China owning the brilliant cultural relics, fascinating sightseeing, dreamy snowy fairyland, various fun winter activities on ice and snow, warm sun-bathing beaches and resorts, jubilant seasonal festivals and gatherings from November to early March is one of the top worthy winter destinations to enjoy a terrific winter holiday no matter with families, friends or just your own one! Besides, on the tourist off season for quite many places in China, winter is the cool cost-efficient time to explore the natural and cultural highlights of this vast beautiful country with lower budget! Check our ultimate China winter trip planning guide to know the top reasons for a winter china trip, winter weather and temperature around the country, top places to visit, best things to see and do, and more tips for wearing and packing, etc. to help plan your coming China winter trip in 2023/2024! Let’s go!
Stunning Sightseeing
The large China can meet your different needs of a warm, cold or comfortable winter trip with distinct sceneries to marvel at. The northern area, especially Harbin, Jilin, Liaoning and Beijing and some areas in Sichuan, Huangshan, Zhangjiajie, Tibet, Xijiang, Qinghai, etc. will be turned into white by winter snow, so it is best to immerse into those fairyland under blue sky or ignited by colorful LEDs. While in the southern part of China like Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, Sanya, etc., the best temperature around 15-25 gives the perfect comfort to release with sunshine, blue sea, azure sky, fresh sea food, fresher air, etc. While, some special natural gifts from nature welcome its most beautiful time in winter for superb photography visiting, such as Yuanyang, etc.!
Winter Activities
China also boasts abundant professional winter resorts to have great fun with the exciting skiing, sledding, skating, snowmobiling, etc. Yabuli Ski Resort with the Asia longest ski trail, Xiling Snow Mountain with largest alpine ski resort in South China, etc. are your best recommendation to play with snow in winter!
Lower Prices
Winter season is relatively a tourist off season for majority destinations in China, so you can enjoy very good discounts on the flights tickets, entrance fees of tourist attractions, hotels, and so forth to save a lot!
Fewer Tourists
In the cold winter months, much fewer people go outside for traveling, therefore, it is the best time to avoid crowds, have more advantageous angles to see the beautiful sightseeing, spend less time waiting in the queue and spend a more relaxing trip!
Various Festivals
Particularly from December to February, there are quite a lot diverse festivals celebrated across China, such as Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, Winter Fishing Festival, etc. in north China, Zigong Lantern Festival, Grand Song Festival in Guizhou, traditional Chinese Spring Festival, Christmas celebration, etc. All those distinct festivals will let you feel the diverse wonderful culture in China and immerse into the jubilant atmosphere in your trip!
Stunning Snow Sightseeing in Winter
Exciting Sports on Snow
Jubilant Festival Atmosphere in Winter
Most areas in China gets colder in winter from November. However, weather differs a lot in the northern and southern parts in China
| Area | Destinations | Temperature | Recommended Clothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast China | Heilongjiang (Harbin), Jilin, Liaoning, Changbaishan, etc. | -20℃, and even down to -30 | Down jackets, coats, sweaters, long sleeve shirts, pants, thermal underwear, long underwear, warm socks, scarves, snow boots, warmer hats, etc. |
| Northern China | Beijing, Xian, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Luoyang, etc. | -5℃ ~ 5℃ | Down jackets, coats, sweaters, long sleeve shirts, pants, thermal underwear, long underwear, warm socks, winter hats, gloves, scarves, boots, sneakers, etc. |
| Southern, Eastern and Southwest China | Shanghai, Huangshan, Chengdu, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Chongqing, Guizhou, Yunnan, etc. | 2℃ ~ 12℃ | Coats, sweaters, long sleeve shirts, pants, long underwear, warm socks, hats, gloves, scarves, sneakers, etc. |
| Southern and Southeast China | Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Xiamen, etc. | 10℃ ~ 16℃ | Coats, long sleeve shirts, pants, socks, sneakers, sandals, etc. |
| Southernmost China | Sanya, Haikou, etc. | 18℃ ~ 23℃ | Shorts, T-shirts, skirts, swimwear, sandals, etc. |
| Western China | Tibet, Xinjiang, etc. | -10℃ ~ -18℃ | Down jackets, coats, sweaters, long sleeve shirts, pants, thermal underwear, long underwear, warm socks, winter hats, gloves, scarves, antiskid boots, etc. |
Learn more about Winter Weather in China
A large portion of visitors also prefer to visit the top classic destinations in China in winter months to enjoy the best ancient and modern culture, classic landscape and more essences of this great country!
