The 7 best festivals in China and their marketing tips
China, with its many traditional festivals and rich cultural heritage, represents a major opportunity for brands, but also a real challenge. To take advantage of these key moments in the calendar, it’s essential to understand the specifics of the celebrations, their symbolism and their evolution in an increasingly digitalized world. Here are 7 must-see festivals in China. This article also explores how brands can adapt their marketing strategies to these events, while avoiding cultural pitfalls, using local platforms, and respecting the core values of Chinese consumers. From the creation of innovative campaigns to the importance of localization, discover how to align creativity and authenticity to capture the attention of this strategic market.
What are the main Chinese festivals?
There are 7 festivals in China that stand out during the year, providing invaluable opportunities for Chinese people to get together with their families, or even to take advantage of special promotions on all their products. We’ll let you find out what these highlights of the year are and how they work.
1. Chinese New Year (春节 – Chūnjié)
–Celebration: The festival lasts 15 days and takes place between January 21 and February 20 according to the lunar calendar. In 2025, it will take place on January 29. It’s a time with family meals and everyone exchanges red envelopes (红包 – hóngbāo) and fireworks to chase away evil spirits.
–Key moment: The evening before, the reunion dinner (团圆饭 – tuányuán fàn).
–Decorations: Red and gold colors, door couplets, lanterns.
2. Lantern Festival (元宵节 – Yuánxiāojié)
–Celebration: 15 days after Chinese New Year, another festival takes place in China: the Lantern Festival. This year, it takes place on February 12. People light colorful lanterns, take part in puzzles and eat glutinous rice dumplings (汤圆 – tāngyuán).
–Key moment: Night processions with lanterns and lion dances.
3. Qingming Festival (清明节 – Qīngmíngjié)
–Celebration: This is a day dedicated to cleaning ancestors’ graves and offering food. It is held every year on April 4 or 5, depending on the solar calendar. This year, the celebration will take place on April 4, a date not to be missed by the Chinese.
–Key moment: Families gather at the cemetery to pay their respects.
–Common activity: Flying kites to celebrate spring.
4. Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 – Duānwǔjié)
–Celebration: On the 5th day of the fifth lunar month (in May or June), dragon boat races are held all over China. It’s also an opportunity to taste zongzi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves). This year’s date is May 31, 2025.
–Origin: The festival pays tribute to the poet Qu Yuan. He was unjustly accused of treason and exiled. When he learned that his kingdom had been invaded, he threw himself into the Miluo River in despair.
The inhabitants, deeply saddened by his death, are said to have tried to save his body by paddling boats and striking the water to ward off fish and evil spirits.
–Key moment: The races, symbolizing courage and team spirit.
5. Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 – Zhōngqiūjié)
–Celebration: Every 15th day of the eighth lunar month, families gather to admire the full moon and eat mooncakes. This year, these activities will take place on October 6.
Celebrations That Bring Chinese People Together
Traditional Chinese festivals, such as Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival and the Lantern Festival, play an essential role in society, bringing families together and strengthening social ties.
These celebrations, rooted in centuries of tradition, enable individuals to reconnect with their cultural roots, through symbolic rites and shared meals. They offer a welcome break from the hectic pace of modern life, allowing families, often geographically dispersed, to come together around shared values such as prosperity, good fortune and gratitude to elders.
These festivities are not confined to the family sphere; they extend to communities, which organize collective activities such as dragon boat races or lantern lighting, reinforcing the sense of belonging and social cohesion.
Of course, there are also more commercial celebrations such as the Double 11, which are also a way of taking a break from the year while enjoying exceptional offers on various products. They are also an opportunity for Chinese and foreign brands to develop their best marketing strategies and stay firmly rooted in the hearts of consumers.
How has the marketing aspect of the holidays developed in recent years?
The marketing aspect of these holidays has undergone a major transformation in recent decades, particularly with the emergence of e-commerce and digital platforms.
Brands, aware of the importance of these events in the Chinese calendar, have capitalized on consumers’ attachment to their traditions to offer products and services specially designed for these occasions. For example, during the Chinese New Year, red and gold packaging symbolizing prosperity has become a must-have, while collaborations with artists and influencers modernize traditional visual codes.
What’s more, the growing role of platforms such as Tmall or WeChat has transformed the holidays into veritable periods of mass consumption. Omnichannel campaigns, combining advertising on Douyin, interactive games on WeChat and exclusive online offers, enable brands to establish an emotional connection with their audiences, while boosting sales.
Thus, these festive periods, initially centered on cultural traditions, are now strategic economic levers in China’s marketing ecosystem.
7 Festivals In China: Best Tips For Adapting Your Marketing Strategy To These Celebrations
We now turn to the question of how brands can adapt their marketing strategy to these exceptional events, which provide the perfect opportunity to “meet” their consumers through a special occasion. Here are a few tips to put in place depending on the celebrations on which you wish to base your content.
Here are concrete tips for brands to adapt their marketing strategy to Chinese festivals :
Chinese New Year (春节)
-Create limited editions: Use red and gold in your packaging or products to symbolize luck and prosperity.
