Holidays and Observances:

1: Army Day (87th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, 1/2 day off for those on active duty).

2: 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.

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

8: Beijing 2008 Olympic Games opened this day.

10: Ghost Festival, the Chinese equivalent of Halloween, falls on the 15th night of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is a time for families to pay homage to their ancestors.

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).

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.

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.

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.