International School Term Dates in China: What to Know
Term dates for international and bilingual schools in China follow a broadly similar academic-year shape but differ school by school, especially around the timing of the Chinese New Year break. Here's how to plan around them.
Quick answer
How term dates work at international schools in China: the general academic-year shape, holiday timing including Chinese New Year, and planning tips.
At a glance
- Country: China
- Sections: 16
- Questions answered: 8
- Schools listed: 6
- Read time: 11 min read
The general shape of the academic year
Most international and bilingual schools in China run an academic year that starts in late August or early September and ends around June, typically divided into two or three terms or semesters, similar in overall shape to school calendars in many other countries. Beyond that broad pattern, exact start and end dates, half-term or mid-term breaks, and the length of the summer holiday vary from school to school, so this guide describes the general structure rather than specific dates, which change from year to year and must be confirmed directly with each school.
Term structure: semesters versus terms
Common structural patterns
- American-style schools: typically two semesters with shorter marking periods
- British-style schools: typically three terms with a half-term in each
- Exact dates vary by school and are usually published a year ahead
- Always confirm the current academic calendar directly with the specific school
Schools following an American curriculum structure commonly organise the year into two semesters, each further divided into shorter marking periods for reporting purposes, while schools following a British curriculum structure more often use a three-term year with autumn, spring and summer terms, each including a mid-term half-term break. IB continuum schools and bilingual schools may follow either structure depending on their history and any founding curriculum influence. None of this determines actual dates, which each school sets and publishes independently, usually a year or more in advance on its own website or through its parent portal.
Chinese New Year and other public holiday considerations
Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival, is one of the most significant scheduling considerations for schools in China, since its date shifts each year according to the lunar calendar and typically falls between late January and mid-February. Most schools build a break of at least a week or two around Chinese New Year into their calendar, and the exact length and timing vary by school. Other Chinese public holidays, such as National Day in early October, also commonly affect school calendars with a short break, though again the precise days off vary by school and can be affected by how public holidays are officially observed and any make-up days required by local authorities.
Because Chinese New Year dates shift meaningfully from year to year, do not assume the school break will fall on the same calendar dates as a previous year, and check the current academic calendar for the specific year you are planning around.
Differences between Shanghai and Beijing school calendars
Schools in Shanghai and Beijing generally follow a broadly similar overall academic-year shape, but individual school calendars differ in their exact start and end dates and in how they schedule breaks around Chinese New Year and other holidays. There is no single unified school calendar across either city, since each school, including within the same city, sets its own dates. If you have children at more than one school, or if extended family visits or travel plans depend on aligning with a school calendar, check each relevant school's calendar individually rather than assuming schools in the same city are synchronised.
Planning family travel around the school calendar
Families relocating to China or with extended family abroad often want to plan visits or travel around school holidays well in advance, which means requesting a school's calendar as early as possible, ideally before finalising other travel bookings for peak periods such as Chinese New Year or the summer break, when flight prices and availability can be affected by high demand from both expatriate and local travellers. Many schools publish their calendar for the following academic year some months ahead, so ask a prospective or current school when its next calendar becomes available if you need to plan early.
Mid-year arrivals and calendar alignment
Families relocating to China outside the usual late-summer start of the academic year should ask a prospective school directly how its term structure affects a mid-year start, since starting partway through a term or semester can mean joining a class partway through a unit of work or a marking period. Some schools handle mid-year starts smoothly as a matter of routine, given how common relocation is among their student body, while others may suggest a particular join date within a term works better than another. Our guide to how to apply covers the wider admissions timeline alongside this calendar consideration.
Exam and assessment periods to be aware of
Schools working toward IGCSEs, A-levels, the IB Diploma or AP examinations have fixed external examination periods set by the relevant examination boards, generally concentrated in the school's final term or semester, which affects how much flexibility is realistic for family travel during that period for students in examination year groups. Ask a school directly about its examination schedule for the relevant year group if you are planning travel or a further relocation around that time, since missing part of an external examination period is a much more serious disruption than missing ordinary teaching days.
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Getting the most current information
Because term dates, holiday timing and calendar structure vary by school and change from year to year, particularly around the shifting date of Chinese New Year, always request the current academic calendar directly from a school rather than relying on a previous year's dates or a general summary. Most schools share their calendar readily with prospective and enrolled families, often as a downloadable document or through a parent portal, and this is one of the most useful documents to request early in your relocation planning alongside fee schedules and admissions requirements.
Half-terms, reading weeks and shorter breaks
Beyond the main holiday periods, many schools in China build in shorter breaks during each term or semester, sometimes called half-terms in British-style schools or long weekends and reading weeks in American-style schools, generally lasting a few days to a week. These shorter breaks are sometimes, though not always, aligned with Chinese public holidays such as the Qingming Festival, Labour Day or the Mid-Autumn Festival, which can shift the exact days off from year to year depending on how the holiday falls relative to weekends and any officially designated make-up working days. Because these shorter breaks are easy to overlook when planning ahead, particularly for grandparents or extended family visiting from abroad, it is worth requesting a school's full calendar rather than just the headline term start and end dates when planning any visit.
How weather and seasonal factors sometimes affect the calendar
In some parts of China, air quality, extreme heat or occasionally severe weather events can affect a school's normal operations, and schools generally have their own policies for how they communicate and respond to such situations, which can occasionally include adjusted schedules or, in rare cases, school closures. These situations are handled by each school individually and are not something this guide can predict or summarise as a general rule, since practice varies by school and by city and depends on specific local conditions in a given year. If this is a concern for your family, ask a prospective school directly about its policy for extreme weather or air quality days, including how it communicates any schedule changes to parents, since prompt and clear communication varies between schools.