-Offer gifts and promotions: Propose “buy one, get one free” offers or gifts to share with the family.
-Emphasize family values: Develop emotional campaigns celebrating the family reunion.
Lantern Festival (元宵节)
-Organize interactive contests: Integrate riddles on the brand’s digital platforms, inspired by traditional lantern riddles.
-Illuminate your campaigns: Offer nocturnal events or use illuminated visuals to attract attention.
Qingming Festival (清明节)
-Adopt a sober, respectful tone: Avoid overly festive campaigns. Propose activities focused on nature or well-being.
-Emphasize sustainability: Associate products or services with ecological practices, in line with the celebration of spring.
Dragon Boat Festival (端午节)
-Collaborate with local artisans: Create limited-edition zongzi, or associate products with symbols of the festival.
-Sponsor dragon boat races: This will boost your visibility by supporting these popular events.
-Launch solidarity campaigns: Associate your products with notions of teamwork and courage.
Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节)
-Offer premium gift sets: Luxury mooncakes or elegant limited-edition products are very popular.
-Rely on the moon and legends: Use poetic, nostalgic visuals for your advertising.
-Appeal to emotion: Create marketing stories centered on family reunions or shared memories.
National Holiday (国庆节)
-Take advantage of “Golden Week”: Target tourists with localized promotions and campaigns.
-Show patriotism: Incorporate Chinese cultural elements into your products or visuals to instill national pride.
Double Eleven (光棍节)
-Plan flash sales: Increase urgency with limited-time offers.
-Use influencers: Work with KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) to attract buyers.
-Create interactive experiences: Games, live streams and viral campaigns on Douyin and WeChat to boost engagement.
A number of cross-functional strategies can also be put in place, so as to use as many networks and means as possible to raise awareness of your brand on the occasion of a particular event.
For example, you can implement a localized digital marketing strategy by activating your campaigns on several social networks such as WeChat, Douyin or Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book).
Setting up collaborations with influencers and working with KOLs for certain campaigns is also a good way of maximizing a brand’s visibility by directly reaching the celebrity’s network in question. The users who follow them already trust them, and it will then be easier to spread awareness of a brand through them.
In every campaign, it’s also important to pay attention to respect for tradition. To this end, pay close attention to cultural symbolism (colors, symbols, tonality).
In addition, combining online and in-store campaigns to reach different segments is a good way to promote a special campaign on one of these occasions.
Finally, inserting stories or legends associated with the holidays helps establish an emotional connection with consumers. Cultural storytelling is always a good way of engaging consumers through cultural means.
With these tips, brands can maximize their impact while respecting local traditions and expectations.
Pitfalls and Warnings: Foreign Brand Mistakes Not to Make at These 7 Festivals in China
It’s very important to always be aware of cultural differences, which can have an impact on the consumer’s opinion and, worse still, provoke controversy if traditions are not respected. Here are a few mistakes to avoid.
Incorrect use of symbols and colors
Symbols and colors have a very strong meaning in Chinese culture, and their misuse can be a major faux pas. For example, red and gold symbolize luck, prosperity and happiness, and are omnipresent in celebrations such as Chinese New Year or the Mid-Autumn Festival. Conversely, white and black, associated with mourning and death, are to be avoided at all costs in campaigns linked to these celebrations. A foreign brand unfamiliar with these codes could easily provoke discomfort or be perceived as insensitive. Likewise, the use of certain traditional symbols (such as dragons or lanterns) in an inappropriate or caricatured way can appear disrespectful. It is therefore essential for brands to be aware of the cultural significance of the elements they incorporate into their communications.
Neglecting local traditions and values
Chinese holidays are deeply rooted in the values of family, harmony and respect for ancestors. A marketing campaign that doesn’t reflect these values risks missing the mark. For example, promoting individualism or an overly “Westernized” lifestyle during Chinese New Year could alienate consumers, for whom this holiday represents a sacred moment of family reunion. Brands should also avoid over-modernizing traditions, by distorting them or removing their cultural symbolism. Instead, they should seek to reinforce the emotion and connection with these values, for example by highlighting family stories, products to share or collective experiences that are part of the tradition.
Lack of localization in communication
Another major pitfall for foreign brands is failing to localize their communications in line with China’s cultural and linguistic specificities. Literal, ill-adapted or unverified translations can lead to embarrassing, even offensive misunderstandings. For example, a misinterpretation of a slogan can appear artificial, or worse, completely change its meaning. Similarly, concepts or advertising messages that work in a Western context may not resonate with, or even repel, Chinese audiences. Brands therefore need to invest in local teams or specialized consultants to fine-tune their campaigns and ensure they reflect market sensitivities and expectations. Well-localized content reinforces authenticity and the emotional connection with the consumer.
By avoiding these mistakes and integrating a thorough understanding of Chinese culture, brands can build strong, lasting relationships with their local audience and be better prepared for these 7 festivals in China.
You now have all the keys you need to adapt your marketing strategy to one of these events, and if you’d like professional advice, please don’t hesitate to contact HI-COM.
