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When is the best time to visit China?
The best time to visit China is in spring and autumn, though you might want to adjust your travel plans to some of the biggest events of the year.
China is a vast landmass with some of the most populous cities in the world and breathtaking natural attractions. With so much on offer, there’s hardly a bad time to visit China. However, you might want to adjust your plans depending on what you want to do here.
Follow along to learn the best time to visit China for various festivals, events, and activities to make the most of your time in the third-largest country in the world.
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China weather guide
Parts of China can be visited all year round. However, April, May, June, September, and October are considered to be the best months to visit. By planning your visit to China around these months, you’ll be able to avoid the harsh and cold winters in Northern China as well as the hot and wet monsoon seasons in the South.
Let’s take a closer look at the weather you can expect depending on when you plan to visit China.
Winter
If you’re desperate to visit in the wintertime, plan your trip around Southern China, particularly the coastal region. Cities like Macau, Chaozhou, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong see average highs of around 18-20°C (64-68°F) during the winter months.
Cities in Central China, such as Shanghai or Chongqing, experience temperatures of 6°C to 11°C (43°F to 52°F) at this time. However, it’s often quite damp and can be windy, making it feel colder.
Heading further North, such as the capital city of Beijing, temperatures are often below freezing. The Northernmost provinces even see temperatures as low as -30℃ (-22℉) on a fairly regular basis.
Spring
Spring is when China generally starts to warm up. In the Southern Coastal region, daytime temperatures rise to about 26°C (79°F), dropping to around 20°C (68°F) at night. However, on a hot day in May, you can expect heat in excess of 30°C (86°F).
Central China and Beijing start heating up quite quickly as well, with daily highs reaching around 14°C (57°F) in March, 20°C (68°F) in April, and 25°C (77°F) in May. Only the Northernmost regions remain relatively cold in March and April, but they also tend to be pleasantly warm once May rolls around.
Summer
While the South may offer a getaway from the cold during winter, it can be overwhelmingly hot in the summer. Average daily highs linger at around 32°C (90°F), and it’s not that much cooler at night, with nighttime temperatures at around 26°C (79°F). It’s also peak monsoon season, so expect a lot of rain, with the humidity making the heat even harder to bear.
By this time, Central China will have pretty much caught up with the Southern part when it comes to the heat. Shanghai, Chongqing, and Beijing all see daily highs of around 32°C (90°F) and nighttime temperatures of 26°C (79°F), though nights in Beijing tend to be cooler by just a couple of degrees.
Northernmost regions are a little more manageable, with daily highs averaging around 29°C (84°F), and 18°C (64.4°F) at night.
Autumn
Autumn weather in China is the polar opposite of spring, starting warm and getting gradually cooler towards winter. Southern China still remains hot, with daily highs at around 28°C (79°F). The rain starts to slow down around mid-September, making October and November great times to visit the region.
Central China remains relatively warm through September and October, though even November is still fairly pleasant, with daily highs at around 17°C (63°F). Beijing and regions further North, on the other hand, start off quite hot in September and cool off fast, with nighttime temperatures often reaching below freezing in November.
Top festivals in China
China is famous for its traditional festivals, which are often a more important reason for visiting than the weather. Needless to say, the best time to visit China for festivals depends on what you want to attend. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular ones.
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year is the biggest celebration of the year that marks the beginning of the lunar new year. The holiday typically lasts for 15 days, starting on the first day of the lunar calendar and culminating in the Lantern Festival. In 2025, the Chinese New Year festivities start on the 29th of January.
It’s a time for family reunions, honoring ancestors, and ushering in good fortune for the year ahead. Customs include thoroughly cleaning the home to sweep away bad luck and decorating with red lanterns, couplets, and images of the zodiac animal for the year.
On New Year’s Eve, families gather for a big reunion dinner, where dishes like dumplings, fish, and rice cakes symbolize wealth and prosperity. Fireworks and firecrackers are set off to drive away evil spirits, and lion and dragon dances add to the festive atmosphere. On the final day, the Lantern Festival marks the end with lantern displays and sweet rice dumplings.
Mid-autumn festival
As you can probably guess from the name, the maid-autumn festival takes place in the middle of autumn. It’s held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. This means that the exact date of the festival swings from mid-September to early October. In 2025, the festival falls on the 6th of October.
The mid-autumn festival is very important to Chinese culture. It celebrates the yearly harvest by lighting lanterns and eating mooncakes prepared specifically for the occasion.
Dragon boat festival
The Dragon Boat Festival, known as the Duanwu Festival in China, is an ancient celebration held on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, which corresponds to late May or early June. In 2025, the festival will take place on the 31st of May.
The festival is best known for its exciting dragon boat races, where teams race in long, narrow boats decorated to resemble dragons. This event commemorates the life and death of the poet and statesman Qu Yuan, who drowned in the Miluo River. To honor him, people throw sticky rice dumplings called zongzi into the water, hoping to protect his spirit from the fish.
Families also gather to make and eat zongzi (dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves), beans, or nuts. Other customs include hanging medicinal herbs to ward off evil spirits and wearing colorful silk threads for protection.
