China weather
Everything you need to know before arriving on the ground
A China weather article may not sound like the most riveting pre-trip reading, but if you’ve ever arrived in a new destination and been totally underprepared because it’s too hot, cold, wet or dry, you’ll understand just how quickly travel plans can be derailed. What starts out as fun quickly turns to a much less enjoyable experience - all because you didn’t check the weather.
Like so many aspects of China, weather is not straightforward. How can it be? In a country that covers a massive expanse in all directions, there are bound to be variances in China weather - sometimes really big ones - on any given day. That’s why it pays to do your research well in advance, not only of your arrival, but planning and booking your trip too.
Without drowning you in too much detail, like the rising floodwaters of a tropical summer typhoon, we’ve endeavoured to capture the all important information for adventurers making their way to China, regardless of when and where they travel.
China weather
An overview
China’s coastline just on its own stretches a whopping 18,000 kilometers, so as you’d expect with such a distance, the zones within China itself present a wide range of temperatures and climates.
During winter, China is generally warm in the south and cold - in some places, bitterly cold - in the north. Temperature differences between north and south
can vary by up to 50°. The influence of the winter monsoon, which brings cold
and dry winter winds from Mongolia and Siberia impacts the northern region
of China. Visit Beijing during the coldest months of the year and you will
definitely be pulling out your thermal gear, gloves, and beanie.
By contrast, in summer, which runs from June to August, you will find temper-
atures that reach the other extreme. With the exception of the high lying
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Tianshan Mountains, the average temperature in
most areas sits above 20°C. In fact, you will find that in many places in the
south, the average is above 28°C.
Now if you’re thinking that sounds quite manageable and you think Turpan
in high summer sounds ideal, you may just want to reconsider your travel
plans. Freezing cold in winter, temperatures in Turpan swing in the opposite direction during summer, hitting an average high of 40°C (104°F).
Remember too there is a wet season in China weather and the timing of it varies from north to south. In the south, with its more tropical and subtropical weather zone, the wet season starts early and ends late. The wettest months are between May and October.
The wet season in the north is shorter and concentrated in July and August (summer). Monsoons are a common feature of China’s weather, both in warm and cold months. Fortunately, this is most advantageous for agriculture, as it allows for diversity in crop cultivation and animal production.
But it’s not all good news. Floods, along with other natural disasters such as drought, earthquakes, and cold waves occur regularly each year, and in some cases, with catastrophic effects.
Although we’ve only provided a brief overview of China weather here, at the very least, you have the basics, and can start to plan the timing of your trip accordingly.
The takeaways on China weather for foreign visitors?
China weather by city
Beijing
Beijing
Xi’an
Xi’an
Shanghai
Shanghai
Chengdu
Chengdu
Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Dunhuang
Dunhuang
Guilin
Guilin
Lhasa
Lhasa
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Want to know more about the weather in China? Work through the pages of our Travel Guide and find everything you need to know about visiting China. Discover helpful information on related topics, including China visas, things to do in China, food, culture, and more. As a China travel agent that’s been operating well over a year - and survived the impact of COVID-19, we’re more committed than ever to helping our customers discover and experience real China. We understand that your once-in-a-lifetime trip to China starts well before departure, that’s why we provide useful information about important details on topics like the weather in China to help make your China vacation as enjoyable as possible.
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Testimonials
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Very well organized tourThe trip was organized very well All tour guides were friendly and helpful Even when flight delayed by 3 hours they We’re waiting for us All accommodations were very comfortable Even last minute changes in plans were accepted and accommodated Martha replied to our remarks immediately at any time Highly recommend China tours.com for future visitors to China - Meg C wrote a review 12 April 2024
Amazing TourOur tour was amazing! We went to Beijing, Xi’an, Zhangjiajie and Guilin. Our tour guides were amazing in each location-very knowledgeable, kind and helpful. Highly recommend this company, we customise the tour to suit our interests and needs! - Greg C wrote a review 12 April 2024
Family Adventure with China ToursOur Experience with China Tours was amazing! Our family of 6 (our kids range in age from 8-12) loved the sites, food, hotels, schedule, and hospitality. Possibly the best element of our experience was hanging out with our guides Maggie, Helen, Kevin, and Warren who were so personable, knowledgable, and kind. We would highly recommend China Tours to anyone! - Dan H wrote a review 9 April 2024Houston, TXWonderfully arranged trip through the interior of ChinaOur trip included Yangtze River Cruise with Century Cruises, Zhangjiajie, and Xi'an. Very easy to arrange with Martha from China Tours. Century Cruise line is a high quality line that provides great service (we were impressed how enthusiastic the service personnel were on the ship). They even have a tour group dedicated to English speakers so that all passengers requiring an English speaking guide would be assigned that group. Following our debarkation at Yichang, Martha arranged a private transfer by car from Yichang to Zhangjiajie, which was quite a relaxing drive (we did the private transfer because the train was not yet available then). Both our tour guides Vicky (Zhangjiajie) and Elysha (Xi'an) were very nice and professional. Vicky: although the weather in Zhangjiajie was not great (very foggy), Vicky nevertheless made the trip enjoyable and she was flexible to adjust the trip to avoid crowds as much as possible. Elysha: very knowledgable about Xi’an history and we felt like we attended a class in history with her. Her English is also very good.
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