--- title: "What Chinese Zodiac Is 2000? Year of the Metal Dragon" description: "2000 is the Year of the Metal Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, from February 5, 2000 to January 23, 2001. Personality, Lunar New Year dates and numerology." canonical: https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2000 last-updated: 2026-10-23 reviewed: false author: Unified Reading editorial --- # What Chinese Zodiac Is 2000? Year of the Metal Dragon In Chinese astrology, 2000 is the Year of the Metal Dragon, a Yang year. It began at Lunar New Year on February 5, 2000 and ended on January 23, 2001, so people born in 2000 before Feb 5 belong to the Earth Rabbit year. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | | --- | --- | | Animal · element · polarity | Dragon · Metal · Yang | | Starts (Lunar New Year) | February 5, 2000 | | Ends | January 23, 2001 | | Born in 2000 before Feb 5 | Earth Rabbit (the 1999 year) | | Dragon's fixed element | Earth (Earth generates Metal) | | Other Metal Dragon years (1924-2044) | 1940 | | Stem-branch name | Geng-Chen | | Lunar New Year weekday · Sun sign | Saturday · Aquarius | | Numerology year number | 2 | ## 2000 Lunar New Year: start and end dates Lunar New Year opened the Metal Dragon year on February 5, 2000, and the year ran to January 23, 2001. So a birth date of Feb 5, 2000 or later counts as Metal Dragon, and so do early 2001 birthdays through Jan 23; births in 2000 before Feb 5 still belong to the Earth Rabbit. That moving boundary comes from the lunisolar calendar, in which the new year starts with the second new moon after the winter solstice in most years, so its Gregorian date shifts by up to a month from one year to the next. Look sixty years either side and the pairing repeats: 1940 are Metal Dragon years too. That Saturday new year arrived with the Sun in Aquarius in the Western zodiac. ## What the Metal Dragon is like In a Metal Dragon year, the Dragon's vitality takes on a hard, bright edge. Classical readings picture people born now as decisive, honest and fearless, with integrity as a defining trait. Earth feeding Metal can drain them if they never rest. Accepting help, reflecting on where their drive is pointed and staying curious about other views are the usual suggestions. Belonging to the west and to the clear, cool air of autumn, Metal adds edge, resolve and structure to any sign it colours. Classical texts connect it with righteousness, strength of will and the ability to see a situation without sentiment. A Metal stem often makes an animal more ambitious, more organised and more self-contained than usual. People born in Metal years are frequently described as loyal to their word and tireless once committed. The caution most readings add is a hardness that can isolate them, along with perfectionism and a reluctance to admit doubt or ask for help. ## 2000 in the animal cycle and in numerology In numerology the year's digits reduce to 2, the number of partnership, patience and diplomacy, and a 2 year is traditionally read as one for cooperation rather than solo pushes. The digits of 2000 add up to 2. The Dragon holds the fifth place among the twelve animals and its fixed element is Earth. Set beside the year's Metal stem, earth generates Metal, which readings use to describe how settled or stretched the combination feels. The year before was the Earth Rabbit and the year after is the Metal Snake. Chinese almanacs name 2000 Geng-Chen, pairing the Metal stem Geng with the branch Chen. Both are Yang, as stem and branch always share a polarity, so of the hundred and twenty possible pairings only sixty ever occur, and each one names a single year in every cycle. ## Frequently asked questions ### What Chinese zodiac is 2000? 2000 is the Year of the Metal Dragon. It started on February 5, 2000 and ended on January 23, 2001. ### What if I was born in January or February 2000? Check the date against Feb 5. Born before February 5, 2000, you are a Earth Rabbit; born on or after it, you are a Metal Dragon. ### What element is 2000 in the Chinese zodiac? Metal, a Yang year. The Dragon's own fixed element is Earth; the year element changes every two years, while the fixed element stays with the animal. ### What is the traditional Chinese name for 2000? Geng-Chen. The first part is the heavenly stem, which carries the year's element and polarity; the second is the earthly branch, which carries the animal. Almanacs, calendars and Four Pillars charts identify years this way rather than by animal alone. ### When is the next Metal Dragon year? 2060, sixty years later, when the five elements and twelve animals line up again; the table also has 1940. ## Related pages - [Metal Dragon](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/metal-dragon) - [Dragon](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/dragon) - [Chinese zodiac years](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/years) - [1999 (Earth Rabbit)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1999) - [2001 (Metal Snake)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2001) - [1988 (Earth Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1988) - [2012 (Water Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2012) - [1940 (Metal Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1940) - [1976 (Fire Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/1976) - [2024 (Wood Dragon)](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac/2024) - [Chinese zodiac calculator](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac-calculator) - [Chinese zodiac](https://unifiedreading.com/chinese-zodiac) ## About Unified Reading Unified Reading combines Pythagorean numerology, the Western Sun sign (Moon and rising with a birth time), the Chinese zodiac and life-stage context in one reading. The preview is free at https://unifiedreading.com/#details; the full reading is $4.99, paid once through Stripe, with no subscription. A fictional sample is at https://unifiedreading.com/sample. With a birth time and place it adds whole sign houses and the chart ruler; it does not calculate planetary aspects or transits, and it is a framework for reflection, not a prediction.