In Chinese culture, the festivals that the Chinese celebrate are deemed very important. Every festival is unique. Celebrated on a Lunar calendar year, the exact dates of the festivals are not set in stone. If you take a look at Wikipedia's page you will find a list of the different types of Chinese festivals. At the bottom of the page is a diagram of how the dates change from year to year based on the Lunar calendar.
These festivals, in a sense, allow the Chinese to express their culture through food, laughter, gifts, art, dragon dances, and fireworks. The most famous celebration is that of the Chinese New Year (农 历 新 年). It is not only celebrated in China but by other surrounding countries in East Asia such as Taiwan, South Korea, and Vietnam. The Chinese New Year closes out with the Feast of Lanterns ( 元宵 节) - also known as Teng-Chieh - which started as a religious tradition during the Han Dynasty. What makes the New Year so special is that it allows families to reunite. This period is known as Chunyun (春運 or 春运)
More information regarding Chinese festivals can be found here.



REFERENCES FROM BOOK:
Towards the middle of Book 1 of The Years of Rice and Salt Bold notices how the Chinese have many celebrations. In Chapter 5, once Bold and Kyu arrive in China, the Chinese are preparing to celebrate the Feast of Lanterns. On page 46 Bold soon learned that the Chinese had different festivals almost every month.


SOURCES:
1. "Chinese Festivals" Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_festivals>
2. "Chinese New Year" Wikipedia. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year>
3. "National feast of Lanterns" Touring and Tenting. 26 Feb 2008 <http://www.touringandtenting.com/news_articles/CCC-rally.html>
4. Robinson, Kim Stanley. The Years of Rice and Salt. New York: Bantam Books, 2002.
5. "Teng Chieh" LGFL.net 26 Feb 2008 <http://www.lgfl.net/lgfl/leas/ealing/web/EGFL1/teaching_learning/subjects/REandSACRE/Festival_calendar/February/Teng_Chieh.htm>
6. "The Chinese Festivals" Edunetconnect.com 26 Feb 2008 <http://www.edunetconnect.com/cat/chinafest/chinesef.html>