Mid-Autumn Festival 2026: 25-27 September, and It Does Not Run Into Golden Week This Year
The 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in mainland China is 25-27 September. It does not join the 1-7 October National Day holiday: 28, 29 and 30 September are ordinary working days.
The dates: three days, 25-27 September
In 2026 the **Mid-Autumn Festival** falls on **Friday 25 September**, and the mainland China public holiday runs **25-27 September** — **three days**, Friday through Sunday.[1][2]
The date moves each year because the festival is set by the lunar calendar: the **15th day of the 8th lunar month**. That lands on 25 September in 2026 and **15 September in 2027**.[2]
★It does not join up with the National Day holiday this year
This is where English-language guides most often go wrong. Several describe Mid-Autumn and the National Day **Golden Week** as effectively back-to-back, producing a ten-day-plus break. ★**In 2026 that is not the case.**[1]
The State Council notice sets Mid-Autumn at **25-27 September** and National Day at **1-7 October**. ★That leaves **28, 29 and 30 September as ordinary working days** in between. The two holidays are separated by a normal three-day work block, not merged.[1]
★One widely cited guide phrases it carefully as **"3 days, or 8 days if close to China National Day on Oct.1"**. That is a **conditional** describing years where the gap happens to close up — and **2026 is not one of them**. Reading the conditional as the outcome is how the error spreads.[2]
★What the notice does say is that workplaces and individuals are **encouraged to combine paid annual leave** to form longer breaks and to stagger travel. A long continuous break in 2026 therefore comes from **taking leave**, not from the public holiday calendar.[1]
★Mid-Autumn and National Day are worded differently in the notice
The two holidays are not structured the same way, and the notice's own wording shows it. Mid-Autumn is written as **放假** — time off, with **no compensating workday**. National Day is written as **放假调休** — time off **with schedule adjustment**.[1]
★The practical consequence is the makeup days. For National Day the notice designates **Sunday 20 September** and **Saturday 10 October** as **working days**. ★Note that the first of those falls *before* Mid-Autumn, five days ahead of it — so a Sunday spent at work in the run-up to the festival is there because of **October's** holiday, not September's.[1]
Mid-Autumn needs no such adjustment because 25 September is already a Friday, so the three days run into the existing weekend without borrowing from anywhere.[1]
If you are travelling in China around these dates
★The two separate holidays still mean **two separate travel peaks** within about a week of each other, and the notice explicitly asks people to **stagger travel**. Late September and early October are both busy, but the quiet window between them — 28-30 September — is a normal working period.[1]
★Toll-free expressway access is a common follow-up question and is **not the same for the two holidays**. That is set out separately in the companion page on 2026 expressway tolls, because the rule turns on which holidays are named in a different policy document rather than on holiday length.[1]
Verified facts
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The State Council notice describes the Mid-Autumn holiday as 放假 (time off) with no compensating workday attached, while National Day is described as 放假调休 (time off with schedule adjustment) and lists two makeup workdays.[1] single-source ×1 · Wording of the State Council General Office notice of 4 November 2025
The National Day holiday runs 1-7 October 2026, and the notice designates Sunday 20 September and Saturday 10 October as working days.[1] single-source ×1 · Dates listed in the State Council General Office notice
TravelChinaGuide describes the holiday as "3 days, or 8 days if close to China National Day on Oct.1", a conditional that depends on the gap in a given year.[2] single-source ×1 · Conditional wording published by TravelChinaGuide
The same source gives the 2027 Mid-Autumn Festival date as 15 September 2027.[2] single-source ×1 · Date table published by TravelChinaGuide
The State Council notice encourages workplaces and individuals to combine paid annual leave to form longer breaks and to stagger travel.[1] single-source ×1 · Closing paragraph of the State Council General Office notice
Timeline
- 2025-11-04
The State Council General Office publishes the 2026 public holiday schedule.[1]
- 2026-09-20
Sunday designated as a working day to offset the National Day holiday.[1]
- 2026-09-25
Mid-Autumn Festival; the three-day public holiday begins.[1][2]
- 2026-09-28
Ordinary working days resume, through 30 September.[1]
- 2026-10-01
National Day holiday begins, running to 7 October.[1]
- Model
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- 09/11/2026, 10:00
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| 09/11/2026, 10:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
Frequently asked
When is the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2026?
Friday 25 September 2026. The mainland China public holiday runs 25-27 September, three days in total.[1][2]
Does Mid-Autumn connect with Golden Week in 2026?
No. Mid-Autumn is 25-27 September and National Day is 1-7 October, leaving 28, 29 and 30 September as ordinary working days between them.[1]
Why do some guides say it is an eight-day or ten-day break?
Because that describes years when the gap closes up. One widely cited guide words it conditionally as "3 days, or 8 days if close to China National Day". In 2026 the condition does not apply.[1][2]
Is there a makeup workday for Mid-Autumn?
No. The notice describes Mid-Autumn as 放假 with no compensating workday. The makeup days it lists, Sunday 20 September and Saturday 10 October, belong to the National Day holiday.[1]
Why is Sunday 20 September a working day?
It offsets the seven-day National Day holiday, even though it falls five days before Mid-Autumn. It is not connected to the September festival.[1]
When is the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2027?
15 September 2027. The date moves each year because the festival is set on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.[2]