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Spread over such a vast area, China is subject to the worst extremes in the weather, from the bitterly cold to the unbearably hot. There isn’t really an ‘ideal’ time to visit China, so use the following information as a rough guide to avoid temperature extremes. In winter the warmest regions are found in area south and south west, such as Yunnan, Gongdong, the southern coast and Hainan Dao. In summer, high spots like Sichuan are a relief from the heat. In the both the north and south most of the rain falls during summer.
North
Winters in the north fall between December and March and are incredibly cold. North of the Great Wall, into Inner Mongolia or Heilongjiang, temperatures drop to -40F and you will see the curious sight of sand dunes covered in snow. Summer in the north is around May to August.
Spring and autumn are the best time for visiting the north China. Daytime temperatures range from 68F to 86F) and there is less rain. Although it can be quite hot during the day, night can be bitterly cold and bring frost.
Central
In the Chang Jiang valley area (including Shanghai) summers are long, hot and humid. Wuhan, Chongqing, and Nanjing have been dubbed ‘the three furnaces’ by the Chinese. Expect very high temperatures any time between April and October.
Winters are short and cold, with temperatures dipping below freezing – almost as cold as Beijing. It can also be wet and miserable at any time apart from summer. While it is impossible to pinpoint an ideal time to visit, spring and summer are probably best.
South
In the far south, around Guangzhou, the hot, humid periods last from around April to September, and temperatures can rise to 100F, this is also the rainy season. Typhoons are liable to hit the south-east coast between July and September.
There is a short winter from January to March. It’s nowhere near as cold as in the north, but temperatures statistics don’t really indicate just how cold it can get, so bring warm clothes.
Autumn and spring can be good times to visit the south, the day temperatures in the 68F to 75F range. However, it can also be miserably wet and cold, with perpetual rain or drizzle, so be prepared for all-weather.
North-West
It gets hot in summer, but at least it’s dry. The desert regions can be scorching in the daytime. Turpan, which sits in the depression 150m below sea level, more than deserves the title of the ‘hottest place in China’, with maximums of around 117F.
In winter this region is as formidably cold as the rest of northern China. In Urumqi the average temperature in January is around 14F with minimums down to also -22F. Temperatures in Turpan are only slightly more favourable to human existence.
Tibet
In Tibet you can easily get impression that all four seasons has been compressed into one day. Temperatures which can vary from below zero during the evening and early morning can soar to sizzling 100F at midday, but it always feels remarkably cool in the shade.
Winter brings intense cold and fierce winds. Snowfall is far less common in Tibet than the name ‘ Land of Snows’ implies – it’s an arid place and the sun is quick to melt off snowfalls,. Rainfall is scarcest in the north and west of Tibet. Northern monsoons can sweep across the plains for days on end, often whipping up dust storms, sandstorms, snowstorms, or (only rarely) rainstorms.
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