Chinese New Year 2027 lands on 6 February, and most Chinese factories close for weeks either side of it. This guide gives Australian importers a practical planning calendar — production deadlines, freight booking windows and what really happens to factory capacity after the holiday — so a two-week break doesn't turn into a two-month delay.
In short: Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, 6 February 2027 — the start of the Year of the Goat. Most Chinese factories close for at least one to two weeks either side of that date, and many run under-staffed for weeks afterwards as workers change jobs or return home late. If you're an Australian importer, the safe rule of thumb is to have your production finished and your container loaded before mid-to-late January 2027, because anything left until "after the holiday" can mean a six-to-eight week delay, not a two-week one.
Last updated: 6 August 2026
Chinese New Year (also called Lunar New Year or the Spring Festival) falls on Saturday, 6 February 2027, marking the start of the Year of the Goat. Because it follows the lunar calendar, the date moves every year — CNY 2026 was 17 February, and CNY 2027 lands about 11 days earlier. Vietnam's equivalent holiday, Tet, falls on the same date, since both follow the same lunar new year.
The official public holiday in China typically runs about a week, but the real disruption to your supply chain is longer. Most factories close for one to two weeks either side of the public holiday so staff can travel home — often the single biggest domestic migration event in the world. Layer on top of that a well-known industry reality: a meaningful share of factory workers use the break to change jobs or move to a factory closer to home, so production lines can run under-staffed and under-trained for two to four weeks after the official reopening date, even when a factory tells you it's "back to normal."
For planning purposes, treat late January through late February 2027 as a high-risk window, and don't assume "reopened" means "back to full capacity."
The disruption isn't just the factory floor — it ripples through the whole chain. Everyone tries to ship before the holiday, which means freight bookings out of Chinese ports get tight and rates climb in the weeks beforehand. Then everything goes quiet for a few weeks, and a backlog forms that takes time to clear once factories restart. If you're relying on a single supplier with no buffer stock, a shipment that would normally take six weeks door-to-door can easily stretch to twelve.
Work backwards from 6 February 2027. Here's a realistic planning calendar for a standard 30-45 day production run:
| Milestone | Target date | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Finalise samples and specs | By mid-November 2026 | Leaves room for revisions before factories fill their pre-CNY production slots |
| Confirm order and pay deposit | By 1 December 2026 | Orders confirmed before the pre-CNY rush get priority over last-minute bookings |
| Production complete and QC passed | By 15 January 2027 | Builds in a buffer before the pre-holiday shipping crunch |
| Goods loaded and vessel departs | By 22-25 January 2027 | Last realistic sailings before port congestion and rate spikes |
| Factory holiday period | ~29 January - 20 February 2027 | Varies by factory and region — always confirm your specific supplier's dates directly |
| Treat as reduced capacity | Through mid-March 2027 | Allow for worker turnover slowing the ramp back to full output |
If you can't hit the January shipping window, the smarter move is often to accept a March delivery and plan stock levels accordingly, rather than pushing a factory to rush an order in the final week before they close. It's also worth checking that your supplier contract's force majeure clause is clear on this point — a foreseeable event like CNY generally isn't covered by force majeure protection, so scheduling around it is on you, not a fallback clause.
Ocean freight rates out of major Chinese ports typically climb in the four to six weeks before Chinese New Year as every importer in the world tries to get containers moving before the shutdown. Space on vessels gets scarce, and last-minute bookings can cost significantly more than the same route booked in October or November. Book your sailing slot as early as your production timeline allows — this is one area where a freight forwarder or sourcing agent with existing carrier relationships can secure space that a first-time importer booking cold may simply miss out on.
Yes. Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) falls on the same date as Chinese New Year — 6 February 2027 — and Vietnamese factories close for a broadly similar period, often slightly longer in practice because Tet carries even more cultural weight as a multi-generational family holiday. If you're running a China-plus-Vietnam supply chain, don't assume staggering your orders between the two countries gives you a workaround — both calendars move together.
Saturday, 6 February 2027, marking the start of the Year of the Goat.
Aim to have samples finalised and your order confirmed by early December 2026, with production complete by mid-January 2027, so your container ships before the pre-holiday rush.
The official holiday is about a week, but treat late January to late February as a high-risk window and expect reduced output for several weeks after reopening due to worker turnover — always confirm your specific supplier's actual dates.
For many importers, yes. If your product sells steadily, ordering a larger pre-CNY batch to cover January through March is usually cheaper than air-freighting an emergency top-up later — see our MOQ negotiation guide for how to structure a bigger order without overcommitting cash flow.
Yes — Tet falls on the same date and causes a similar factory shutdown, so a China-plus-Vietnam strategy doesn't dodge the calendar problem on its own.
Every year, Epic Sourcing's bilingual teams on the ground in China and Vietnam build CNY production and freight-booking calendars into every client's order schedule — because we've seen what happens when it's left to chance. With 20,000+ products sourced, 300+ happy clients and average savings of around 77%, we know which of our factory partners genuinely reopen on time and which don't. If your business ships out of Melbourne and you want your 2027 orders locked in before the pre-CNY rush, read our guide to importing from China to Melbourne, then get in touch with our team to map out your production calendar. Building a battery-powered or electronics range on the same timeline? Our guide to importing drones from China covers the extra compliance steps to build into your schedule.
