Best Time to visit Beijing (Tips, Photos & Map)

As a cosmopolitan capital for business and leisure, Beijing is basically busy all year round. Coming from different corners of the world, people have their own favorite time or seasons to plan Beijing Tour.

The Best Time to Visit Beijing

The winter time is not as bad as most people think, a good time to save money and see less visitors, thus avoiding tourist crowds.

Many foreign visitors prefer choosing spring or autumn to visit Beijing due to the mild and comfortable weather.

But the sporadic sandstorm in spring has kept people on alert when they plan their spring trip to Beijing. 

In the recent years Beijing’s spring is getting better in terms of air quality and weather conditions.

Autumn is unanimously regarded as the best season to visit Beijing with sunny and azure sky and mild weather.

Beijing Tourist Seasons

Beijing Winter (Nov. 15 - next year Mar 15)

Winter time lasts four months from Nov. 15 till next year March 15. Yes, it is very cold in winter, especially if there is a strong northwest wind. If no wind, then the feeling temperature will be much higher due to the dry weather in Beijing.

The winter time is not as bad as most people think, a good time to save money and see less visitors, thus avoiding tourist crowds. Chekc out How to dress for visiting Great Wall in winter for more information on climbing the Wall in winter.

Beijing Spring ( March 15 - May 15)

Spring lasts 60 days from March 15 to May 15. But a warmer spring usually starts early April and ends early May. So a warm springtime in Beijing lasts over one month.

Kindly reminder: Wind and dust can be possible in the March. Generally speaking, Beijing is dry and windy in spring.

Beijing Summer (June, July and August)

Beijing Summer time falls on June, July and August, also a rainy season in Beijing, wet and humid. But July and August are the hottest months in Beijing.

You will expect a long queue and wait at the most of the attractions in Beijing mainly due to the large number of domestic tourists because of school vacations.

Beijing Autumn ( Sep 05 - Nov 15)

Autumn lasts 60 days from September 05 to November 15. Autumn is unanimously regarded as the best season to visit Beijing with sunny and azure sky and mild weather. 

Get out and enjoy the best fall colors period from October 15 throughout November 15 in Beijing .

Crowd Information

Beijing gets very crowded and busy during school vacations and public holidays (July and August) in Beijing.

You are kindly advised to skip over the Official Chinese Holidays when you plan your Beijing tour.  Please jot down the following public holidays:

Closure Information

Most of the attractions in Beijing are open all year round, but most of the museums in Beijing are close on Mondays. The Beijing attractions mostly stop selling tickets after 4:30pm though you can keep on visiting till 6 or 9 pm if you have bought the entrance tickets before 4:30pm.

All the sections of Great Wall are open in winter though you may have no access to hiking the Wall if there is a heavy snow blocking your road to the Great Wall. Chekc out How to dress for visiting Great Wall in winter for more information.

Winter time to Save

If you are going to cope with cold weather, you can enjoy and lower-priced hotel rooms, special deals from Dec 01 till next year Feb 28. 

During that time of year, it’s also worth trying to negotiate a discount directly from your hotel.

In Beijing, hotels offer lower rated on weekends to lure tourists, who may go to the suburbs for weekend vacations. 

The department store sales take place during the first later December for the Christmas and new year as well as the time before Chinese lunar new year when very substantial bargains can be found, particularly on clothes and consumer electronics.

Tip:  Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

Further Readings