How to Read a Chinese Calendar: Gan-Zhi and Solar Terms

Quick Answer

A Chinese calendar stacks several systems on one grid: the lunar date, the Gan-Zhi (Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch) for year, month and day, the 24 solar terms, and daily favorable-avoid notes. The solar terms — not the lunar month — define the BaZi month pillar, and the Gan-Zhi day cycle advances continuously, independent of both calendars.

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1. What a traditional Chinese calendar actually shows

Open a Chinese almanac and you are not looking at one calendar. You are looking at four systems overlaid on the same grid:

These run on different clocks. The lunar month follows the moon; the solar terms follow the sun; the Gan-Zhi cycle follows neither — it is a continuous 60-day and 60-year count that has never reset. Understanding that they are independent is the single biggest step in reading a Chinese calendar correctly.

2. How the lunar and solar dates line up

The Chinese lunar calendar is lunisolar: months begin on the new moon and are 29 or 30 days long, but leap months are inserted periodically so the calendar stays aligned with the seasons. That is why the same lunar date lands on a different Gregorian date each year — Chinese New Year moves between roughly 21 January and 21 February.

Practically:

• A lunar month has 29 or 30 days, never 31.
• Roughly every three years, a leap month (闰月) is inserted — you may see two "fifth months" in the same year.
• Solar terms land on nearly the same Gregorian date every year, because they track the sun. Lunar dates drift.

For a worked case of the two new-year conventions colliding, see when the 2027 Chinese zodiac year starts.

3. What year, month and day Gan-Zhi mean

Gan-Zhi (干支) is a pairing system: 10 Heavenly Stems (甲乙丙丁戊己庚辛壬癸) + 12 Earthly Branches (子丑寅卯辰巳午未申酉戌亥). They pair to make a 60-unit cycle, so 2026 is written as 丙午 (Bing-Wu) — the same pair returns every 60 years.

A full Chinese calendar typically shows four Gan-Zhi values:

Two mistakes beginners make:

Assuming the month changes on the 1st. In the traditional reckoning the month pillar changes at the solar term — around the 4th–8th of the Gregorian month. Someone born on 3 March is still in the previous month pillar.

Assuming the year changes on Chinese New Year. Almanacs often use Lunar New Year for the popular zodiac year, while BaZi uses Li Chun (around 4 February). The two can differ by up to two weeks.

For how these four pillars combine into a chart, see the four pillars explained.

4. The 24 solar terms and why they matter

The solar terms divide the solar year into 24 sections of 15° of the sun's apparent longitude. They were originally agricultural markers — when to sow, when to harvest — and they remain the structural backbone of the BaZi month system.

The eight principal markers in 2026:

Two properties make them unusually useful:

• They are stable. Unlike lunar dates, a solar term falls on nearly the same Gregorian date each year, so they are easy to plan around.
• They define the month pillar. The 12 BaZi months each begin at one specific term — Yin month at Li Chun, Mao month at Jing Zhe, and so on.

A related reading note: the solstices and equinoxes are the strongest markers in the set, sitting at 0°, 90°, 180° and 270° of solar longitude. Traditional texts treat the terms as the mechanism that synchronises the calendar's lunar and solar layers.

5. How the zodiac year is determined

There are two conventions, and a good almanac will let you choose:

For 2026 the difference is small because Li Chun (4 February) precedes Lunar New Year. For 2027 they diverge more, and births in the gap carry different animals depending on the convention. If you were born in January or early February, this is worth checking rather than assuming — see the Chinese zodiac by year for how birth years map to animals.

6. How to read the "favorable and avoid" notes

The daily 宜 (favorable) and 忌 (avoid) columns are the part of the almanac Western readers most often misread.

What they are. A traditional classification of activity types attached to each day, generated from the day's Gan-Zhi pair, the 12 Day Officers (建除十二神), and the 28 lunar mansions. They describe how a given day is traditionally classified — not what will happen if you act.

What they are not. They are not predictions, not personalised, and not instructions. The notes on any given day are the same for everyone in the almanac; they take no account of your birth chart. A day marked favorable for "opening a business" is a statement inside a folk-classification system.

How to use them sensibly. Treat them as cultural reference material: an interesting traditional layer for choosing a date for a ceremony or a family event, in the same way some cultures prefer a Saturday wedding. They should not drive decisions with real consequences — anything medical, legal, financial, or safety-related should follow the relevant professional guidance, not an almanac column.

If you want to look a specific date up, the Chinese Feng Shui Calendar shows the lunar date, Gan-Zhi, solar terms and the daily favorable-avoid notes together, plus activity-based date filtering.

7. Reading a BaZi chart from the calendar

If your goal is your own chart rather than the calendar in general, the order is:

1. Birth date and time → convert to the Gan-Zhi day and hour.
2. Day pillar → gives your Day Master, the core of the chart.
3. Month pillar → determined by solar term, not calendar month.
4. Year pillar → determined by Li Chun, not Lunar New Year.
5. Read all four together — see what the Ten Gods mean for the layer that follows.

A calculator handles the conversions, including the two boundary conventions. Generate one at /bazi-calculator, or check a specific date directly in the Chinese calendar tool.

8. Common questions about reading a Chinese calendar

Is the Chinese calendar the same as the lunar calendar?

It is lunisolar, not purely lunar. Months follow the moon, but leap months keep the calendar aligned with the solar year, and the 24 solar terms are a pure solar layer on the same grid.

Why does Chinese New Year move every year?

Because Lunar New Year is the first day of the first lunar month, and lunar months drift against the Gregorian calendar. Leap months correct the drift periodically, which keeps the date within roughly 21 January to 21 February.

Why does my BaZi month differ from my birth month?

Because the BaZi month pillar changes at solar terms, around the 4th–8th of each Gregorian month, not on the 1st. Someone born on the 3rd of a month is in the previous pillar.

Are the favorable and avoid notes accurate?

They are a traditional classification, consistent within the almanac system but not personalised and not predictive. Many people use them as cultural reference for ceremonial or family date-picking. They are not a basis for medical, legal or financial decisions.

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FAQ

What does a Chinese calendar show?

A traditional Chinese calendar overlays the lunar date, the Gan-Zhi for year/month/day, the 24 solar terms, and daily favorable-avoid notes. Each layer runs on a different cycle.

What is Gan-Zhi in the Chinese calendar?

Gan-Zhi is the pairing of 10 Heavenly Stems with 12 Earthly Branches, producing a 60-unit cycle used for years, months, days and hours. 2026 is Bing-Wu in this system.

Do the 24 solar terms follow the lunar calendar?

No, they are purely solar — each marks 15° of the sun's apparent longitude, so they land on almost the same Gregorian date every year.

When does the Chinese zodiac year start?

It depends on convention: the popular zodiac year switches at Lunar New Year, while BaZi uses Li Chun (around 4 February). Births between the two dates carry different animals in each system.

Should I follow the favorable and avoid notes?

Treat them as cultural reference rather than instruction. They are a traditional classification generated from the day's Gan-Zhi, not personalised advice, and not a basis for consequential decisions.

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CTA: Check a date in the Chinese calendar

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