WordPress Can Also Display the Lunar Calendar: Guide to Wenpai Calendar (WPDate)

WordPress’s date system supports only the Gregorian calendar, leaving Chinese websites feeling incomplete—missing the lunar calendar, solar terms, and traditional festivals.

Wenpai Calendar (WPDate) fills this gap: it enables WordPress to display Chinese lunar dates—including a perpetual lunar calendar, the 24 Solar Terms, and traditional festivals—with extensive customization options.

Try It in 30 Seconds

No installation required—experience it directly in your browser:

One-Click Preview of Wenpai Calendar →

Clicking the link opens an online WordPress environment where the plugin is already installed and activated—just navigate straight to the calendar page.

Installation & Setup

Step 1: Install and Activate

In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New, then search for WPDate or Wenpai Calendar, install it, and click Activate.

Alternatively, download the ZIP package manually from Wenpai Open Source and upload it via Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin.

Step 2: Access the Calendar

After activation, locate the calendar-related menu items in the left-hand admin menu—or go directly to wp-admin/admin.php?page=wpdate-calendar to view the perpetual lunar calendar.

Step 3: Customize Display

WPDate offers multiple customization options:

  • Date Format: Choose how lunar dates are displayed
  • Solar Terms Display: Toggle whether the 24 Solar Terms appear on the calendar
  • Traditional Festivals: Highlight major festivals such as Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), Mid-Autumn Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival
  • Frontend Display: Show lunar information on your site using widgets or shortcodes

Key Features

Feature Description
Perpetual Lunar Calendar A complete lunar calendar interface in the admin dashboard
24 Solar Terms Precisely calculated and marked solar terms
Traditional Festivals Includes Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, etc.
High Customizability Fully adjustable date formats and display content

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will WPDate affect WordPress’s built-in Gregorian date display?
A: No. WPDate operates as an independent lunar calendar system and does not modify WordPress core’s Gregorian date functionality.

Q: Can I display lunar dates inside posts or pages?
A: Yes. WPDate provides shortcodes and widgets to embed lunar information anywhere—posts, pages, sidebars, etc.

Q: How accurate is the solar term calculation?
A: Highly accurate. WPDate uses astronomical algorithms to compute solar terms with reliable precision.

Related Recommendations

  • Wenpai Full Suite — Try all 5 Wenpai plugins together, including the calendar
  • Chinese Site Starter Pack — A trio of essentials: slug transliteration, avatar support, and font library
  • Wenpai Slug — Converts Chinese URLs into clean, readable pinyin—no more garbled characters

All plugins are available for instant, no-installation trial at the Wenpai Playground.