<!–
title: Asking for Mid-Autumn Leave When You Are New at a Chinese Company
slug: mid-autumn-leave-new-foreign-employee-china
category: People
focus: Mid-Autumn leave foreign employee
meta: How new foreign employees in China ask for Mid-Autumn leave 2026: official holiday days, makeup workdays, polite wording, and what managers usually expect.
cover_alt: Modern Chinese office workspace or colleagues at work near autumn window light
cover_credit: Photo: Oliver Propst / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
word_count: 1241
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Start from the official calendar, not from hope
If you are new at a Chinese company in autumn 2026, Mid-Autumn leave questions come early — sometimes before you know where the printer is. Begin with the public calendar, then layer company policy.
Anchors to keep straight:
- Mid-Autumn Festival: Friday 25 September 2026
- Common holiday window: roughly 25–27 September 2026
- Makeup workday before Mid-Autumn: Sunday 20 September 2026
- National Day Golden Week: roughly 1–7 October 2026
- Makeup workday after Golden Week: Saturday 10 October 2026
These follow the State Council-style arrangement referenced as 国办发明电〔2025〕7号. Your HR email should confirm how your entity applies it. For what “调休” means in daily life, see our culture explainer on the makeup workday 20 September 2026. For October work expectations, keep working Golden Week as a foreign employee in the same folder of mental models.
What managers usually expect from a new foreign hire
Managers rarely expect you to know every historical nuance of 调休 on day one. They do expect you to:
1. Read the holiday notice HR already sent
2. Ask early if you need extra annual leave beside the official days
3. Propose coverage — who handles chats, clients, or on-call duties
4. Avoid last-minute flight purchases that force the team to rearrange
5. Show you understand makeup workdays are workdays, not optional weekends
Being new is a reason to ask clearly. It is not a reason to disappear from the group chat from 20 September through Golden Week without a plan.
Official days vs extra leave: separate the asks
Official Mid-Autumn holiday
If the company follows the national arrangement, you generally do not need to “apply for” the core statutory Mid-Autumn holiday days themselves — they are already on the calendar. You still need to know:
- Whether your team requires on-site duty or customer coverage
- Whether probation rules change anything (rare for statutory holidays, but ask)
- How the office handles the 20 September makeup Sunday
Extra annual leave (年假) adjacent to Mid-Autumn
This is the real request. Examples:
- Leaving Thursday 24 September to travel
- Extending after 27 September into the following week
- Bridging toward Golden Week (ambitious — ask very early)
Extra days use your annual leave balance or unpaid leave rules. Probationary employees sometimes have limited access to annual leave — check the contract and employee handbook before you promise friends a long trip.
A polite request structure that works in Chinese offices
Use written form (email or the company’s OA / Feishu / WeCom approval tool) plus a short verbal heads-up to your direct manager.
Include:
- Dates (start and return-to-office date)
- Type (annual leave / personal leave)
- Coverage plan (handover buddy, emergency contact)
- Travel note only if relevant (out of city / overseas) — not a novel
- Thanks and willingness to finish key tasks before leave
Sample English email (adapt to your tone)
> Subject: Annual leave request around Mid-Autumn (25–27 Sep)
>
> Hi [Manager name],
>
> I saw the company Mid-Autumn schedule (including the 20 Sep makeup workday). I would like to take annual leave on [date(s)] in addition to the official holiday, returning to the office on [date].
>
> Before I go, I will finish [task A / B] and hand over [client / chat / report] to [colleague]. I will be reachable by phone for urgent issues.
>
> Please let me know if the dates work or if we should adjust. Thank you.
Sample Chinese lines you can paste into OA
> 您好，我想申请年假：…日至…日，中秋法定假期之外的补充休假。
> 9月20日调休我会正常上班。
> 请假前我会完成…，并与…做好交接。
> 请您审批，谢谢。
Keep it short. Managers skim.
Timing: when to ask
- As soon as HR posts the calendar — ideal
- At least two weeks before extra leave days — safer for new hires
- Before you buy nonrefundable tickets — non-negotiable
If Mid-Autumn and Golden Week are both in play, do not surprise your team with a combined multi-week absence unless your offer letter or manager already blessed a long break. October pressure is real for many industries; Mid-Autumn is the shorter, earlier ask.
Probation, visas, and “I just arrived” realities
New foreign employees often face three overlapping systems:
- Company leave policy
- Probation evaluation optics
- Personal admin (residence permit, bank, apartment)
Mid-Autumn is a bad week to stack every personal errand without telling anyone — but it is a good week to batch errands on makeup workdays when some offices are open. If you need a morning off for immigration paperwork, ask for a half-day with documents ready, not a vague “I have something.”
During probation, smaller, well-explained requests beat large silent gaps. Deliver visible work in the days before you leave.
What “reachable” should mean
Clarify expectations:
- Silent except true emergencies?
- One daily check-in on WeCom?
- Fully offline with a deputy?
Chinese teams differ. Align explicitly. If you will be on a train overnight or in a rural scenic area with weak signal, say so and name a deputy. For train travel basics, 12306 booking for visitors helps the logistics side; the leave side is still your OA approval.
Coverage etiquette that builds trust
- Hand over passwords only through approved company tools
- Leave a short status note on shared tasks
- Do not assign your deputy surprise work at 6 p.m. the night before holiday
- Return on the stated day; if trains fail, message early with a new ETA
New hires who communicate calmly get more flexibility later — including Golden Week discussions.
Common misunderstandings to avoid
“Mid-Autumn is as long as Golden Week.” Usually not. Plan the short block honestly.
“Makeup Sunday is optional.” Treat 20 September 2026 as a workday unless HR says otherwise.
“Nobody minds if I extend quietly.” Somebody minds — usually the person covering your chat.
“Foreign staff automatically get extra festival leave.” Not automatic. Some companies offer cultural leave; many do not. Ask HR, do not assume.
“I can decide after I see mooncake gifts.” Cute, but late. Approvals need dates.
If your request is refused
Stay professional. Options:
- Shorten the extra days
- Shift travel to the Mid-Autumn core holiday only
- Move the leisure trip to the gap between Mid-Autumn and Golden Week
- Save longer leave for a quieter month
Ask what would make approval easier next time (earlier notice, different dates, clearer handover). Then do that.
A simple decision checklist
1. Have I read HR’s Mid-Autumn + 调休 notice?
2. Am I only taking statutory days, or also annual leave?
3. Is 20 September marked as work in my calendar?
4. Who covers me, and have they agreed?
5. Are tickets still refundable until approval lands?
6. Does my plan collide with a team deadline or client launch?
7. Have I written the request in the official system (not only a chat emoji)?
Bottom line
New foreign employees ask for Mid-Autumn leave successfully when they respect the official holiday and makeup workdays, separate statutory time from annual leave, and offer a concrete handover. For 2026, that means knowing 25–27 September as the festival window, 20 September as a work Sunday, and 10 October as the later Golden Week makeup day. Polite, early, and specific beats perfect Chinese — though a few clear Chinese lines in OA help your manager approve faster.
