The solar (Gregorian) calendar is the international standard: 365/366 days per year. The Chinese lunar calendar is actually a lunisolar calendar — months follow the moon cycle (29.5 days), while the year is aligned to the solar year through leap months. That's why lunar dates shift every year relative to the solar calendar.
Traditional festivals: Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn, and Double Ninth are all on lunar dates. Birthdays: many older Chinese people only remember their lunar birthday. Auspicious dates: moving, weddings, and business openings traditionally follow the lunar calendar. Chinese astrology (Bazi): requires the lunar birth date.
Each lunar year has a Heavenly Stem + Earthly Branch combination (e.g., "Jia Chen" for 2024) paired with a zodiac animal (Dragon). The 10 stems and 12 branches cycle every 60 years (the Sexagenary cycle). Your birth year determines one of the four pillars in Bazi astrology.
Solar terms are 24 points along the sun's ecliptic path, marking seasonal changes. Start of Spring (Lichun, Feb 3-5) is the astronomical marker for the new year. Solar terms are crucial in the lunar calendar for agriculture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Enter a solar date (e.g., 2026-01-29), and the converter returns the corresponding lunar date (e.g., first day of the first lunar month, Year of the Snake). It also works in reverse: enter a lunar date to get the solar equivalent. Instant, no need to flip through a perpetual calendar.