Chinese Date Today

The Chinese sexagenary cycle

The traditional Chinese system of reckoning years, months, days, and hours is the sexagenary cycle or ganzhi (干支) — a 60-unit cycle formed by pairing 10 Heavenly Stems (天干) with 12 Earthly Branches (地支). The branches correspond to the twelve familiar Chinese zodiac animals.

Each year has both a stem-branch name (like Bing-Wu) and a zodiac animal (like Horse). The cycle of 60 years repeats; we are currently in Cycle 78, which began in 1984.

The 12 zodiac animals

The 10 Heavenly Stems

The ten stems pair with yin/yang and the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water). Each element gets a yang and yin year: Jia (Wood Yang), Yi (Wood Yin), Bing (Fire Yang), Ding (Fire Yin), Wu (Earth Yang), Ji (Earth Yin), Geng (Metal Yang), Xin (Metal Yin), Ren (Water Yang), Gui (Water Yin).

When does a Chinese year begin?

Traditionally the Chinese year begins at the second new moon after the winter solstice — falling anywhere from 21 January to 20 February in the Gregorian calendar. This is Chunjie, the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year. Our calculator uses approximate year boundaries based on February 1 for stability; for exact Chinese New Year dates, consult an almanac.

How the Chinese zodiac actually works

The Chinese zodiac (shēngxiào, 生肖) is a 12-animal cycle tied to the 12 Earthly Branches. Each Chinese lunar year is associated with one of the twelve animals: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, or Pig. The cycle repeats every 12 years, and the animal determines popular cultural associations — personality, compatibility in marriage, auspicious timing for major events.

But the animals are only half the story. Each year also carries one of the 10 Heavenly Stems, which pair with the five Chinese elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in yin/yang alternation. The full combination repeats only every 60 years, making each person's "60th birthday" a return to their birth year's sexagenary name — traditionally an important milestone.

2026: Year of the Bing-Wu Horse

2026 is the year of the Bing-Wu Horse — a Fire Horse. In Chinese popular astrology, Fire Horse years (which occur only once every 60 years) are traditionally considered particularly dramatic and unpredictable. The previous Fire Horse year was 1966; the next will be 2086.

Horse years generally favor movement, travel, and ambitious undertakings. Fire Horse years intensify this — passionate, bold, potentially tumultuous. Chinese fertility statistics famously show dips in Fire Horse years as some couples postpone births.

Chinese New Year vs the solar "year"

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival, Chūnjié) falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice — typically between 21 January and 20 February. This varies because it's a lunisolar calendar.

Our calculator uses February 1 as an approximate year boundary for calculation stability, which matches the real Chinese New Year in most years but may differ by a few days either way. For the exact Spring Festival date, consult a Chinese almanac.

The traditional Chinese months and festivals

• Month 1 — Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)
• 15th day of Month 1 — Lantern Festival
• Month 5, day 5 — Dragon Boat Festival
• Month 7, day 7 — Qixi (Chinese Valentine's Day)
• Month 8, day 15 — Mid-Autumn Festival (moon-cake festival)
• Month 9, day 9 — Chongyang (Double Ninth Festival)
• Month 12, day 8 — Laba Festival