Beijing in north China is the capital city of China and is the best place to marvel at the royal architectures since Ming and Qing dynasties, where you should not miss the majestic Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, etc. And also the miracle Great Wall project standing for thousands of years. Apart from those ancient buildings looking more magnificent and quaint under white snow, it is also a fun thing to ride a rickshaw around the local old Beijing Hutongs and have a look at the beautiful Birds Nest and Water Cube once held the 28th Beijing Olympic Games in 2008!
Learn More About:
Beijing Travel Guide | Things to Do in Beijing | Weather in Beijing
Popular Beijing Tour Packages:
▶ 4 Days Classic Beijing Tour Package (Leisure Paced)
Forbidden City, Beijing
Shanghai in east China as another best gateway city is also popular in winter. Being one of the economic centers in Asia, it is where to see the modern China with the world top tallest skyscrapers to overlook the large dazzling city. This international place actually preserves the favored The Bund for a cool walk along the exquisite galley of abundant ancient international architectures from the period of World War I. However, you will easily spend joyous days playing in the classic gardens, poetic water towns, children and adults dreaming Shanghai Disneyland, etc. for a new and happy winter trip!
Learn More About:
Shanghai Travel Guide | Things to Do in Shanghai | Weather in Shanghai
Popular Shanghai Tour Packages:
▶ 3 Days Shanghai Past and Present Contrast Tour
Skyscrapers in Shanghai
Xian in central China is another important ancient capital city, besides Beijing. This historic capital of 13 Chinese ancient dynasties from about 1,000 BC to 900 AD keeps extremely rich historical cultural sites and relics for the discovery of authentic history of ancient China, no omitting the world impressive large scaled Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Also, you are highly recommended to walk on the uneven Ancient City Wall to imagine the past prosperous, closely look at valuable collections at Shaanxi History Museum, hang around Muslim Quarter for snacks satisfaction, extend to hike on Huashan Mountain, etc. to feel the unique charm of ancient Xian!
Learn More About:
Xian Travel Guide | Things to Do in Xian | Weather in Xian
Popular Xian Tour Packages:
▶ 3 Days Classic Xian Tour (Best Highlights Plus Enjoyable Pace)
Xian Terracotta Warriors
Chengdu in southwest China is absolutely the best place to close up with those super adorable and chubby giant pandas and see their leisure life style at their real and leisure hometown. You are definitely extremely recommended to walk around the People’s Park, Jinli Old Street, Kuaizhai Alleys, Wenshu Monastery, Wuhou Temple, Qingyang Taoist Temple, etc. and have a surprising taste of the mouth-watering hot pot and Sichuan cuisines to savor its authentic leisure life and food temptation. Besides, an extensional visit to Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan Irrigation System is a classic way to inhale fresh air like Chengdu citizens and figure out why Chengdu is called Land of Abundance!
Learn More About:
Chengdu Travel Guide | Places to Visit in Chengdu | Weather in Chengdu
Popular Chengdu Tour Packages:
▶ 2 Days Best Chengdu Leshan Giant Buddha Tour
▶ 4 Days Classic Leshan Buddha & Mount Emei Tour from Chengdu
Chengdu Giant Pandas
Guilin in south China is reputed as one of the top 4 classic destinations in China due to its incomparable mountain and water landscape. Countless karst hump hills rising around the verdant land makes Guilin the fairytale hidden city in reality! For the best scenery and vacation fun, make sure to take the sightseeing cruise along Li River praised as hundred mile long gallery to let all the distinct karst mountains floating by. After sailing down to Yangshuo, embrace the refreshing countryside view of the lovely karst hills, clear winding Yulong River, patched fields, scattered rural houses, bustling West Street, etc. for a comfortable getaway!
Learn More About:
Guilin Travel Guide | Things to Do in Guilin | Weather in Guilin
Popular Guilin Tour Packages:
▶ 4 Days Guilin Highlights Tour (Li River, Yangshuo & Longji Terrace)
▶ 5 Days Best Guilin In-depth Vacation (Li River, Yangshuo & Longji Terrace)
Guilin Li River
Three Gorges is the best highlight on Yangtze River which is one of the two great mother rivers in China and the world third longest river. With magnificent and peculiar high gorges, flat water, and fabulous natural view around the year, Three Gorges is one of the top popular natural choices for international visitors. Particularly in winter, it is beautifully dressed by the full mountains of red leaves for annual sightseeing gift! Taking a luxury Yangtze River cruise is the best way to catch all the stunning landscape of the gorges and the golden Yangtze section from Chongqing to Yichang which covers many interesting cultural and historical sites and reputable hidden sightseeing gems!
