Tool
Convert any date between the Gregorian calendar and the Chinese Lunar Calendar. Includes solar terms (节气), traditional festivals, and GanZhi year analysis. Covers 1900–2100.
24 Solar Terms
The 24 Solar Terms (二十四节气) divide the solar year into 24 equal segments, each marking a shift in agricultural conditions and seasonal energy. They form the backbone of the traditional Chinese calendar.
The first solar term and the true start of the Chinese zodiac year in traditional BaZi astrology.
Warming temperatures bring the first rains of spring, nourishing the awakening earth.
Thunder awakens hibernating insects. A signal that spring energy is fully activating.
Day and night are equal. Yin and Yang are perfectly balanced for one moment.
A day for ancestral tomb-sweeping. Also the most famous day for the Qingming Festival.
The last spring term. Plentiful rains nourish the crops before summer heat arrives.
Summer begins. Fire energy intensifies; growth accelerates toward harvest.
Grain begins to fill out. Summer abundance is near but not yet complete.
Harvest time for winter crops; planting time for summer crops.
The longest day. Yang energy reaches its peak; Yin begins its subtle return.
Summer heat begins in earnest. Rest during midday; preserve vital energy.
The hottest period of the year. The most intense Fire energy of the calendar.
Autumn begins. Metal energy starts its gentle descent. The first hint of coolness at dawn.
Summer heat begins to wane. Harvest preparations intensify across the land.
Morning dew appears. Temperature gaps between day and night become significant.
Perfect balance again. Days shorten. Yin and Yang cross their equilibrium.
Dew turns cold. Migratory birds depart. Chrysanthemums bloom.
First frosts arrive. Final harvest gathered. Earth begins its long rest.
Winter begins. Water energy predominates. The earth contracts and stores.
Snow begins to fall in the north. Preparation for deep winter begins.
Heavy snowfall season. The coldest period approaches.
The shortest day. Yin energy peaks; Yang is reborn. Families eat tangyuan together.
Cold intensifies but has not reached its peak. The penultimate solar term.
The coldest point of the year. The final solar term before the cycle restarts.
⭐ LiChun is the zodiac year boundary used by professional BaZi practitioners — not Lunar New Year.
Traditional Festivals
The most important Chinese festival. Families reunite, exchange red envelopes (hongbao), set off firecrackers, and celebrate 15 days of festivities.
Marks the end of New Year celebrations. Colorful lanterns fill the streets, riddles are displayed on them, and sweet tangyuan rice balls are shared.
Commemorates poet Qu Yuan. Dragon boat races are held on rivers; zongzi (sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves) are eaten nationwide.
Chinese Valentine's Day, based on the legend of the Cowherd (Niulang) and Weaver Girl (Zhinü) — two stars separated by the Milky Way, reunited once a year.
During Ghost Month, ancestors and spirits are believed to visit the living. Paper offerings are burned, incense is lit, and special prayers are offered.
The moon festival. Families gather under the full moon, eat mooncakes, and admire the sky. Associated with the moon goddess Chang'e and her jade rabbit companion.
Elderly relatives are honored; families climb hills and mountains together. Chrysanthemum wine is drunk, and the occasion is now officially Senior Citizens Day in China.
The year's most important night for families. A grand reunion dinner is eaten, red envelopes are given to children, and the new year is welcomed in at midnight.
Questions
The Chinese Lunar Calendar (农历, nónglì) is a lunisolar calendar that tracks time by both the moon's phases and the sun's position. Each month begins at the new moon. To stay aligned with the solar year, a leap month is added approximately every three years — giving some years 13 months instead of 12. This is why Chinese New Year falls on a different Gregorian date each year.
The Gregorian calendar is purely solar — months are fixed at 28-31 days regardless of moon phases. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is lunisolar: each month tracks the moon (starting at new moon, full moon at the 15th), but leap months are added to keep the calendar aligned with seasons. Chinese months have either 29 or 30 days depending on the moon's actual cycle.
The 24 Solar Terms (二十四节气) divide the solar year into 24 segments of roughly 15 days each, based on the sun's position in the ecliptic. They were essential for agricultural planning — telling farmers when to plant, harvest, and prepare for weather changes. Today they remain culturally significant: LiChun marks the zodiac new year; QingMing is a major ancestral festival; DongZhi is celebrated with family gatherings. The system was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2016.
Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the Winter Solstice (DongZhi). Since the lunar month begins at each new moon, and the solar year determines where this falls, the date shifts each year — always landing between January 21 and February 20 on the Gregorian calendar.
The Chinese calendar adds a leap month (闰月, rùnyuè) approximately every 2-3 years to reconcile the lunar and solar years. A leap month is a repeat of the preceding month — so you might have a "Leap 6th Month" following the regular 6th Month. If you were born in a leap month, your lunar birthday will only occur in some years (when that specific leap month appears). Years with 13 lunar months are called leap years (闰年, rùnnián).
GanZhi (干支) combines the 10 Heavenly Stems (天干) and 12 Earthly Branches (地支) into a 60-year cycle used to label years, months, days, and hours. Each year has a two-character GanZhi name — 2024 is 甲辰 (Jiǎ-Chén), 2025 is 乙巳 (Yǐ-Sì), 2026 is 丙午 (Bǐng-Wǔ). This system has been in continuous use for over 2,000 years and forms the basis of BaZi (Four Pillars) astrology.