Business calendar & working hours
Check Egyptian and Chinese holidays and working hours before you plan meetings, shipments or factory visits.
Egypt public holidays (2027)
| 7 Jan | Coptic Christmas |
| 25 Jan | January 25 Revolution & Police Day |
| 9 Mar | Eid al-Fitr (about 3 days, estimate) |
| 25 Apr | Sinai Liberation Day |
| 1 May | Labour Day |
| 3 May | Sham El-Nessim |
| 15 May | Arafat Day (estimate) |
| 16 May | Eid al-Adha (about 4 days, estimate) |
| 6 Jun | Islamic New Year (estimate) |
| 30 Jun | June 30 Revolution |
| 23 Jul | July 23 Revolution Day |
| 14 Aug | Prophet's Birthday (estimate) |
| 6 Oct | Armed Forces Day (October 6) |
Islamic holiday dates are estimates and follow the official announcement (they may move by a day). The government sometimes moves a holiday to a Thursday.
Main holidays in China (2027)
| 6 Feb | Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) |
| 5 Apr | Qingming Festival |
| 1 May | Labour Day (usually 5 days) |
| 9 Jun | Dragon Boat Festival |
| 15 Sep | Mid-Autumn Festival |
| 1 Oct | National Day (usually 7 days) |
China's exact holiday schedule is announced by the State Council each year. Factories usually close longer around the Spring Festival, so order early.
Working hours
| Government offices | Sunday to Thursday, roughly 8–9 am to 2–3 pm; Friday and Saturday off. |
| Banks | Sunday to Thursday, from morning to early afternoon; Friday and Saturday off. |
| Private companies | Mostly Sunday to Thursday, some also Saturday; Friday is the main day off. |
| Factories | Many work six days a week (Saturday to Thursday), some in shifts. |
| Shops and markets | Open late, many until 10–11 pm; may close briefly at Friday noon prayer. |
| Ramadan | Government and many companies work shorter hours; traffic peaks before iftar, so book meetings in the morning. |
Time difference
China is UTC+8 all year. Egypt is UTC+2 in winter and UTC+3 in summer time (last Friday of April to last Thursday of October).
So China is 6 hours ahead in winter and 5 hours ahead in summer: 9 am in Egypt is 3 pm in Beijing in winter.