National Day, or Golden Week, is one of the most celebrated holidays in China. The week-long holiday allows Chinese who live away from home to return to their loved ones and unite with family and friends.
While this time of year is all about happiness and celebration for the common people, the shipping and logistics industry knows it will face certain challenges during the week. One is a labor shortage at the port, which indirectly affects delivery times to different parts of the world.
Since China is one of the biggest importers and exporters of goods globally, a slight delay can mean disrupting the whole supply chain. In this article, we will discuss the impact of Chinese Golden Week on shipping, how shipping companies go about preparing for Golden Week shipping challenges, and other public holidays in China. But first, let’s talk about what the Golden Week is!
Chinese Golden Week: What is it?
Golden Week is a time when China is all about parades, celebrations, ceremonies, travel, get-togethers, and other such festivities. Golden Week, or National Day, is a holiday that celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Local tourism flourishes during this time, with millions traveling to different parts of China to recharge themselves before returning to work. As one of the biggest economies, Chinese Golden Week is not positive news for the stability of the shipping and logistics industry.
This is because almost all the labor goes on holidays and there are only a handful of people left to deal with a huge number of shipping orders, handle the paperwork, and operate the ships. According to the State Council, China’s foreign trade registered faster growth in October and around $5 trillion worth of foreign goods was traded in the first 10 months of 2024. A slight delay in shipping from China means disruptions throughout the global supply chain.
Golden Week in China 2025 Dates
Chinese people usually have adjusted workdays around the holiday, creating a 7-day long weekend. This year, however, the National Day holiday overlaps with the Mid-Autumn Festival, so the break will be from October 1st to October 8th, lasting a total of 8 days.
An Overview of the Pre-Golden Week Activities
Although people go on holidays during the Golden Week, the shipping and logistics nightmare starts long before that for companies and vendors. Normally, two to three weeks before the Golden Week in China, a surge in the number of cross-border shipping orders begins. There are two problems that international freight shippers have to deal with simultaneously during the Chinese Golden Week:
The manufacturers must fulfill the supply-demand before the factories close for the Golden Week in China.
Apart from the normal cargo, there is an additional pressure of delivering Christmas cargo as well, because, in the case of ocean freight, Christmas-related shipping starts several weeks before the holiday arrives.
And it’s not only the containerization, ships, and manufacturing that experience this pressure, other logistics activities, such as freight forwarding in China also see a surge at least two to three weeks before the Golden Week.
Impact of Chinese Golden Week on Shipping
During the Chinese Golden Week in 2025, your deliveries may be impacted even if you don’t ship out of China. Although the increase in shipping demand is not observed in other Southeast Asian countries, they also see freight congestion during Golden Week. Asia Pacific services are greatly impacted by the Chinese Golden Week because a backlog of orders is created days before the Chinese national holidays.
This is because ocean freight services allocate more space to the cargo coming from China, which decreases the space available for shipments from other countries. The only way is to wait until the backlog clears. Apart from the space issues, equipment is another problem, because containers from other countries in South-East Asia start moving to China from mid-August to the end of September.
As for the issue inside China, factories close, and only a limited number of transport services are available to carry cargo from and to the ports, which slows down shipping operations. Since most of the workers are on leave, the operations at the freight terminals, including docking and management also become unsteady.
China Golden Week logistics delays are quite common for international businesses because fewer carriers or exporters are available. In order to avoid these issues, all the businesses try to complete their production before the national holidays arrive and ship their orders in advance.
Ways to Prepare for Supply Chain Disruptions in Golden Week
If you are shipping from China and want your shipment to arrive on time, then here are some ways to avoid China Golden Week logistics delays.
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First of all, make sure you always get your shipment from a trusted supplier. Check for reviews and place your order with a supplier that can deliver on time during the Chinese Golden Week.
Related Reading: Import From China in 2025
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You should maintain consistent contact with your forwarder to get an accurate and updated idea about the shipping demand and the estimated time of arrival during the holiday season.
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You should book your shipment 3 to 4 weeks in advance in case of ocean freight and 1 to 2 weeks in case of air freight.
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Requiring quick transit can increase shipping costs, so be a little flexible with transit times so that the shipping cost of your cargo doesn’t increase.
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You should also decide on the time which of the shipments need to be shipped urgently and ship those batches before the rest.
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In case of delays on certain routes, have alternate shipping routes and modes of transport in mind and ship as soon as you can.
Other Public Holidays in China in 2025
Golden Week in China will not be the only time your shipments may face delay. The following is a list of major public holidays in 2025, so you can make necessary shipping arrangements in time to avoid freight congestion during the Chinese Golden Week:
Conclusion
Supply chain disruptions during the Chinese Golden Week are expected to happen every year. This is because Golden Week is a public holiday in China and the whole process of shipping slows down during the week when workers go on leave, manufacturers don’t have enough labor to meet customer demands, and ports are unable to process shipments as quickly as during normal days.
To avoid the impact of Golden Week on shipping, you should always take proactive measures, such as placing your order in advance, keeping in contact with the logistics company, and making sure the urgent batches are prioritized.
FAQs
When is the 2025 Golden Week in China?
In 2025, the Golden Week in China will be celebrated from the 1st of October to the 8th of October, but notice that Chinese people will work on September 29th (Sunday) and October 12th (Saturday) due to adjusted workdays.
What are some other Chinese holidays, apart from the Chinese Golden Week in 2025?
Other holidays in China include the Tomb Sweeping Festival, Spring Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival. So you should know about their dates and days as well to make shipping arrangements and get your shipments delivered on time.