Lantern festival
The Lantern Festival is one of the biggest attractions in China. It’s celebrated on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year and marks the end of the Lunar New Year celebrations. In 2025, the festival falls on the 12th of February, with the exact date varying from year to year from early February to the end of the month.
It’s a festival full of light, color, and joy, symbolizing the return of spring and the reunion of family. One of the most iconic traditions is the display of brightly lit lanterns, which come in various shapes and sizes. This results in entire towns lit up by these traditional lanterns, which is one of China’s most iconic images.
Another tradition is eating tangyuan, sweet rice dumplings filled with sesame paste, peanuts, or red bean paste. These round dumplings symbolize unity and completeness. The festival is also known for lantern riddles, where people try to solve clever riddles written on lanterns for prizes. In some regions, there are dragon dances and fireworks to further illuminate the night.
Harbin Ice Festival
The Harbin Ice Festival is a celebration that takes place over the course of a couple of months in the city of Harbin. It usually starts in late December and ends around mid-February, so you can plan your visit to China around the end of the festival to enjoy both the Harbin Ice Festival, the Chinese New Year, and the Lantern Festival on a single trip.
It’s currently the largest ice and snow festival in the world, gathering millions of people both from China and abroad. The festival features an entire town made of ice and filled with various ice statues, each more impressive than the last, made by the best ice sculptors in the world.
It’s not something you can explore in full in just a couple of hours, with many people choosing to spend several days attending the festival. If it’s your first visit, consider taking a guided tour, with tours spanning from one to six days.
When to visit China’s top tourist attractions
China has no shortage of tourist attractions, and most are accessible year-round. However, some months are still better than others for visiting these places. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is probably the most famous place in China. And for good reason. This over 21,000 km (13,000 mile) long structure is one of the seven wonders of the modern world, which also makes it the most popular attraction in the country.
While only small sections of the wall are open to the public, you’ll still have to do quite a bit of walking to explore them. And doing so in the scorching summer heat or below freezing temperatures in the winter isn’t ideal. Spring and autumn are the best times to visit the wall, as the pleasant weather allows you to explore it without any discomfort.
The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is an iconic imperial palace complex in Beijing. Built more than 600 years ago, it might be the best example of medieval imperialist architecture anywhere in the world.
However, much as with the Great Wall, exploring the city takes quite a bit of walking. You might not want to visit in the summer to avoid the heat and come prepared with multiple layers of clothing if you want to explore it in the cold of winter.
The Everest
Sure, far from every tourist in China is going to try and tackle the tallest mountain in the world. Only 150 people a year are allowed to make a summit attempt from China. However, a natural landmark of such significance can’t go unmentioned. On top of that, you don’t have to actually try to summit the mountain, and a trek to the base camp can be just as memorable.
April to June and September to October are the best months to try doing so. The wintertime is far too cold for most, while the warmer, humid summer months significantly increase the avalanche risk, making the visit to Everest even less safe than normal.
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is arguably the most beautiful park in China, known for its towering rock formations topped with lush greenery.
Unlike many other locations, it doesn’t get as overwhelmingly hot in the summer. However, spring and autumn are still the best times to visit, if not to run away from the heat, then to run away from the crowds of visitors flocking the park during the peak travel season.
China travel tips
Choosing the best time to visit China is just a part of the preparation for your trip. Here are a few other things that may help you make the most of your time in the country:
- Get your travel documents ready — before your trip, make sure you have a passport that’s valid for at least 6 months beyond your visit. If you need a Visa, which most visitors do, get your Visa documents ready in advance.
- Set up mobile payment — while credit cards and cash are still in use in China, mobile payments are the main form of payment here. AliPay is by far the most popular, so set it up before your trip just to make your life easier.
- Be aware of local customs and traditions — being a tourist doesn’t mean you get to be ignorant. Research local customs and traditions in advance. Take and give any items with two hands, dress modestly in religious sites, avoid pointing fingers, don’t take photos of people without permission, and don’t feel like you should tip, as tipping isn’t very common in China.
- Get a VPN — unfortunately, the Great Firewall of China is as infamous as the Great Wall of China is famous. It’s China’s internet censorship tool that limits access to many popular websites, such as Facebook, Youtube, or Twitter. To have better internet access in the country, get yourself a VPN that can bypass China’s great firewall.
- Get mobile internet — having mobile internet access in China is crucial. It allows you to find your way around with map apps, use translator apps to communicate with the locals, or use mobile payment systems. Local SIM cards and pocket WiFi are both viable options, but using an eSIM is the most convenient way to stay connected.
Stay connected in China with Holafly
Looking for the best eSIM for China? Holafly has got you covered. All Holafly plans include unlimited data, up to 500 MB of daily data sharing, and 24/7 customer support. On top of that, Holafly eSIMs for China come with a VPN, combining online freedom, security, and non-stop connectivity into a single deal.
A safe way to stay connected
Holafly's eSIM for China includes a VPN, ensuring maximum protection for your connection.
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A senior SEO writer from Lithuania, combining my passion for writing and travel at Holafly. With years of experience in technical fields, I'm here to answer all of your questions about staying connected. I specialize in turning even the most complicated topics into something everyone can understand.
