Climate in China

 

Travelers could tour around China in anytime they like. However, it is quite important to know a little bit about the climate in China before visiting to your desired destinations.

China's monsoon climate is characterized of hotness and raininess in summer, and coldness and dryness in winter, the high-temperature phase is in the same time with the rainy period. This is true to much part in southeastern China, where big cities and regions such as Changsha, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Taiwan located. Although in southeastern China the winter weather is not cold, it may be sometimes miserable and spring and autumn seasons will be the best time to tour. Hainan Island is oriental Hawaii in the climatic sense, in its coolest months it still enjoys summer-like weather. China's southeastern coastal areas are often affected by tropical storms and typhoons hit, from June to September.

In cities located along the midstream and downstream of the Yangtze River, like Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing, Hangzhou and Shanghai, the hot season there is tended to be extreme. This is because the subtropical high-pressure of the West Pacific Ocean stretching westwards far into the very inland areas of China. Therefore, the daytime highest temperature will sometimes hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Winter is not as harsh as that in the north, but most indoor venues are without heating, so that people have to wear thick clothes just as if they are walking outdoor. The winter in Shanghai and Hangzhou is something like the cold season in London.

In autumn, the cold air goes southward from Mongolia and Siberia, the temperature drops dramatically in northern China. The city of Beijing, China's capital, the wintry weather is like that in New York but with mush less precipitation. Beijing will often be hit by sandstorms in springtime. In northeast China, some part of Inner Mongolia and in cities of Shenyang and Harbin, the weather is similar to the states of North Dakota and Minnesota in the US, with very long, cold winter and dry, hot summer.

In the west, the Tibetan Plateau is the third "pole" in the world because the thin air and cold climate in an average altitude over 4,000 meters above sea level. The Sahara-like Taklamakan Desert in northwest China is the sea of death, but with modern technology, it will be much safer to have a brief explore in this no man's land. However, in the Tianshan Mountain and Tianchi Lake, the beautiful scenery is similar to the Swiss Alps.

Xian and some area in central China enjoy better weather all year round with warm summers and cold winters, and extreme weather is seldom seen.