Chinese New Year: planning orders and inspections
Every year, the closure of Chinese factories around New Year pushes orders back by several weeks. With a calendar prepared in the autumn, it costs you neither stock nor quality.
Chinese New Year falls on 6 February 2027 and most factories stop for one to several weeks around that date. To ship before it, production must be finished and the final inspection done by mid-January, booked in December.
The dates to remember
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival, 春节) follows the lunar calendar: it falls between 21 January and 20 February. For the 2026-2027 season:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Chinese New Year | Saturday 6 February 2027 |
| Lantern Festival (end of the celebrations) | Saturday 20 February 2027 |
| Official holiday | about one week around 6 February; calendar published by the State Council, usually in November |
| Next New Year | Wednesday 26 January 2028 |
The official holiday does not tell the whole story: many factories close for longer, because their workers, often from other provinces, make a long journey home. Production slows from mid-January and only recovers its pace several weeks after the festival. Tết in Vietnam falls at the same time.
What happens in the factories
- Before the holiday: every order has to leave at once. Factories accept more than they can produce, sometimes subcontract without saying so, and the time pressure is paid for in defects. Forwarders and ports are saturated.
- During: workshops are closed; unfinished orders wait for the restart.
- After: some workers do not return. Factories recruit and train new operators, and the quality of the first lots suffers.
The backwards calendar for shipping before 6 February 2027
| When | What |
|---|---|
| October-November 2026 | Place the orders to ship before New Year, and those to receive in March-April (they will be produced before or just after the holiday). |
| Mid-November | Get the supplier’s closing and restart dates in writing, and the last possible loading date. |
| December | Run a during production inspection to check real progress and spot defects while they can still be fixed. Book the January inspections. |
| Early to mid-January 2027 | Final random inspection, with enough margin for sorting, rework and a re-inspection if the lot fails. |
| Mid to late January | Container loading supervision and departure, before the factory and carriers stop. |
An inspection planned the day before the closure leaves one choice if the lot fails: ship anyway, or wait until the end of February. Place it one to two weeks before the last loading date instead. Our guide on the booking lead time for an inspection explains how to set the date.
What to ask the supplier
- its exact closing and restart dates for production, not just for the offices;
- the date your order will be finished and packed, and the last loading date;
- whether part of the order is subcontracted to meet the deadline, and to whom;
- the materials already bought: a supplier that orders its components in January risks running short at the restart.
Put the answers in writing, with the AQL and third-party inspection in the purchase order: if a lot fails, rework and re-inspection will be at the supplier’s expense. Our guide failed inspection: what to do details the options.
After the holiday: restarting without nasty surprises
- Do not count on full-speed production before March: allow longer lead times for orders started in February.
- Check the first lot: an initial production check verifies that new operators have understood your requirements and that the reference sample is still being met.
- Raise the inspection level if the first results deteriorate, or add production monitoring for a sensitive order.
The same logic applies, on a smaller scale, to the Golden Week of 1 to 7 October. To see how all these control steps fit together, read our guide to quality control in China.
Frequently asked questions
When do Chinese factories reopen after New Year?
Offices reopen at the end of the official holiday, but workshops restart gradually: many wait for the Lantern Festival, fifteen days after New Year (20 February 2027), and for workers who went home to their province to return. Often allow several weeks before the pace and headcount of before the holiday come back.
Can I have goods inspected during the Chinese New Year holiday?
Usually there is nothing to inspect: factories are closed and the goods are already shipped or waiting. Place the inspection before the closure, or after production has genuinely restarted. For a factory that stays open, ask us for our inspectors’ availability.
Should I check the first production after the holiday?
It is prudent. After New Year, some workers do not come back and the newcomers do not yet have the right habits: defects increase on the first lots. An initial production check verifies materials, settings and the first pieces before the mistake repeats.
An order to secure before New Year?
Give us your production end and loading dates: we schedule the inspections with your supplier before the closure.