1988: Year of the Earth Dragon
The 1988 Chinese zodiac year is the Yang Earth Dragon, and it runs from 17 February 1988 to 5 February 1989 — not from 1 January.
- Animal
- Dragon 龙
- Element and polarity
- Yang Earth
- Gan-Zhi
- Wu Chen 戊辰
- Age this zodiac year
- Born in 1988, a person turns 38 during the 2026 year
Born early in 1988? You may be Rabbit, not Dragon
Chinese New Year 1988 fell on 17 February 1988. Anyone born between 1 January 1988 and 16 February 1988 — a window of 47 days — belongs to the 1987 zodiac year, the Yin Fire Rabbit, and not to the Dragon.
Check an exact birth date against the 17 February 1988 boundary.
Exact 1988 zodiac year dates
The 1988 lunar year ran its ordinary twelve months, 355 days in total.
Other Dragon years around 1988
| Dragon year | Complete name | Begins |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Yang Water Dragon | 27 January 1952 |
| 1964 | Yang Wood Dragon | 13 February 1964 |
| 1976 | Yang Fire Dragon | 31 January 1976 |
| 2000 | Yang Metal Dragon | 5 February 2000 |
| 2012 | Yang Water Dragon | 23 January 2012 |
| 2024 | Yang Wood Dragon | 10 February 2024 |
The exact pairing 戊辰 — Yang Earth Dragon — returns only once every sixty years: 1928, 2048.