Best Time to Visit China
As a vast country with many landscapes, China can provide you destinations anytime you visit China for different seasons or months. Beautiful and impressive scenery is waiting for you no matter when you want to travel to China.
Spring and autumn are recommended to visit China, and to be specific, April to May and September to October are better when you choose the months. The climate of these time will be most comfortable for travelling in China, especially for the famous destinations in China.
Followings are our recommendation for you for the best time to visit China in seasons and months, and we hope it will be helpful and useful for your reference and choice.
Best Time to Visit China in Seasons
Spring in China provides comfortable weather and less crowds. Spring is the best time to see the flowers, peach blossoms in Nyingchi, rape flower blossoms in Wuyuan and cherry blossoms in Wuhan. Spring is also a good season to enjoy the Guilin and Hangzhou is the mist or rain, which is picturesque like the scenes in the Chinese paintings.
Summer will be the peak seasons in China because of the summer vacation. There are many domestic tourists in the attractions. But it is a good time to travel with families taking the children. Summer in China is a bit hot outdoor. To avoid the crowds in summer, you can choose traveling in June with less crowds. Also, there are many summer resorts in China to avoid the heat for your choice.
Autumn is also recommended to travel to China with pleasant weather. But if you want to avoid the crowds, you’d better avoid the National Day of China because Chinese will travel during their 7-day minor vacation(usually from October 1 to October 7). Jiuzhaigou Valley, Daocheng Yading and Kanas are ideal destinations in autumn to enjoy the golden wold or colorful forests.
Winter is the off-season in China, but it is also the cheapest time to travel to China with the least crowd and most favorable price of hotels. And if you want to experience the Spring Festival in China, you can visit China in winter. Winter is also a good time to see the snow scenery in China.
Travel to China at Peak Seasons
If you decide to visit China in the peak seasons, we have some recommendations for you.
Summer vacation from July to August is the most crowded time in Chinese travel. And your traveling experience may be lower than your expectation. If you choose these period to visit China, you should be prepared for the crowds, busy traffic and hot weather outdoor.
Noon is the hottest time in a day, you can avoid this time for outdoor activities while traveling. You can arrange the outdoor activities at the morning and get up early, which is cool and comfortable.
When you arrange your itinerary, you can make your itinerary different with the regular route.
Best Time to Visit China by Months
January
With an average temperature of -5℃to 5℃, January is cold in China, and you can see the ice and snow in many regions like Changbai Mountain, Mohe, Laojun Mountain and Lushan Mountain. January is not crowded in China with cheap accommodation, air ticket and entrance fees.
In January, you can visit the Forbidden City covered by snow. If you are lucky, you will have the chance to see the polar lights at Mohe, the northernmost part of China. Mohe is also a fantastic place to have sound sleep in winter. Also, there are many ice and snow activities at Mohe in January.
If you don’t want to experience the freezing cold in winter, you can visit some southern parts in China like Yunnan, Hainan, Guangdong and Fujian to experience a warm winter.
Changbai Mountain
February
With an average temperature of -2℃ to 8℃, February in China is also cold. Though the temperature is low in February in China, it is the most appropriate time to experience the festival atmosphere in Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, which is one of the most important traditional festivals in China.
In northern China, people will eat jiaozi, a traditional food of northern China. The Spring Festival is the time when people in China are happiest of getting together and have fun. There are many activities to experience, getting red packets, seeing lion dance or dragon dance and wearing new clothes.
Spring Festival
March
With an average temperature of 3℃ to 12℃, March is a bit cold in China. In some southern parts of China, many flowers are in blossoms in March. The rape flower blossoms in Wuyuan, which is called the most beautiful countryside in China, are like a golden sea with the idyllic countryside scenery. The peach blossoms in Nyingchi are also beautiful and impressive.
peach blossoms in Nyingchi
April
With an average temperature of 9-20℃, April is warm in China with a pleasant weather. April is the best time to visit Jiangnan in China, including West Lake in Hangzhou, water towns in Suzhou and Zhejiang, misty rain in Jiangnan. It is not very crowded in April.