Learn More About:
Yangtze River Cruise Travel Guide | What to See for Yangtze River Cruise | Weather of Yangtze River
Popular Yangtze River Cruise Tour Packages:
▶ 4 Days Chongqing Essence Tour with Yangtze River Cruise (downstream)
Three Gorges in Winter
Of course you may dreaming of a cold winter vacation with snow to play to the most in the pure white world made by nature. The top destinations with snow including Harbin, Jilin, Mount Emei, Yellow Mountain, Jiuzhai Valley, Xiling Snow Mountain, etc. are you best place to go!
Harbin in northeast China is called “Ice City” for its appealing ice landscape in winter! Every year from December to February or early March, the grand Harbin Ice and Snow Festival attracts numerous domestic and international visitors to closely marvel at the dazzling sculptures of ice and snow at Ice and Snow World and Sun Island to see the natural and manual artistic works. The professional Yabuli Ski Resorts and other domestic top sites will be your wonderland to enjoy skiing and other joyous and cool sports on ice and snow. Further more, you shall not miss to visit the famous China Snow Town to see the thick snow like milk cream covering the rural houses and village. What a dreamy wonderland of snow! Extend to Jilin City also in northeast China, and you will admire the mysterious rime spectacle at Wusong Island!
Learn More About:
Harbin Travel Guide | Things to Do in Harbin | Weather in Harbin
Popular Harbin Tour Packages:
▶ 5 Days Charming Harbin & China Snow Town Winter Tour
Harbin Ice and Snow Festival
Mount Emei close to Chengdu in Sichuan is a rare UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage site and one of the Four Great Buddhist Mountains in China! With a altitude of 3099 meters, Mount Emei is a popular snow mountain resort to go in winter to appreciate the thick snow covered mountain landscape in white, translucent rimes, blue sky, etc. And also, the around 30 Buddhist temples with snow cover looks much more quaint and solemn in peace and serene for a culture savory! What’s more, after you reaching to the Golden Summit at the peak, you will admire the resplendent Buddhist architectures with groups of believers worshiping and the spectacular view of the sunrise, sea of clouds, light of Buddha, and more natural miracles!
Learn More About:
Mount Emei Travel Guide | Things to Do in Mount Emei | Weather in Mount Emei
Popular Mount Emei Tour Packages:
▶ 2 Days Mount Emei Leisure Hiking Tour from Chengdu
▶ 4 Days Classic Leshan Buddha & Mount Emei Tour from Chengdu
Mount Emei
Huangshan or Yellow Mountain in Anhui in east China is also a UNESCO World Natural and Cultural Heritage. With its unique five wonders of “Odd-shaped Pines, Spectacular Rocky Peaks, Sea of Clouds, Hot Spring and Winter Snow”, Yellow Mountain is praised as “No mountain is worth seeing after a trip to Huangshan Mountain”. The original spectacular rockery mountains changed into white and quiet in winter months by the snow dress, that’s why visitors and photographers visit there for outstanding landscape photos. Followed by a releasing hot spring, it is quite amazing to have a nice walk among the traditional Hui styled rural villages like Hongcun, Xidi, etc. to appreciate the exquisite ancient architecture treasures!
Learn More About:
Huangshan Travel Guide | Things to Do in Huangshan | Weather in Huangshan
Popular Huangshan Tour Packages:
▶ 3 Days Huangshan Highlights Leisure Tour (Back Mountain + West Sea Grand Canyon)
▶ 4 Days Best Huangshan Tour with Hongcun & Xidi Ancient Villages
Yellow Mountain in Winter
Xiling Snow Mountain near Chengdu in southwest China is another hot ski resort for ski lovers! Boasting the largest alpine ski resort in south China and quite a lot professional and advanced equipment and tools, Xiling Snow Mountain is loved by international tourists as “Ski Wonderland”. Therefore, take your holiday to have the best fun with skiing, snowmobiling, snow cubing, zorbing, and so forth to laugh and release at ease! Cablecar there will take you up to see the pure white snow scenery, and also, you will meet the fascinating view of sea of clouds after walking higher to the peak!
