When to go to China

The four-season picture

China is the size of a continent and crosses many climates. Useful broad rules:

• March–May (spring): the most comfortable window for most of the country. Cherry blossom in late March (Wuhan, Hangzhou, Suzhou). Mild and dry in the north (Beijing, Xi'an). Yangshuo lush.
• June–August (summer): hot and humid in most of central and southern China. Mid-summer is brutal in Wuhan, Nanjing, Chongqing ('three furnaces'). Tibet, Xinjiang and the Tibetan plateau peak — accessible weather, green pasture.
• September–November (autumn): the consensus comfortable season for most travellers. Clear, dry, warm in the south. Forbidden City in October light. Mountain colour from late October.
• December–February (winter): cold and dry north of the Yangtze. Mild and damp south. Ski season in Heilongjiang and Jilin. Harbin Ice Festival in late December–February. The Forbidden City in snow is a quieter experience.

Critical dates to avoid

• Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) — late January or February. Largest annual human migration in the world; trains and flights book out, hotels are expensive, many shops close. Outside the largest cities, the country goes quiet for a week.
• Tomb-Sweeping Day (Qingming) — early April, 3-day public holiday.
• Labour Day — 1–3 May, 5-day extended holiday since 2019. Domestic tourism crush.
• Mid-Autumn / National Day Golden Week — late September / 1–7 October. The biggest domestic-tourism period of the year. Avoid.
• National Day (1 October) — flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen pulls 100,000+ people.

Region-by-region

North (Beijing, Xi'an, Tianjin, Datong, Pingyao) Best: April–early June; September–early November. Avoid mid-summer heat and humidity, and winter dust.

East (Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Qingdao) Best: April–May; September–November. Avoid mid-summer humidity and Spring Festival.

South (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Hong Kong, Sanya) Best: November–early March. Avoid May–September typhoons and humidity.

Central (Wuhan, Changsha, Zhangjiajie) Best: April–May; September–October. Avoid the 'furnace' summer.

Southwest (Chengdu, Chongqing, Yunnan, Guizhou) Recommended: March–May; September–November. Yunnan is mild year-round.

Northwest (Xi'an, Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Gansu) Recommended: May–June; September–early October. Winter is cold and dusty.

Tibet Recommended: April–early June; September–early November. May–early June is dry and clear; September is post-rains green. Avoid winter (cold, some sights closed).

Xinjiang Recommended: May–June; September–October.

Northeast (Harbin, Shenyang, Dalian) Recommended: late May–September. Plus mid-December to mid-February for the Harbin Ice Festival.