|  When
is the best time to visit China?
Deciding when to visit China depends
on which places you wish to visit, what type of weather
you enjoy, and how much a bargain you want. Remember
that China is a big country with many different climates
and types of terrain. Think of it in terms of Australia,
which China resembles in size and shape. Traveling along
the Golden Route (Beijing Xian, Shanghai, and Guilin)
is like visiting Sydney, Melbourne, Gold Coast and Canberra
all in one trip. May, September, and October are the
peak tourist months at Chinas most popular destinations,
when the weather is most comfortable. The shoulder season
runs from late March through April and from June through
August. The off-season arrives in late November, and
continues through the winter. Bearing in mind that we
are in the southern hemisphere the season they have
is actually opposite of what we have here.
In China, a vast land spanning many degrees of latitude
with complicated terrain, climate varies radically.
China has a variety of temperature and rainfall zones,
including continental monsoon areas. In winter most
areas become cold and dry, in summer hot and rainy.
In Xinjiang Province, people have the saying, "we
wear a leather coat in the morning and gauze at noon;
eat watermelon around a fire.
Temperature Zones
Temperatures vary a great deal. Influenced by latitude
and monsoon activities, in winter, an isotherm of zero
degrees traverses the Huaihe River-Qinling Mountain-southeast
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Areas north of the isotherm have
temperatures below zero degrees and south of it, above
zero. Mohe Town in Heilongjiang Province can hit an
average of 30 degrees centigrade below zero, while temperature
in Hainan Province is above 20 degrees.
In summer, most of areas are above 20 centigrade, despite
the high Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and other mountains such
as Tianshan. Among these hot places, Turpan Basin in
Xinjiang is the center for intense heat at 32 centigrade
on average. There are also the famous 'Three Ovens'
cities along the Yangtze River in summer: Chongqing,
Wuhan, and Nanjing.
From north to south, there are five temperature zones
and a plateau-climate zone: one cold-temperate zone,
mid-temperate zone, warm-temperate zone, subtropical
zone, tropical zone and a plateau climate zone.
 Distributions
are as follows:
Cold-temperate zone: north part of Heilongjiang
Province and Inner Mongolia
Mid-temperate zone: Jilin, northern Xinjiang,
and most of Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia
Warm-temperate zone: area of
the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Shandong,
Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei Province.
Subtropical zone: South of isotherm of Qinling
Mountain-Huaihe River, east of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Tropical zone: Hainan province, southern Taiwan,
Guangdong, and Yunnan Province
Plateau climate zone: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Precipitation
Precipitation in China is basically regular each year.
From the spatial angle, the distribution shows that
the rainfall is increasing from southeast to northwest,
because the eastern seashores are influenced more than
inland areas by the summer monsoon. In the place with
the most rainfall, Huoshaoliao in Taiwan, the average
annual precipitation can reach over 6,000 mm!
The rainy seasons are mainly May to September.
Thus rich rainfall sometimes creates floods and drought
accounts for the dry air in winter. In some areas, especially
in the dry northwest, changes in precipitation every
year are greater than in the coastal area. This is caused
by the advance and retreat of the irregular summer monsoon.
Viewed spatially, South China, with its longer rainy
season, has more rainfall than the North.
Based on precipitation, the area divides
into four parts: wet area, semi-wet area, semi-dry area
and dry area. The first two are distributed alongside
the Qinling Mountain-Huaihe River division, the 800
mm annual precipitation line (isohyet), and are the
dominant farming areas. The 400 mm annual isohyet lies
along the Daxing'an Mountains-Great Wall-Gangdisi Mountains,
and divides the semi-wet and semi-dry areas. The last
two areas support a very small population. Their boundary,
the 200 mm annual isohyet, is approximately via middle
Inner Mongolia and the Helan and Qilian Mountains to
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
 Monsoon
In summer, a southeast monsoon from the western Pacific
Ocean and a southwest monsoon from the equatorial Indian
Ocean blow onto the Chinese mainland. These monsoons
are the main cause of rainfall.
Starting in April and May, the summer rainy season monsoons
hit the southern provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, and
Hainan. In June, the rains blow northward, and South
China gets more rainfall with the poetic name, plum-rain
weather, since this is the moment when plums mellow.
North China greets its rainy season in July and August,
says farewell in September; gradually in October the
summer monsoons retreat from Chinese land. Eastern China
experiences many climate changes, while the northwest
area is a non-monsoon region.
Spring:10-22°C, Western suits, jackets, sports coats,
woolen jackets, long sleeve shirts and travel shoes.
Summer: 22°C and above, T-shirts, short sleeve shirts,
skirts, sandals, caps, rain wear.
Autumn: 10-22°C, Western suits, jackets, sports
coats, light woolen sweaters, rain wear and travel shoes.
Winter: 10°C or lower, overcoat, cotton clothes,
lined coats. In very cold areas a cap, gloves and cotton-padded
shoes are required.
Clothing in China
China's climate ranges from year-round
tropical heat in Hainan to Siberian conditions in the
far north and typical desert weather in the far west.
What to wear usually depends on the weather where you
are at.
In winter, most parts of China would be in a cold spell,
especially more so in the northern part. So it is advisable
to wear layers of garments, normally, thermal or silk
underwear with a sweater and padded jacket outside.
Padded jackets and wool-lined boots are one of the best
buys in China, you could easily buy one when you need.
For travel during spring or summer, your clothing should
be casual and designed for comfort, without being too
revealing. Take light cotton clothes that are easily
washed and not too delicate. Trousers are still necessary
for women traveling to China, since many temples are
forbidden to those who wear skirts.
For travel during the rainy season, from May to August,
a raincoat is necessary.
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