Learn More About:
Xiling Snow Mountain | Weather at Xiling Snow Mountain | From Chengdu to Xiling Snow Mountain
Popular Xiling Snow Mountain Tour Packages:
▶ 2 Days Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Tour
Xiling Snow Mountain
Jiuzhaigou Valley in north Sichuan is known as the most beautiful landscape in China with multi-level waterfalls, crystal waters and colorful lake. This fairyland changes into a real unreal fairy tale world in winter with snowfall, therefore, you will be able to savor the incredible sightseeing of a pure white mountains with leafy forests surrounding the peaceful grass-like lakes in green and blue. Guess if there are fairies living there at Jiuzhai Valley? Besides, Huanglong National Park together listed as World Natural Heritage with Jiuzhaigou gives you more surprises from winter to appreciate layers of elegant blue and green calcified ponds with yellow and golden belts!
Learn More About:
Jiuzhaigou Travel Guide | Things to Do in Jiuzhaigou | Weather in Jiuzhaigou
Popular Jiuzhaigou Tour Packages:
▶ 3 Days Classic Jiuzhaigou Tour (Flight Arrival)
▶ 4 Days Jiuzhaigou Huanglong Highlights Tour from Chengdu by Private Car
Jiuzhai Valley
To escape from the cold for a warm winter vacation? You will find a lot of fine destinations with sun in winter in south part of China. Enjoy your leisure time bathing in the sun!
Yunnan in southwest China is popular all around the year with its particularly pleasant weather not too hot or too cold. This rich land is fabulous to enjoy the bright landscapes of mountains, lakes, rivers, old towns, parks, etc. for visual enjoyment and also great to get close to the wonderful ethnic culture of local minority people such as Bai, Naxi, Yi, Tibetan, etc. You can land from Kunming to wander in Stone Forest with a savory of the comfortable leisure life in the city, take a bullet train to Dali to admire the shimmering Erhai Lake and walk in Dali Old Town, transfer to Lijiang to walk in the crossing Lijiang Old Town, look over Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, hike along Tiger Leaping Gorge, etc. to catch all the essences of the colorful Yunnan. Besides, Yuanyang Rice Terraces will be most beautiful in winter to see the thousands layers of terraced fields filled with water and the reflection of the changing colors of the sky and clouds!
Learn More About:
Yunnan Travel Guide | Things to Do in Yunnan | Weather in Yunnan
Popular Yunnan Tour Packages:
▶ 6 Days Yunnan Essence Tour (Kunming, Dali & Lijiang)
Dali Three Pagodas
Xiamen in Fujian in southeast China is a favored coastal city with featured literal charm, where to stroll at the World Heritage Site of Gulangyu Island gathering over 50 historical international architectures, classic gardens and interesting streets with shops and stores. Fine sunshine and temperate weather makes any simple walk along the streets in the city a pleasant way in a vacation. Besides, nearly all travelers extend to Yongding or Nanjing to have a close look at the famous Fujian Tulou clusters recorded into UNESCO World Heritage, which is characteristic with the special structure of round and rectangle shapes and the harmonious gathering life of multiple households!
Learn More About:
Xiamen Travel Guide | Things to Do in Xiamen | Weather in Xiamen
Popular Xiamen Tour Packages:
▶ 2 Days Xiamen City Tour with Gulangyu Island
Xiamen Gulangyu Island
Comparing the Greater Bay Area, Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are probably more famous to you. This large area located in the very south China is quite warm in winter and pleasant to spend a wonderful vacation with delicious food, relaxing sea view, world famous attractions and more! Hong Kong as the world economic center gives you the super look at the richest area of the world, top best skyline and night view, crazing discounts, exciting Disneyland, etc. The nearby Macao gives more romantic exotic flavor to seek the UNESCO historical architecture groups, taste special Portuguese cuisines and take a risk in the global famous casinos. And in Guangzhou, you will encounter with the traditional Cantonese culture, savor the delicious Cantonese cuisines and snacks, look at the fantastic urban central axis, and play happily in the large Chimelong Safari! While in Shenzhen, enjoy sunshine at the beautiful coastal line and walk in the city and the museum to find how to develop a world prosperous city within 50 years!
