What is The Best Time to Travel to China?

Compared with the UK, China’s weather ranges from the scorching hot to the absolute freezing. It is the home of harsh sand storms, tropical rain and glorious sunshine. Knowing when to travel in China is key when trying to catch the gorgeous heat as opposed to the soaking monsoons, and China Holidays is here to help you gain an understanding on when is best to travel to China.

When booking a holiday abroad, the inevitable and debatably most important question is ‘When is the best time to travel?’ When asking this in regards to China, travel agents, Chinese natives and China experts will always say travel in spring or autumn. As a country of extreme weather, spring and autumn act as interim periods for the more intense weather; a period of blue skies, pleasant cool temperatures and still-to-breezy air pressure. China Holidays offer tours which are ideal for these periods. Our Land of Nine Dragons Tour which leaves in April (as well as many additional dates throughout the year) is a perfect tour to really appreciate the spring weather of China.

Firstly, you will travel to Beijing and Xi’an. Here, the skies remain blue throughout the entire spring season and the weather maintains a pleasantly cool tone which is appealing and suitable for us Europeans. Afterwards, you will travel further south to the city of Chengdu. Though famous for its cloudy skies, it seldom rains here and there is always a warm, toasty feel to the atmosphere which adds to why Chengdu is named one of the most relaxing cities in China. From Chengdu, you will travel on the Yangtze cruise, giving a more tropical, yet not overbearing feel to the air. Shanghai is your final stop on this tour where you can again enjoy a pleasant cool sea breeze which is refreshing and energising to tourists and locals alike.

Though spring and autumn are unquestionably the most desirable times to visit China, China Holidays warns of National Holidays during these periods which cause mass movement and overcrowded conditions throughout the country. China’s most famous holiday, the Spring Festival, occurs in late January and early February. Though prior to the spring months, China Holidays must inform our customers that this is indeed the most crowded time to visit China. The mass movement of people returning to their hometowns is known as Chunyun (春运), literally translated as ‘spring movement’. Trying to purchase train, plane and coach tickets in this period is near to impossible and the prices could increase by three times the usual.

Other holidays include the Labour Day Festival in late April/early May and the National Day Festival in the first week of October which celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It almost seems that these holidays by fate fitted in when the weather in China is at its peak of perfection, yet China Holidays must warn again of the mass movement of people during these festivities.

Chinese weather, like her geography, is of an extreme nature. China Holidays greatly recommends travel in spring and autumn. In these seasons, the weather really displays what spring and autumn by definition are all about: clear skies, pleasant cool temperatures and light winds together create a relaxing yet invigorating mood and continue to attract the majority of tourists to China.

For more information on our tours and recommendations during the spring and autumn months, please check out our website at www.chinaholidays.co.uk where you can peruse our tours or request a brochure for further details. In addition, talk to one of experienced Travel Consultant on 020 7487 2999 and we will be happy to help you with any enquiry.