Festivals · 16 October 2026 · 4 min read
How Halloween is celebrated in China, and what to say
Halloween is not a traditional Chinese festival and it is not a holiday. In China's big cities, though, it has become a night out for young people: costume parties, theme park events, haunted houses and shopping centres full of pumpkins. Going door to door for sweets is rare. Here is how it works, and the words you need.
What Halloween is called in Chinese
The usual word is 万圣节 (Wànshèngjié). Strictly speaking that is All Saints' Day on 1 November, and the night before it is 万圣夜 (Wànshèngyè). In everyday speech people use 万圣节 for the whole thing, the way English uses Halloween, and that is what you will see on posters.
How it is celebrated
Most of the action is in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Theme parks run whole Halloween seasons: Universal Beijing Resort's starts in early September and runs to 1 November in 2026, and Shanghai Disneyland runs a Halloween celebration every autumn. Shopping centres decorate, bars and clubs hold costume nights, and university students throw parties.
Costumes run from witches and vampires to characters from games and films, and dressing up is as much about the photos as the party. Haunted houses, 鬼屋 (guǐwū), are a big draw, and the best ones need tickets booked ahead.
Halloween in China happens in public places, not on doorsteps.
Trick or treat
Trick or treat is 不给糖就捣蛋 (bù gěi táng jiù dǎodàn), no sweets and there will be mischief. Most people know it from films. Because most city families live in apartment blocks with gates and guards, children rarely go door to door. Instead, shopping centres and international schools hand out sweets at events, and the phrase is used there, and at parties, half as a joke.
The words you will need
Is there a Chinese Halloween?
Not really, and it is worth not calling anything that. China has two traditional festivals about the dead, and both are about remembering family, not dressing up. 清明节 (Qīngmíngjié), Tomb-Sweeping Day, falls in early April: families visit graves, clean them and leave offerings, and it is a public holiday. 中元节 (Zhōngyuánjié), often called the Ghost Festival, 鬼节 (Guǐjié), falls in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, usually in August or early September. Some families burn paper offerings for their ancestors, and some people avoid swimming or going out late that night.
Both are serious occasions. If they come up in conversation, listen and ask, rather than comparing them with Halloween.
If you go out for Halloween in China
- Book theme park tickets and haunted houses early. 要提前预约吗？ asks whether you need to book ahead.
- Popular streets and events get very crowded. 限流 on a sign means entry is being limited, so wait where staff tell you.
- Ask before you photograph someone in costume. 可以跟你合影吗？ is the polite way.
- Remember it is a normal working day. 31 October and 1 November are not holidays.
Event dates checked in October 2026. Theme parks change their programmes every year, so confirm on their own sites before you go.
The situation guide for this post: Halloween in China, with every phrase and audio.