Learn More About:
Hong Kong Travel Guide | Things to Do in Hong Kong | Weather in Hong Kong
Macao Travel Guide | Things to Do in Macao | Weather in Macao
Guangzhou Travel Guide | Things to Do in Guangzhou | Weather in Guangzhou
Shenzhen Travel Guide | Things to Do in Shenzhen | Weather in Shenzhen
Popular Greater Bay Area Tour Packages:
4 Days Hong Kong Guangzhou Sightseeing & Food Tour (By Bullet Train)
▶ 8 Days Amazing Greater Bay Area Tour
▶ 6 Days Hong Kong Guangzhou Macau Cultural Highlights Tour
More Hot Greater Bay Area Tours | Hong Kong Tours | Macao Tours | Guangzhou Tours | Shenzhen Tours
Greater Bay Area
Sanya at the southernmost China is the golden medal beach resort to bathe in the sun and enjoy everything off and in the sea! Lay on the chair or just on the beach and enjoy the quiet hours dating with sunshine, wind from sea, fresh air, blue sea, blue sky and white clouds! Any worries will be left behind your head! Apart from the releasing, Sanya has quite abundant activities for your challenge and fun, such as swimming, underwater diving, water scooter, surfing, motorboating, etc. After consuming your energy, glut yourself with the fresh seafood like lobster, abalone, squid, etc. Isn’t it a big treat for anyone?
Learn More About:
Sanya Travel Guide | Things to Do in Sanya | Weather in Sanya
Popular Sanya Tour Packages:
▶ 4 Days Sanya Beach Resort Tour
▶ 5 Days Sanya Classic Vacation Tour with Luxury Hotel
▶ 6 Days In-depth Luxury Sanya Tour with Two Free Days
Check more about:
Top Winter Destinations in China | Top Winter Destinations with Snow in China | Top Warm-weathered Destinations in China
Sanya
What to Do in China during a Winter trip? You do not have to worry! Join the international ice and snow festival, hike on the snow covered Great Wall, enjoy pleasant sunshine with ethnic minority culture in Kunming and Lijiang, marvel at fabulous sightseeing of Yuanyang Rice Terraces, etc. You may be just lack of a longer vacation to enjoy them all!
To spend a standard winter holiday and particularly visiting the snow place, you shall not miss this it! Join in the annual grand Harbin Ice & Snow Festival to get immersed into the terrific wonderland with thousands of ice sculptures of towers, architectures, figures, landscapes, etc., which is extremely charming with the colorful LED lights. Also no omitting to the other favored International Snow Sculpture Exhibition Fair held on Sun Island to see distinct pure white sculptures from snow, with the blue sky being the best backdrop, this gathering in the day is the best match to the ice sculpture at night!
▶ 3 Days Harbin Ice Festival Tour
Great Wall in Beijing is popular all year round. And in winter, those historical wall winding on the mountains are covered with snow in a much more solemn and quaint feature. Walking on the Great Wall to touch the old brick relics and overlooking the vast mountain range is quite welcomed by visitors. And Mutianyu Great Wall and Jinshanling Great Wall with fewer visitors are more recommended!
▶ 4 Days Classic Beijing Tour Package
▶ 4 Days Classic Beijing Tour with Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking
Visitors prefer a warmer winter vacation would plan a trip to Kunming and Lijiang in Yunnan! Spend some days in the two cities with pleasant temperature to soak in their wonderful splendid ethnic minority culture of local groups, charming natural landscapes of mountains, lakes, streets, gardens, etc., and comfortable laid-back life pace, which is really ideal for a relaxing and warm winter!
▶ 5 Days Kunming Lijiang High Speed Train Tour
Walk into China Snow Town, the No.1 snow town in China, to appreciate the unbelievably lovely village where white cream-like snow covering the roofs, eaves, stubs, fences, roads, mountains, etc. Catch the sunrise view with curling smoke from kitchen and marvel at the dreamy night view with pink, orange and red lights ignite the village like a fairyland village!
▶ 5 Days Charming Harbin & China Snow Town Winter Tour
Admire Fabulous Rimes at Wusong Island Rime at Wusong Island in Jilin City is one of the four natural miracles in China, which only appears in winter months with numerous visitors. Visit this dreamy place to catch the mysterious sunrise to outline the shape of the branches and trunks. All the translucent white rimes are changed into romantic rose, orange, pink, etc. with the sunglow. Take a walk in this white snow wonderland under blue sky is too amazing to be true!