May
The average temperature of May is 14℃ to 25℃ in China, which is really comfortable for travelling. You can avoid the crowds of Labour Day holiday in China in May. The rest of the time is not so crowded.
The options of destinations are diverse in May. You can climb up the Great Wall to see the spectacular scenery. You can walk or cycle around the Xi’an City Hall to feel the cultural deposits and history of China. As for the natural views, you can visit the Mingsha Mountain and Zhangjiajie. To feel the modern cities, you can visit Chongqing to experience the magical three-dimensional traffic.
Zhangjiajie
June
With an average temperature of 18-28℃, June is a bit hot in China. Due to the weather and crowds, June is also a good time to visit China, avoiding the summer vacation. June provides you a wide range for traveling in China. You can take the cruise to feel the spectacular views alongside the Yangtze River. You can climb up to the top of Mount Tai to hold all other mountains in a single glance. Guilin in June is picturesque alongside the Li River and in Yangshuo.
Li River in Guilin
July
With an average of 21-30℃, July is really hot in China. It is also the time when the schools having the summer vacation, so it will be crowded in July in China with hot temperature, busy traffic and crowded people.
To avoid the heat, there are some picturesque places of summer resorts. Huangguoshu Waterfall and Xiaoqikong are both good places for avoiding heat in Guizhou with picturesque scenery. The 318 Sichuan-Tibet highway is also recommended to visit in July with snow mountains, grassland and lakes. The grasslands like Hulun Buir Prairie is recommended to visit in July with lush green grasslands, whose scenes are like the scenes in the film.
Huangguoshu Waterfall
August
With an average temperature of 20-30℃, August is also hot in China. August is also the time of the summer vacations of schools in China with crowds and busy traffic.
There are many places to visit in August in China if you are not afraid of the hot weather and crowded people. Northwest areas of China are good places for travelling in August with lakes, grasslands, snow mountains, deserts, springs and sand dunes. Caka Salt Lake is also recommended to feel the scenes in the film of Miyazaki Hayao.
Caka Salt Lake
September
With an average temperature of 16-26℃, September is cool in China. September is one of the best time to visit China because of the pleasant weather and less crowds.
September is the time to welcome a golden world. Kanas in Xinjiang is a wonderland in September. You can see the earliest autumn scenery in Greater Khingan Mountains in September, which is impressive and breathtaking. It will be joyful to hike in September at Greater Khingan Mountains. The sunrise, sunset, sunset glows and starry sky at Yellow Mountain is also recommended in September.
Yellow Mountain
October
With an average temperature of 10-20℃, October is cool in China. Avoiding the crowds during the National Day holiday, you will have a comfortable, delightful and relaxing trip in China.
The deep-dyed serried woods presented a beautiful view in October. The forests and lakes are colorful in October, which are impressive and magnificent. Daocheng Yading is also beautiful in October, providing a charming autumn view in Western Sichuan. The Longji Terraced Fields are also impressive in October with the golden rices, you can see or experience the activity of cutting rice.
Longji Terraced Fields
November
With an average temperature of 3-13℃, November is cold in China. With cheap hotels and less crowds, November is also a good time to visit China.
Wuyuan is beautiful in November with harvest of foods, with their interesting activities, where you can experience the life and customs in countryside of China. You can also visit the Xidi and Hongcun Village in November to feel the beautiful countryside views. Dali and Shangri-la warm and comfortable to stay in November. To enjoy the costal scenery in November, you can visit Xiapu in Fujian to enjoy the breeze, sunrise, sunset and sunset glows there.
Dali
December
With an average temperature of -2℃ to 7℃, December is freezing in China. Though it is cold in December in China, there are some places to visit. You will maximize your time since December is the off-season in China.
The historical and cultural trip of Beijing and Xi’an is recommended in December since most of the attractions are not influenced by the weather. Tengchong in Yunnan is also recommended in December to see the golden gingkgo all over the mountains and plains, which is impressive and breathtaking.
Bell Tower
