Began January 27, 1971 · 384 days long
1971: year of the Metal Pig
The Pig year started on January 27, not on January 1 — so anyone born in 1971 before that date is a Dog.
- Opening new moon
- Jan 26, 1971 10:55 PM UTC
- In Beijing
- 6:55 AM Wed, Jan 27 · sets the date
- Year of the Pig
- 384 days 13 lunar months, one of them leap
- It ends
- Feb 15, 1972 12:29 AM UTC
New moons: NASA JPL DE440. New-year dates: Hong Kong Observatory.
Exact times
Chinese New Year 1971: the new moon in your city
The Metal Pig year opened with the new moon at 10:55 PM UTC on January 26, 1971 — 6:55 AM on January 27 in Beijing, the time the calendar reckons by, and 5:55 PM on January 26 in New York, 11:55 PM on January 26 in London and 8:55 AM on January 27 in Sydney.
| City | New moon that opens the year |
|---|---|
| UTC | Tue, Jan 26, 1971 |
| Honolulu United States | 12:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−10 |
| Anchorage United States | 12:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−10 |
| Los Angeles United States | 2:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−8 |
| Phoenix United States | 3:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−7 |
| Denver United States | 3:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−7 |
| Chicago United States | 4:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−6 |
| Mexico City Mexico | 4:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−6 |
| New York United States | 5:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−5 |
| Toronto Canada | 5:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−5 |
| Bogotá Colombia | 5:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−5 |
| Lima Peru | 5:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−5 |
| Caracas Venezuela | 6:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−4 |
| Santiago Chile | 7:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−3 |
| Buenos Aires Argentina | 7:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−3 |
| São Paulo Brazil | 7:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC−3 |
| Reykjavík Iceland | 10:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC |
| London United Kingdom | 11:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC+1 |
| Lagos Nigeria | 11:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC+1 |
| Paris France | 11:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC+1 |
| Berlin Germany | 11:55 PM Tue, Jan 26, 1971 · UTC+1 |
| Johannesburg South Africa | 12:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+2 |
| Cairo Egypt | 12:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+2 |
| Athens Greece | 12:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+2 |
| Istanbul Turkey | 12:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+2 |
| Moscow Russia | 1:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+3 |
| Nairobi Kenya | 1:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+3 |
| Tehran Iran | 2:25 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+3:30 |
| Dubai United Arab Emirates | 2:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+4 |
| Karachi Pakistan | 3:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+5 |
| New Delhi India | 4:25 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+5:30 |
| Kathmandu Nepal | 4:25 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+5:30 |
| Dhaka Bangladesh | 4:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+6 |
| Bangkok Thailand | 5:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+7 |
| Jakarta Indonesia | 5:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+7 |
| Singapore | 6:25 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+7:30 |
| Beijing China | 6:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+8 |
| Manila Philippines | 6:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+8 |
| Perth Australia | 6:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+8 |
| Seoul South Korea | 7:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+9 |
| Tokyo Japan | 7:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+9 |
| Adelaide Australia | 8:25 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+9:30 |
| Brisbane Australia | 8:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+10 |
| Sydney Australia | 8:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+10 |
| Auckland New Zealand | 10:55 AM Wed, Jan 27, 1971 · UTC+12 |
New moon: JPL DE440 (Swiss Ephemeris within 8 s); 1971 date as in the Hong Kong Observatory calendar. Local times: IANA time zones, to the minute.
18 pages · printable
The 2027 Sky Calendar — free PDF
Every retrograde, eclipse, new and full moon of 2027 to the minute, already converted to your city. A month to a page, ready to print.
Personality
The Metal Pig personality
Anyone born from January 27, 1971 through February 14, 1972 is a Metal Pig: the yin metal stem 辛 over the 亥 branch.
Metal feeds the Pig's own Water in the five-element cycle, so this Pig is the best supported of the five. Metal brings discipline, resolve and sharp edges — traditionally the most determined version, and the least willing to bend.
Stem and branch
1971 is 辛亥 (Xīnhài)
Na yin — the sounding element
Gold of Hairpins and Bracelets 釵釧金
Metal made into jewelry. Readings give these years refinement, taste and personal value — worth expressed through beauty and care rather than force.
1971 therefore carries metal from its stem and metal from its na yin — the same element twice. What na yin is →
Li Chun inside the year
A double spring year
The two Li Chun dates around it are February 4, 1971 and February 5, 1972, Beijing time. The Pig year spans January 27, 1971 to February 14, 1972, so both dates sit inside it: a double spring year (双春). What double spring and blind years mean →
Who clashes with a 1971 Pig
The 亥 branch puts a 1971 Pig opposite the Snake on the wheel, the traditional clash; the nearest Snake year after it was 1977. Its harmony partner is the Tiger, whose year came round 3 years later, in 1974. How the Pig and Snake get on →
Pigs born in 1971 turn 55 in 2026 — 56 by the traditional count, which starts at one.
If you were born in 1971
- Born January 1 – January 26, 1971: a Metal Dog, the animal of 1970.
- Born January 27, 1971 or later in the year: a Metal Pig.
Only the first 26 days of 1971 belong to the Dog, yet a year-only calculator still calls them Pigs. Those dates hold 6.8% of US births (SSA, 2000–2014). Check your exact date →
The Pig across the cycle
The animal returns every 12 years but the element every 60, so each of these years is a different Pig.
The lunar calendar of 1971
Why 384 days, and not 365
1971 repeated its fifth month: the leap month 闰五月 ran from June 23 to July 21 and stretched the year to 384 days. Seven of the 13 months had 30 days.
The 30-day months were the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 12th. Three 30-day months ran back to back, from month 8 to month 10.
Festival dates in the 1971 lunar year
| Festival | Lunar date | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Lantern Festival 元宵节 | first month, day 15 | Wed, Feb 10, 1971 |
| Dragon Boat Festival 端午节 | fifth month, day 5 | Fri, May 28, 1971 |
| Qixi, the Double Seventh 七夕 | seventh month, day 7 | Fri, Aug 27, 1971 |
| Ghost Festival 中元节 | seventh month, day 15 | Sat, Sep 4, 1971 |
| Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋节 | eighth month, day 15 | Sun, Oct 3, 1971 |
| Double Ninth Festival 重阳节 | ninth month, day 9 | Wed, Oct 27, 1971 |
| Winter solstice 冬至 | solar term, Sun at 270° | Wed, Dec 22, 1971 |
| Laba Festival 腊八节 | twelfth month, day 8 | Sun, Jan 23, 1972 |
At the Lantern Festival on February 10 the year's first full moon came that same day, at 3:41 PM Beijing time. The festival night of October 3 fell a day before the true full moon, which came at 8:19 PM Beijing time on October 4 — lunar day 16.
Dates follow Beijing time (UTC+8), the reference clock of the Chinese calendar. Why lunar years differ in length →
Lunar years around 1971
Lengths differ because a leap month is inserted every two or three years. This is what makes the new year date jump rather than drift.
Only 20 of the 110 new years in the table fall earlier in the calendar than January 27. Three other years share the date. Twelve years earlier, 1959 began on February 8; twelve years later, 1983 began on February 13 — both marked in lavender with the other Pig years.
Cite this page
AstroHot. “Chinese Horoscope 1971: Zodiac Year of the Metal Pig.” Accessed October 28, 2026. https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1971/
For Wikipedia
{{cite web |title=Chinese Horoscope 1971: Zodiac Year of the Metal Pig |url=https://astrohot.com/chinese-horoscope/year/1971/ |website=AstroHot |access-date=2026-10-28}}