Chinese New Year arrives this month, which means export production in China will largely come to a halt as factories and businesses close and Chinese nationals begin celebrating the Spring Festival.
The celebrations start on February 17th, continue for two weeks, and conclude with the Lantern Festival on March 3rd. During this period, the vast majority of businesses in China will be closed, even though the official public holiday lasts only for the first seven days.
The Year of the Snake will come to an end with the arrival of Chinese New Year and will be replaced by the Year of the Horse. Chinese tradition suggests that people born in a horse year are independent, enthusiastic, popular, cheerful, and quick to compliment others.
Over the next week or so, millions of Chinese people will be travelling from all over the world to reunite with their families for the holiday period. Meanwhile, many of those already at home will be cleaning their houses to ward off bad spirits and decorating them with red lanterns to bring good luck.
Freight services in and out of China typically come to a standstill during the celebrations, and there is traditionally a lack of ocean and air freight demand immediately following the holiday. To account for this, ocean freight carriers have announced numerous blank sailings around the holiday period.
If you have concerns about urgent orders during this period, please contact us for more information. In the meantime, the Global Freight Services team would like to be among the first to wish you a Happy Chinese New Year!