China Weather

Climate & Best time to go

    From the arid, desert expanses of the northwest to the humid south and to the ice clamped winter seizure of the northeast, China has wide disparities of climate.

    Winter in China north of the Yangtze River is typically cold, becoming increasingly colder the farther north you go. The vast northwest alternates between summer's scorching aridity and the blistering chill of the winter months.  Heilongjiang (Black Dragon River) Province in the northeast is stupefied by glacial temperatures come December , although enjoying hot summers. Winter in southern Yunnan Province and along China's southern coastline is comfortable, but  regions of high elevation (most  notably Tibet) can be dangerously cold.

    Virtually the land over is hot in summer, with heavy monsoon rainfall (originating over the Pacific) in the south, southeast, and parts of the southwest. The gray skies over ShangHai continuously open, while the warm and heavy August rains in Beijing flush away the desert dust that clogs the roads. Warm, late summer rains in  Xishuangbanna fall relentlessly. Summer in Xingjiang's Turpan, China's hottest and lowest spot, is punishing, The season also turns on the "three ovens" of China - Chongqing, Whan, and Nanjing - Which sweat under the steam of the Yangtze River.

    South Yunnan Province, Guangxi, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macau, and Hainan Island enjoy a tropical climate. Hong kong's August humidity relentlessly clings like a warm, wet sheet until a typhoon blows into town. Typhoons can be constant hazards to the southern coastal regions in the summer. Much of Yunnan Provinces is unexpectedly fresh year - round.

    The best seasons to visit anywhere in China are spring (April-May) and autumn (September-October). Winters are cold in the north of the Yangtze and Summers (late May-August) are sticky in the south of the Yangtze.