Chinese calendar may refer to any of the official and civil calendars used in China and some neighbouring countries in different periods of history; however, the phrase is generally synonymous with Han calendar.
The official calendar in China today is the Gregorian calendar, which is a solar calendar. It is used for public and business affairs.
The civil calendar in much of China is the Han calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar. It is used for selecting the day of a wedding or funeral, for opening a venture, or a relocation. A similar calendar is used in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam for these purposes. Muslims living in Xinjiang, Ningxia and other parts of northern China use the Islamic calendar, which is a mean moon lunar calendar, as their civil calendar. The civil calendar for Tibet is the Tibetan calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar. The civil calendar for Miao is the Miao calendar, which is a solar calendar. The civil calendar for Tai is the Tai calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar.
In China, some public holidays relate to the Gregorian calendar, such as Labor Day and National Day while others relate to the Chinese Calendar, such as Chinese New Year, Duanwu Festival, and the Mid-Autumn Festival. In specified provinces of China, some extra public holidays related to Islamic calendar or Tibetan calendar, such as Islamic New Year and the Major Festival in Ningxia and Xinjiang, Tibetan New Year and Summer Assembly in Tibet.
The Han calendar is a lunisolar calendar, which indicates both the moon phases and the solar terms. In Han calendar, a year usually begins on the second dark moon after the winter solstice but occasionally on the third dark moon after the winter solstice.
The year from January 31, 2014 to February 18, 2015 is a Wǔnián or Mǎnián (Year of the Horse).