The Gregorian calendar has been the official calendar of China since 1911. Before 1911, the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar had been used for more than 2400 years! Even today, it is still quite influential. Many Chinese holidays are aligned with the the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
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Chinese Lunar Calendar is actually a lunisolar Calendar, with elements from both lunar calendars and solar calendars. Each month of Chinese Lunar Calendar is aligned with the phases of the moon. However there are 24 "Solar Terms"(节气) in Chinese Lunar Calendar. The "Solar Terms" are like markers on the calendar. They are meant to be the indications of weather changes and instructions for agricultural activities. The Solar terms are a result of observations of the local weather for maybe a few thousand years. So they are usually quite accurate. The Solar Terms are aligned with the position of Earth against the Sun, so they are aligned with Solar Calendars like The Gregorian calendar.
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Besides the Solar Terms, what is also special is the 12 animal signs. The Chines animal signs are a 12-year cycle used for dating the years. And they are also used as the zodiacs for Chinese. The 12 animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. About the twelve animals and the order of them, there is a quite interesting story.
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According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.
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All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore. the rat jumped off the ox`s back, so won the race. The pig, who was very lazy and slow, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.