Lunar (East Asian Lunisolar)

Lunar Date Today

Q: What are the 24 solar terms?

The jiéqì (節氣) are 24 points along the sun's annual path, spaced 15° of ecliptic longitude apart. They include the equinoxes and solstices, plus 20 other markers like "Awakening of Insects" (Jīngzhé, around 5 March), "Grain Rain" (Gǔyǔ, around 20 April), and "Cold Dew" (Hánlù, around 8 October). The 24 solar terms are inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2016) and remain in active use across rural China for agricultural timing.

As of Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 9:01 AM, today's Lunar (East Asian Lunisolar) date is:

2nd day of the 4th lunar month, Year of the Horse

丙午年四月初二

Xīngqī Yī (Monday) Thursday, May 21, 2026

Today's Lunar (East Asian Lunisolar) date — full detail

Date: 2nd day of the 4th lunar month, Year of the Horse
Chinese characters: 丙午年四月初二
Short form: 丙午年四月二日
Year: 2026 60-year sexagenary cycle (gānzhī), current cycle began 1984
Weekday: Xīngqī Yī (Monday)
Gregorian: Thursday, May 21, 2026
Current sexagenary year: Bīngwǔ (丙午) — year 43 of the cycle
Heavenly Stem: Bīng (丙) — Yáng Fire
Earthly Branch: Wǔ (午) — Horse (12 noon)
Element pairing: Fire over Fire — heightened expressive energy
Next leap month: 4th leap month (闰四月) in lunar year 2028

Why today matters

Today is the 2nd day of the 4th lunar month — a date determined by the most recent new moon and the position of the sun against the 24 solar terms (jiéqì). The lunisolar system is one of humanity's great astronomical achievements: a calendar that simultaneously tracks the moon's phases (for daily life and tides) and the sun's position (for agriculture and seasons), inserting an extra "leap month" approximately every three years to keep the two in alignment.

"The lunisolar calendar is not behind the moon, nor behind the sun. It walks between them." — Traditional Chinese astronomical maxim

How we compute this

Lunar (East Asian Lunisolar) is a lunisolar calendar. Each year contains 353–355 days (common); 383–385 days (leap year with intercalary month), with each month averaging 29.5306 days (synodic lunar month), implemented as alternating 29- or 30-day months. Years are counted from Astronomically based — synchronized to new moons and solar terms (era: 60-year sexagenary cycle (gānzhī), current cycle began 1984).

The lunisolar system used across East Asia today descends from the Chinese calendar, refined under the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) and given its modern arithmetic form during the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The 60-year gānzhī cycle pairs ten "heavenly stems" (天干) — derived from the wǔxíng (five elements) crossed with yīn/yáng — with twelve "earthly branches" (地支), the familiar zodiac animals. The same calendar, with minor regional adjustments, governs Korean Seollal, Vietnamese Tết, and Mongolian Tsagaan Sar — making it the timekeeping system of roughly 22% of humanity.

Used by: ~1.7 billion across East and Southeast Asia. Regions: Used for festivals in China, Taiwan, Korea (Seollal), Vietnam (Tết), Mongolia (Tsagaan Sar), Singapore, Malaysia.

Frequently asked

What is the lunar date today?

Today's lunisolar date is the 2nd day of the 4th lunar month in the year Bīngwǔ — Year of the Horse. The Gregorian equivalent is May 21, 2026.

How is the lunisolar calendar calculated?

The lunar month begins on the new moon — the moment the moon passes between the Earth and the sun (when its illuminated face is invisible to us). Modern astronomical tables determine the exact UTC moment of the new moon and assign that lunar day to the timezone in question (UTC+8 for mainland China). A leap month is added whenever a year would otherwise contain only 11 instead of 12 "principal solar terms" (zhōngqì) — about every 32–33 months.

Why do Chinese New Year, Korean Seollal, and Vietnamese Tết fall on the same day?

They all use the same lunisolar calendar inherited from China, so the new lunar year — the 1st day of the 1st month — falls on the same Gregorian date in all four cultures. Minor differences may occur in border cases when the new moon crosses the international date line, but the general rule holds across the East Asian sphere.

What are the 24 solar terms?

The jiéqì (節氣) are 24 points along the sun's annual path, spaced 15° of ecliptic longitude apart. They include the equinoxes and solstices, plus 20 other markers like "Awakening of Insects" (Jīngzhé, around 5 March), "Grain Rain" (Gǔyǔ, around 20 April), and "Cold Dew" (Hánlù, around 8 October). The 24 solar terms are inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (2016) and remain in active use across rural China for agricultural timing.