Late September and early October are the warmest stretch of the Chinese calendar. Two holidays arrive almost back to back — Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) and National Day (国庆节) — and both are, in their own way, about being together. At Dongguan Zhengyang Packaging & Printing Co., Ltd., our paper packaging factory in Chang’an Town, Dongguan, both holidays are marked with the whole team every year.
Mid-Autumn Festival — 中秋节, 25 September 2026
Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the moon is at its roundest and brightest of the year. In 2026 that is Friday, 25 September.
It is a festival of reunion. People travel home where they can, share a meal, and watch the full moon together. The food that defines the day is the mooncake (月饼) — a dense, round pastry with a sweet or savoury filling. One cake is normally cut into wedges so everyone at the table gets a piece: the round shape stands for completeness, and sharing it stands for family. Mooncakes are also the season’s standard gift, exchanged between family and friends, and — in business — between companies, clients and staff.
National Day — 国庆节, 1 October 2026
National Day marks the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1 October 1949. It is celebrated with a national public holiday — the seven-day “Golden Week” — when much of the country travels or returns home. Cities are dressed in red flags and lanterns, and the holiday lands at the start of autumn, one of the most pleasant seasons in Dongguan.
Mooncakes for the team
This year we kept one simple tradition: every employee received a box of mooncakes before the festival.
It is a small thing, but it carries real weight here. Much of our shop floor has been with the company for years, and several colleagues for more than a decade — the mooncake box is simply our way of saying thank you before everyone heads home. In the days beforehand the workshops were noticeably lighter: boxes being handed around, flavours being compared, and plenty of photos sent back to family group chats.
For a factory, this is also one of the few moments in the year when the whole team steps back at once. Everyone gets their reunion, and we come back rested for the busiest export stretch of the year.
A note for buyers planning around the holidays
If you are scheduling orders for late September or early October, keep both dates in mind:
| Holiday | Date (2026) |
|---|---|
| Mid-Autumn Festival | 25 September |
| National Day Golden Week | 1–7 October |
New samples, mass production and shipment windows that fall across this period are confirmed case by case, so please check the exact dates with your account manager when you place an order.
To our clients, partners and friends: 中秋快乐, 国庆快乐 — a happy Mid-Autumn Festival and a happy National Day. May the moon be full and the reunion warm.