The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will be closed from September 22, 2018 to September 24, 2018 for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. All official deadlines falling on the above holiday will be automatically extended to September 25, 2018. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, as at that time of the year the moon is thought to be at its roundest and brightest, the day is also known as the Moon Festival.  The ancient Chinese observed that the movement of the moon had a close relationship with changes of the seasons and agricultural production, hence, they expressed their thanks to the moon and celebrated the harvest through this festival.  During the festival, Chinese gift mooncakes to family and friends. Mooncakes are round shaped, symbolizing the harvest and the reunion of a family and friends. Mooncakes are traditionally made of dough with a sweet filling of beans, nuts and lotus flowers. Nowadays, there are many modern mooncake variations, such as ice cream mooncakes, chocolate mooncakes, green tea mooncakes etc.