chinese New Year (February 9–15, 2027). Beijing compulsory education has winter break from January 18 to February 21, 2027 (high schools: January 25 – February 21); Shanghai has it from January 23 to February 21, 2027.
Do schools in China close for Golden Week?
Yes. The National Day Golden Week closes schools for the first week of October — October 1–7, 2026 — in both cities. Mid-Autumn Festival (September 25–27, 2026) adds another long weekend early in the term.
When is summer holiday in China 2027?
Beijing compulsory education: July 6 – August 31, 2027 (high schools from July 13). Shanghai: July 1 – August 31, 2027. The new school year then begins on September 1, 2027.
Do Beijing and Shanghai have the same school calendar?
Mostly, but not exactly. Both start September 1, 2026 and hold the Golden Week closure, but their semester-end and winter-break dates differ by about five days because each municipal education commission publishes its own calendar (Beijing document 京教办〔2026〕4号; Shanghai document 沪教委基〔2026〕14号).
Do international schools in China follow these dates?
Often not. International and private schools usually run western-style calendars with their own winter and spring breaks, so their terms can start earlier in August and end in June. For those schools the campus calendar is the binding one; the dates on this page are for the public school systems of Beijing and Shanghai.
When is Chinese New Year 2027?
The Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) falls on February 9-15, 2027 as the official public holiday week — the Year of the Goat begins February 9, 2027. For schools, that festival week sits inside the winter break: Beijing is out January 18 to February 21, 2027, Shanghai January 23 to February 21, 2027, and both cities return to class on February 22, 2027.
When is Chinese New Year 2028, and when will schools be on break?
The Spring Festival 2028 falls on January 26, 2028, so the 2027/28 winter break will move earlier into late January — expect a January-February window similar to this year's. The two municipal education commissions publish their exact school break dates in the second half of 2027; this page updates as soon as the Beijing and Shanghai calendars are out.