Holidays and Observances:

1: Army Day (83rd anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army, 1/2 day off for those on active duty).

3: China.org.cn is officially launched in both English and Chinese languages in 2000.

4: Torch Festival, days-long main holiday of the Yi ethnic minority. Usually held after the 24th day of the 6th lunar month, although groups living Guizhou Province celebrate it around the 3rd. Activities include music and dance, bullfights and a torch parade.

8: The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opened this day.

10: New Year Festival of Tujia ethnic minority. On the 1st day of the 7th lunar month, families prepare delicious food and invite their relatives and friends for a gathering.

10-16: Shoton Festival, also the Tibetan Theater Festival, a seven-day religious celebration starting on the 30th day of the 6th month on the Tibetan calendar. "Shoton" is Tibetan for "yogurt banquet." Traditionally, on the 30th day the laity make offerings of yogurt to the monks. During the festival, theater troupes gather in Norbulingka (the summer palace of the Dalai Lamas) to give performances and hold competitions.

12: International Youth Day. The United Nations General Assembly on December 17, 1999 in its resolution 54/120, endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, August 8-12, 1998) that August 12 be declared International Youth Day. The Assembly recommended that public information activities be organized to support the Day as a way to promote better awareness of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, adopted by the General Assembly in 1995 (resolution 50/81).

16: Double Seventh Festival, a traditional festival of romance on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month. Legend has it that the star-crossed Cowherd and the Weaving Girl meet on that evening every year in Heaven.

23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, celebrated on August 23 of every year. The night of August 22 to 23, 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.

Nadam Fair, held during the 7th lunar month, is the grandest festival of the Mongolians. Activities include wrestling, horseracing and archery competitions, as well as trading of goods.