Coordinating calendars across multiple children or schools
Families with children at more than one school in China, for example an older child at a secondary-focused school and a younger child at a separate early years setting, or families who move a child between schools partway through the year, sometimes find that the two schools' calendars do not align exactly, particularly around shorter breaks and the timing of Chinese New Year. If this applies to your family, it is worth requesting both schools' calendars as early as possible and comparing them directly, rather than assuming alignment, since even a one- or two-day mismatch can create a childcare gap that is easier to plan for well in advance than to manage at short notice.
How boarding schools and residential programmes handle term breaks
A small number of schools in China offer boarding or residential options alongside their day-school provision, and these schools generally coordinate their boarding calendar closely with the main teaching calendar, though the exact arrangements for shorter breaks, such as whether boarders are expected to travel home or whether limited on-campus supervision continues, vary by school. If boarding is relevant to your family, ask a school directly how it handles shorter mid-term breaks for boarding students, particularly around Chinese New Year, since travel during this period can be more complex given how much domestic and international travel demand spikes at the same time across China.
How the academic calendar interacts with visa and residency renewal timing
Families whose visa or residency status needs periodic renewal sometimes find it useful to align renewal trips or appointments with a school holiday period rather than requesting time away from school during term time, though this depends entirely on how renewal processes work for your specific visa category and is not something a school calendar can be expected to accommodate automatically. Because renewal timelines and requirements are set by the relevant authorities and can change, this guide does not attempt to describe them in detail, but it is worth mentioning to a school's admissions or pastoral office if you anticipate needing time away from school for this reason, since some schools have more flexibility than others in how they record and support planned absences of this kind.
Public and school holidays that commonly surprise newly arrived families
Holidays worth checking on a school's calendar
- Qingming Festival, generally in early April
- Labour Day, generally around 1 May
- Dragon Boat Festival, date shifts with the lunar calendar
- Mid-Autumn Festival, date shifts with the lunar calendar
- National Day, generally early October, with a short break at many schools
Families arriving in China for the first time sometimes underestimate how many separate short holidays and observance days can affect a school calendar across a full year, beyond the two headline breaks of Chinese New Year and the summer holiday. Depending on the school and the year, these can include days connected to the Qingming Festival, Labour Day, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day, several of which shift date from year to year and some of which involve officially designated make-up working days either before or after the holiday itself, which can occasionally affect a school's own schedule. Because the pattern differs by school and by year, it is worth requesting a full-year calendar early in your relocation planning rather than assembling an expectation from a generic list of Chinese public holidays, since a school's actual observed days off do not always map exactly onto the national holiday calendar.
How term dates can differ between foreign-passport and bilingual schools
Schools historically built for foreign-passport families and bilingual or local private schools in China can sometimes follow slightly different calendar conventions, particularly around how closely a school aligns its holiday schedule with the broader Chinese national calendar versus an international school-year pattern more familiar to expatriate families. This is a general observation rather than a fixed rule, since practice varies by city and by individual school and can change over time, so do not assume a bilingual school's calendar will look identical to, or meaningfully different from, a nearby foreign-passport school without checking both directly. If you have children at one of each type of school, this is a particularly good reason to request and compare both calendars early, since even a small mismatch in shorter breaks can create a practical childcare gap.
Requesting a calendar before you commit to a school
Because term dates and holiday timing vary so much by individual school, it is reasonable, and generally welcomed, to ask for a school's current or most recently published academic calendar as part of your research before committing to an application, not only after receiving an offer. Seeing a full year's calendar in advance can reveal how a school structures shorter breaks around Chinese public holidays, how long its summer holiday runs relative to other schools you are considering, and how it typically handles the timing of Chinese New Year, all of which can matter for planning family travel, work commitments and, for dual-income families, childcare during shorter breaks. Most established schools are used to this request from prospective families and can usually share at least the current year's calendar even before a formal application is submitted.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the school year typically start in China?
Most international and bilingual schools in China start their academic year in late August or early September, similar to many other countries, though exact dates vary by school and are set independently each year.
How long is the Chinese New Year break at international schools?
Most schools build in at least a week or two around Chinese New Year, though the exact length and timing vary by school and by year, since the holiday's date shifts according to the lunar calendar. Confirm the current year's dates directly with the school.
Do all schools in Shanghai and Beijing follow the same calendar?
No, each school sets its own calendar independently, and while the broad academic-year shape is similar, exact term dates and holiday timing differ from school to school, even within the same city.
Is it better to move to China at the start of the school year?
Starting at the beginning of the academic year is often more straightforward, but many schools regularly support mid-year arrivals given how common relocation is among their families. Ask a prospective school directly about the smoothest join date if you cannot arrive at the start of the year.
How far in advance do schools publish their academic calendar?
This varies by school, but many publish the following year's calendar some months ahead. Ask a prospective or current school directly when its next calendar will be available, especially if you need to plan travel early.
Will my child miss important exams if we travel during term time?
This depends on the timing relative to fixed external examination periods for qualifications such as IGCSEs, A-levels, the IB Diploma or AP exams, which are set by examination boards and generally fall in a school's final term. Ask the school directly about the examination schedule for your child's year group before booking travel.
Does National Day affect the school calendar?
Many schools build a short break around National Day in early October, though exact days off vary by school and can depend on how the holiday and any related make-up days are observed that year. Confirm directly with the school.
Where can I get the most accurate term dates for a specific school?
Request the current academic calendar directly from the school, usually available as a downloadable document or through its parent portal, rather than relying on a previous year's dates or a general summary like this guide.
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