When to Go
When to Visit China: Month by Month
Average highs, rainfall and public holidays across all twelve months in China — and the quietest hours at the places worth going.
- Best month
- Apr
- Average high
- 2–33°C
- Rainfall
- 696mm
The year at a glance
- Good time to go
- Middling
- Less good
- Best avoided
Colours rank each country's twelve months against one another: how far the month sits from a mild 22°C in either direction, and how much of the year's rain falls in it. The number is that month's average daytime high.
Easiest months to travel
Ranked by how mild and dry each month is on average. A comfortable month can still be a busy one — check its holidays.
Every month compared
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2° | -10° | 2mm |
| Feb | 6° | -7° | 7mm |
| Mar | 15° | -1° | 11mm |
| Apr | 22° | 6° | 23mm |
| May | 29° | 13° | 43mm |
| Jun | 33° | 19° | 68mm |
| Jul | 32° | 22° | 236mm |
| Aug | 30° | 20° | 178mm |
| Sep | 27° | 15° | 68mm |
| Oct | 19° | 6° | 38mm |
| Nov | 10° | -2° | 19mm |
| Dec | 3° | -8° | 3mm |
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Verified quiet times
Real foot-traffic data for places worth timing right.
- The Palace Museum Beijing
- Shanghai Tower Shanghai
- Jingshan Park Beijing 7–11 AM
- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park Zhangjiajie 10 AM–2 PM, 3–5 PM, 7–11 PM
- Yangshuo Park Guilin 7 AM–1 PM
- People's Park Shanghai 7–8 AM
Places to go in China
attraction Summer Palace
Give the Summer Palace a full morning to early afternoon — enter at the East Gate (Dongong Men), walk the Long Corridor, climb to the Tower of Buddhist Incense on Longevity Hill, then loop back along Kunming Lake.
attraction The Bund
The Bund is Shanghai's 1,500-meter riverside promenade along Zhongshan Dong Yi Road in Huangpu District, lined with 1920s–30s colonial-era buildings on one side and facing the futuristic Pudong skyline (Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai Tower) across the Huangpu River.
attraction Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum
Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum — better known as the Terracotta Army — is in Lintong District, about 1.5 hours (40km) east of downtown Xi'an.
attraction Yu Garden
Yu Garden is a 5-acre Ming-dynasty garden (built in 1577) in Shanghai's Old City, packed with rockeries, koi ponds, zigzag bridges, and carved pavilions — open Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00 AM–4:30 PM (closed Mondays). 4.5★ (5,303 reviews) — what visitors say, hours, and tips.
attraction Temple of Heaven
Give the Temple of Heaven at least two to three hours — its circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Echo Wall, and the surrounding cypress park are all worth lingering in.
attraction Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
Arrive right at opening (7:30am) to see pandas at their most active, before they retreat from the heat and crowds.
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Climate figures are 10-year averages for Beijing, from NASA POWER; holidays from public calendars. Updated monthly.