For visitors from abroad

When to go and which weeks to avoid

China spans five climate zones, so there is always somewhere pleasant. The one rule that applies everywhere: do not travel during the national holidays unless you enjoy queues of several hours.

Checked 2026-11-01. Rules change often; confirm anything that matters with an official source before you travel.

The three weeks to avoid

Chinese holidays move hundreds of millions of people at once. Train tickets sell out in minutes, hotel prices double or triple and famous sights cap entry at their daily limit by mid morning.

  • Spring Festival (Chinese New Year): eight days around the new moon in late January or February. Cities empty out, many small restaurants close, and transport is packed for a week either side.
  • Labour Day: 1 to 5 May.
  • National Day golden week: 1 to 7 October, sometimes 8 days when it joins the Mid Autumn Festival.
  • Also busy: Qingming (early April, three days), Dragon Boat (June, three days), Mid Autumn (September or October, three days), and school summer holidays in July and August for family destinations.

Best months by region

Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to early November) are good almost everywhere and are the safest choice for a first trip that covers several regions.

  • Beijing, Xi'an and the north: April to May and September to October. Winters are dry and cold with occasional smog; summers hot with afternoon storms.
  • Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou and the east: late March to May and October to November. The plum rain season in June brings three weeks of drizzle; July and August are humid and above 35 degrees.
  • Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong and the south: October to March. Summer is hot, humid and the typhoon season runs June to September.
  • Yunnan: pleasant all year; Kunming is mild in every month, Lijiang and Dali are best from March to June and September to November. July and August are the rainy season.
  • Sichuan and Chongqing: March to May and September to November. Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong peak in mid October for autumn colour.
  • Tibet and Qinghai: May to October. Lhasa is sunny but cold in winter; the Qinghai Lake rapeseed blooms in July.
  • Xinjiang: June to September for grasslands and Kanas, late September for autumn colour, December to February for snow, blue ice on Sayram Lake and skiing at Altay.
  • Harbin and the northeast: December to February for the ice festival at minus 20 to minus 30 degrees; June to August for cool summers.
  • Hainan: November to April is dry season; the island is a winter escape for the whole country, so book early.

Weather and your itinerary

  • Mountain parks such as Huangshan, Zhangjiajie and Emei are often in cloud; allow two days for a view.
  • Summer in the Yangtze valley (Wuhan, Nanjing, Chongqing) is among the hottest in Asia. Plan indoor afternoons.
  • North of the Yangtze, buildings have central heating from mid November to mid March. South of it they do not, and indoor winter temperatures can be colder than outside.

Common questions

Is it a problem to travel during Chinese New Year?

It is hard rather than impossible. Transport around the holiday is sold out weeks ahead, many family restaurants close for a week, and prices jump. The upside is temple fairs, fireworks outside city centres and quiet big cities on the holiday itself. If you go, book trains the day sales open and stay in one city.

How far ahead do I need to book?

Outside holidays, a week ahead is fine for trains and hotels. For the May and October holidays, book trains the moment they go on sale 15 days ahead and hotels a month or two ahead.