January 29, 2006
is the first day of the
Chinese New Year.

There are 3 ways to name a Chinese year:

By an animal (like a mascot)

• This year is known as the Year of the Dog.
• There are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years.

By its Formal Name (Stem-Branch)

• The new year is the year of bingxu.
• In the 'Stem-Branch' system, the years are named in 60-year cycles, and the Name of the Year is repeated every 60 years.
• 2006 is the 7th year in the current 60-year cycle.

It is Year 4703 by the Chinese calendar.

More Infos ...