>> 4 Days Harbin Ice & Snow Festival with Jilin Wusong Island Tour
>> 7 Days Amazing Northeast China Winter Tour with Changbai Mountain & Wusong Island
So many travelers and photographers visit Yuanyang in winter to see its best beauty during these colder months. Hike in the famous Yuanyang Rice Terraces to appreciate the outstanding masterpiece of nature and human wisdom. Thousands layers of rice terraces are filled with water to mirror the changing colors and images of the sky, clouds, glows, etc. in blue, green, golden, orange, pink, purple, and so on, which is like the broken mirror by god!
▶ 3 Days Yuanyang Rice Terraces & Hani Culture Discovery Tour
Check more about:
Snow Sculptures on Harbin Ice & Snow Festival
Beijing Great Wall
Lijiang Old Town
China Snow Town
Yuanyang Rice Terraces
The length of your winter trip in China depends on what kind of destinations you are interested!
If you want to visit the classic destinations like Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guilin, Chengdu, etc., it is easier to plan your trip. It needs about 5-6 days to visit 2 destinations, 8-9 days to visit 3 destinations, 10-12 days to visit 4 destinations and 13-14 days to visit 5 destinations. Yangtze River Cruise needs 4-5 days. Please check the popular itinerary for your get your inspiration:
| Travel Plan | Itinerary | Features | Recommended Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing Xian Shanghai | Day 1-4: Flights to Beijing, Beijing discovery and bullet train to Xian | Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Mutianyu Great Wall... | Detailed Itinerary: 8 Days Best of China Tour (Flight/Bullet Train Covered) |
| Day 5-6: Xian discovery and flights to Shanghai | Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City Wall, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda... | ||
| Day 7-8 Shanghai discovery and departure | The Bund, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai World Financial Center... |
| Travel Plan | Itinerary | Features | Recommended Tour |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing Xian Chengdu Guilin Shanghai | Day 1-4: Flights to Beijing, Beijing discovery and bullet train to Xian | Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Mutianyu Great Wall... | Detailed Itinerary: 13 Days Chinese Treasures Tour with Panda |
| Day 5-6: Xian discovery and flights to Chengdu | Terracotta Warriors, Ancient City Wall, Giant Wild Goose Pagoda... | ||
| Day 7: Chengdu discovery | Giant Panda Base, Wenshu Temple, Jinli Old Street... | ||
| Day 8-11: flights to Guilin, Guilin discovery and flights to Shanghai | Elephant Trunk Hill, Li River Cruise, Yulong River, Longji Rice Terraces (Ping’an Village) | ||
| Day 12-13: Shanghai discovery and departure | The Bund, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai World Financial Center... |
For visitors want to enjoy a snow winter tour, you can plan to visit Harbin to see the Ice and Snow Festival in 2-3 days. 2-4 more days to the nearby Yabuli Ski Resorts, China Snow Town and Wusong Island in Jilin are also popular to see snow scenery and play with snow! And a lot of visitors prefer travel from Beijing after the discovery of winter snowy Great Wall. Moreover, you can also spend 3-4 days to Huangshan for snowy Yellow Mountain, 1-2 days to snowy Mount Emei, 1-2 days to Xiling Snow Mountain for skiing fun, etc.
▶ 6 Days Beijing & Harbin Stunning Winter Tour
▶ 4 Days Classic Leshan Giant Buddha & Mount Emei Tour from Chengdu
▶ 2 Days Xiling Snow Mountain Ski Tour from Chengdu
For visitors prefer a warm winter vacation, you are recommended to enjoy 5-7 days in Yunnan to discover Kunming, Dali and Lijiang for pleasant sunny days with ethnic minority culture, or 2-4 days in Xiamen to wander around Gulangyu Island with a side trip to Tulou Cluster, or enjoy the 4-7 days enjoying the Cantonese food and theme parks fun in Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, or at least 3 days in Sanya to fully relax your arms and legs, etc. Travel with us to start your coming China winter vacation!
