The Chinese Calendar is a combination of two calendars, the solar and the lunisolar calendar. The solar calendar starts on the December solstice and follows the 24 solar terms of which the solstice and equinoxes are a part. The lunisolar calendar starts on the Chinese New Year and consists of 12 or 13 months.
The Chinese Calendar based on traditional culture and beliefs has been in use for more than 5,000 years. The year beginning January 23, 2012 based on the chinese calendar system is the year 4710. It is the Year of the (Male) Black Water Dragon.
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. In the chinese calendar, the lunar months are typically simply numbered, following the standard practice with the solar months. The Chinese zodiac is only used in naming years—it is not used in the actual calculation of the calendar. The calendar is not as simple as the Gregorian calendar. Since it is based on moon phases and solar time, there is no exact or consistent tracking system for the calendar. All calculations are based on the exact time the moon has entered a phase.
The day on which the New Moon phase occurs is the first day of the month. A month is calculated from the start of the new moon up to the time of the end of the phase. Instead of leap years, the calendar adjusts based on a "leap month". This is done when the cycle of the moon phase starts to get ahead of how the calendar is calculated. This is remedied by adding a day to synchronize with the moon phase again.
