Will Chinese public holiday influence your business?

Which issue would you concern most when handling the international trade?

Capable supplier?

Quality guarantee?

Secure payment?

Production punctuality？

Yes, all the above items are important when dealing with international trade. Almost every buyer has met with problems on these aspects before. But whether everything will be going well if all these issues have been settled? Before giving answer, let’s share an experience of Bill met.

Once, Bill purchased some financial equipment from the supplier. Since it was not the first time for the cooperation, Bill was satisfied with the products. But for this order, Bill was very angry when receiving the products because it was more than 2 weeks late. When complaining about the delay, Bill got the answer that the main reason was the Chinese Spring Festival.

When the production was finished it had been too late to book the planned vessel. Lots of goods should be sent before the holiday, then the shipping was full even though the booking was sent as usual. Anyway, Bill was lucky because the goods have been sent out before the holiday started even though it was 1 week delay as planned. However, when Bill asked for original copy of Bill of Lading to receive the shipment, the contact person in charge of the shipment was still on vacation and can only provide the needed document for Bill after he came back to work in several days.

Even though Bill has found a trusted supplier and satisfied products, and the production was finished on time, the result was not so satisfying. However, it should be avoidable if Bill pays more attention to the shipping schedule before the holiday. Thus, we would like to share some information of Chinese public holiday schedule, hoping that it will help you arrange the trading plan better.

Here is a detail of 2015 public holiday schedule for your reference:

• New Year’s Day holiday drops on January 1, the first day of the year as the international calendar; sometimes it will be 3 days holiday together with the weekend.
• Spring Festival is the most important festival in China. It is to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Families will get together and have a big meal in the Spring Festival Eve. People will also set off firecrackers and put red scrolls for decoration to celebrate the holiday. During the holiday, people also visit relatives and friends with wishes and give good luck money to the elder and children. The holiday is 3 days long, but usually is 7 days together with the weekend, and some companies will have longer holidays.
• Qingming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival is a time for ancestral veneration, tending of family graves and going outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime. It is the 4th solar term of the Chinese 24 solar terms. It may fall on any day in the period April 4—April 6 for 1 day holiday, sometimes it will be 3 days holiday together with the weekend.
• The Labour (May) Day once became the “Golden weeks” of a week-long holiday as a measure to increase and encourage holiday spending from 2000, which is a peak seasons for travel and tourism. But in 2008, the May (Labor) Day holiday was shortened to 1 day to reduce the travel rushes, and the time was added to another three traditional Chinese holidays: Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, sometimes it will be 3 days holiday together with the weekend.
• Dragon Boat Festival is on the 5^th day of the 5^th month of the Chinese lunar calendar for 1 day holiday; sometimes it will be 3 days holiday together with the weekend. People will eat zongzi (sticky rice treats wrapped in bamboo leaves), drink xionghuangjiu (realgar wine) and race dragon boats.
• The Mid-Autumn Festival is a harvest festival celebrated on the night of the full moon on the 15^th day of the 8^th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. People usually get together with family or friends eating moon cake and admiring the full moon. It is 1 day holiday; sometimes it will be 3 days holiday together with the weekend.
• National Day was celebrated as the memorial day for the founding of the People’s Republic of China. There will be activities like Military Review & Parade, flag-raising ceremonies, dance and song shows for the celebration. Many people will also go travel during this golden week holiday since the 3 days will be always 7 days combined with the weekend.

In all these holidays, if the holiday lands on a weekend, the days will be reimbursed after the weekend. Generally, if it is one day holiday and is nearby the weekend, the government will arrange it to be a 3 days holiday; if there is a 3 day holiday, the government will declare it to be a 7 days holiday. However, people are required to work during the weekend before of after the holiday, and treat the affected Saturdays and Sundays as the weekdays that the weekend has been swapped with. Usually, most company’s holiday schedule is same with this, but some companies will also have some tiny adjustments. Thus, it is better to confirm the schedule with the suppliers in advance when the holiday is approaching.