▶ 6 Days Yunnan Essence Tour (Kunming, Dali & Lijiang)
▶ 3 Days Xiamen City Leisure Tour
▶ 6 Days Hong Kong Guangzhou Macau Cultural Highlights Tour
Winter is a relative low tourist season for majority parts of China (excluding Harbin, Jilin, Sanya, etc.), therefore many destinations offer very good discount on the flight tickets, entrance tickets, hotel booking, and so on, and some can even down to half price, which will contribute a lot of saving on your travel budget! However, things and tickets will be higher during Spring Festival vacation!
Winter is jubilant in China since there are quite a lot of public and special festivals from December to February and early March. Check the following major festivals to join in local people’s carnival during your winter trip!
| Festivals | When | Where | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Solstice | December 21st or 22nd or 23rd | Whole Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan | Sacrifice ancestors, eating winter solstice meals (dumplings, mutton soup in northern China, glutinous rice dumplings, glutinous rice, etc. In southern China). |
| Chinese New Year’s Eve | Chinese Lunar December 29th or 30th (usually January or February) | Whole Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan | Festive decorations in red around the country; Sacrifice ancestors, clean the house, paste spring couplets and pictures, hang lanterns, give lucky money, have New Year’s Eve dinner, watch CCTV New Year’s Gala; burn firecrackers and fireworks in some areas. |
| Spring Festival | Chinese Lunar January 1st (usually January or February) | Whole Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan | Festive decorations in red around the country; Sacrifice ancestors, paste spring couplets and pictures, pay a New Year call, give lucky money, go to the temple fair, see traditional performance like lion dance, etc.; burn firecrackers and fireworks in some areas. |
| Lantern Festival | Chinese Lunar January 15th (usually January or February) | Whole Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan | Festive decorations in red around the country; Guess lantern riddles, make lanterns, eat dumplings or glutinous rice dumplings, dragon lantern dance, etc. |
| Festivals | When | Where | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas | December 25th | Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and many places in Mainland China | Give Christmas gists, family gathering, wearing Christmas hats, decorate Christmas trees, beautiful decorations along streets and buildings, etc. |
| Harbin International Ice & Snow Festival | Late December to February or early March | Harbin (Ice and Snow World, Sun Island, Zhaolin Park, etc.) | Thousands of ice sculptures with colorful lights, thousands of snow sculptures, a wide spread of ice lanterns; watch winter swimming, etc. |
| Beijing Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival | January to February or early March | Longqing Gorge in Beijing | Admire various ice lanterns, snow sculptures, lanterns, etc., enjoy international food. |
| Guangzhou Spring Festival Flower Fair | Chinese Lunar December 28th to 30th (usually January or February) | Guangzhou (Tianhe Gymnasium, Yuxiu Road, Xihu Road,Jiaoyu Road, Liwan Road, Binjiang West Road, etc.) | Stroll around flower markets, enjoy flower exhibition, buy flowers and flower arrangements, etc. |
| Tibetan New Year (Losar) | Tibetan lunar January 1st (usually February) | Lhasa and Tibetan Areas (Ganzi, Aba, Shangri-La, Qinghai, Gannan, etc.) | Clean the kitchen, have a family reunion, visiting friends, paying pilgrimage, etc. |
| Tsongkhapa Butter Lamp Festival | Tibetan lunar October 25th (usually December) | Tibet | Light butter lamps, pray before temples, chant sutra, eat Tibetan Zanba porridge, etc. |
| Zigong Lantern Festival | January to February or March | Zigong | Various colorful lanterns in large and small |
To help you enjoy a worry-free winter trip to China, we highly recommend you travel with us China Discovery. Our local experienced drivers will escort you to the attractions with comfortable car directly with speed and safety. And our English-speaking tour guide will accompany you all the way, show you the best travelling route, and share interesting stories, introduce all highlights, so you can focus all your attention on the highlights. Our experienced travel expert will help arrange your accommodation and plan your trip sincerely. The tour can be tailor-made according to your group size, time, physical condition, plan, interest, budget and every special need. Please feel free to contact us if you need any help!
Top 3 tours chosen by most customers to explore in the best way. Check the detailed itinerary, or tailor your own trip now with us.
Beijing / Xian / Guilin / Yangshuo / Shanghai
Kunming / Stone Forest / Yuanyang / Jianshui / Kunming / Dali / Lijiang / Shangri-La
Chengdu / Emeishan / Leshan / Guilin / Longji / Guilin / Yangshuo / Guilin
Start planning your tailor-made holiday to China by contacting one of our specialists. Once inquired, you’ll get a response within 0.5~23.5 hours.
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