The 12 animals

Year of the Dragon: years, dates and elements

The Dragon is the fifth animal and the only creature of the twelve that does not exist. Its years, their dates and their elements.

Were you born in a year of the Dragon?

Any date from 1901 to 2100.

Year starts at

"New year" is the lunar new year, the usual rule. "Feb 4 term" is Spring Commences, the rule of Four Pillars charts. Everything you enter stays in this browser: nothing is sent or stored.

Born June 1, 2000

Metal Dragon

Stem-branchGeng-Chen 庚辰, yang
Lunar birth dateday 29 of the 4th month, 2000
That lunar year: February 5, 2000 to January 23, 2001
All about the year of the Dragon

The Dragon is the fifth animal of the zodiac and the sign of Chen, the fifth earthly branch, an Earth branch on the yang side. The most recent Dragon year, a Wood Dragon, ran from February 10, 2024 to January 28, 2025, and the next, a Fire Dragon, begins on January 28, 2036. It is the only animal of the twelve that is not a real one, and in Chinese culture it has none of the menace of the European dragon: it brings rain, rules rivers and seas, and was for centuries the emblem of the emperor. That prestige gives Dragon years a reputation as lucky years for a birth, a belief that families still mention. The reputation is folklore; the dates are facts, read in the Gregorian-Lunar conversion tables of the Hong Kong Observatory for every year from 1901 to 2100.

How does tradition pair these two signs?

Dragon and Rat

Triad (san he)

Dragon triadRat, Monkey
Dragon oppositeDog

Folk tradition, not a prediction.

Compare two exact birth dates →

Dates read in the HKO tables by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources

Chen: the third month and the morning hour

The Chen branch names the double hour from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and the third lunar month, the month of the Corn Rain term in late April, when spring rains help the seedlings. The Dragon's link to rain is older than the zodiac: Chinese dragons were prayed to in droughts, and the Dragon Boat Festival of the fifth month keeps the memory of river rites.

Ordinary Dragon years come every twelve years, but the five elements make each one different. The Wood Dragon of 2024 was Jia-Chen, the first Dragon of the sixty-year cycle; the Fire Dragon of 2036 will be Bing-Chen. Because the stem and the branch both repeat, a Wood Dragon returns only after sixty years, in 2084.

Element of a lunar year

Lunar year 2036

Fire, yang

Heavenly stemBing 丙
SignFire Dragon
Next year of this element2037
Next Fire Dragon2096
Read about the five elements →

The Dragon in folk tradition

Popular portraits describe Dragon people as confident, ambitious and generous, sometimes proud. Tradition joins the Dragon with the Rat and the Monkey in a triad, pairs it in harmony with the Rooster, and sets it opposite the Dog. These are customs, not findings, and this site does not use them to say anything about a real person.

The early and late Dragons

Dragon years have started as early as January 23, 2012 in 2012 and as late as February 17, 1988 in 1988. A child born on February 1, 2024 is a Water Rabbit; one born on February 10, 2024 is a Wood Dragon.

The Dragon at a glance

Branch, hour and month: Hong Kong Observatory. Pairings: folk tradition.
Earthly branchChen 辰, number 5 of 12
Fixed element of the branchEarth, yang
Double hour (shichen)7 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Lunar month named by the branch3rd month
Triad (san he)Rat, Monkey
Harmony pair (liu he)Rooster
Opposite sign (liu chong)Dog
Harm pair (liu hai)Rabbit
Next year of the Dragon2036, from January 28, 2036

Every year of the Dragon, with exact dates

Each line is one lunar year, from its new year to the eve of the next. Over sixty years the Dragon comes back five times, once with each element: Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire. A birth before the start date in that Gregorian year belongs to the Rabbit.

Lunar new year dates from the Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables, read on November 1, 2026.
YearSignStem-branchStartsEnds
1928Earth DragonWu-Chen 戊辰Jan 23, 1928Feb 9, 1929
1940Metal DragonGeng-Chen 庚辰Feb 8, 1940Jan 26, 1941
1952Water DragonRen-Chen 壬辰Jan 27, 1952Feb 13, 1953
1964Wood DragonJia-Chen 甲辰Feb 13, 1964Feb 1, 1965
1976Fire DragonBing-Chen 丙辰Jan 31, 1976Feb 17, 1977
1988Earth DragonWu-Chen 戊辰Feb 17, 1988Feb 5, 1989
2000Metal DragonGeng-Chen 庚辰Feb 5, 2000Jan 23, 2001
2012Water DragonRen-Chen 壬辰Jan 23, 2012Feb 9, 2013
2024Wood DragonJia-Chen 甲辰Feb 10, 2024Jan 28, 2025
2036Fire DragonBing-Chen 丙辰Jan 28, 2036Feb 14, 2037

Questions people ask

When is the next year of the Dragon?

The next year of the Dragon is the Fire Dragon, which begins on January 28, 2036 and ends on February 14, 2037, according to the Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables. After it, the Dragon returns in 2048 as a Earth Dragon; the same element and animal meet again only in 2096.

Why is the Dragon considered a lucky sign?

In Chinese tradition the dragon is a benevolent power, linked to rain, rivers and the sea, and for centuries it was the emblem of the emperor. A Dragon year is therefore felt to be a fortunate time for a birth or a new venture. It is a cultural belief, shared and celebrated, not a measured effect.

Which signs does tradition pair with the Dragon?

Folk tradition places the Dragon in a triad with the Rat and the Monkey, counted as the warmest match, and pairs it in harmony with the Rooster. Its opposite, six years away, is the Dog, and its harm pair is the Rabbit. These pairings come from the positions of the branches on a circle and predict nothing about real couples.

Check next

Sign finder

Your animal, element and lunar birth date from your exact birth date, with the January and February boundary handled.

What sign am I?

Exact birth date in, sign out, with both start-of-year rules compared for January and February birthdays.

Compatibility

Two birth dates in: each sign and element, then how folk tradition pairs them, with where the rules come from.

Elements and the 60-year cycle

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water: how each year gets its element, the 60 stem-branch names, and the benming year.

Year of the Rat

First animal of the cycle: Rat years from 1924 to 2043 with exact dates, the Metal Rat of 2020 and the Water Rat of 2032.

Year of the Monkey

Ninth animal: Monkey years with exact start dates, the Fire Monkey of 2016 and the Earth Monkey of 2028.

Tables and official pages behind this page

Written by

Independent publisher of a Chinese zodiac sign finder by exact birth date, built on the Gregorian-lunar conversion tables of the Hong Kong Observatory

Calendar tables checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Chinese zodiac and lunar calendar 2026, dates read in the Hong Kong Observatory conversion tables, last checked on