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 the temperature of Sanya in Hainan Province is above 20 degrees.

In summer, most of areas are above 20 centigrade, such as Beijing , and Shanghai , 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 .


Distributions are as follows:
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.

Cold-temperate zone: north part of Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia
Representative cities: Harbin , Jiamusi, Qiqihar

Temperate zone: Jilin, northern Xinjiang, and most of Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Inner   Mongolia
Representative cities: Shenyang , Urumqi , Hohhot , Dunhuang

Warm-temperate zone: area of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Hebei Province.
Representative cities: Xian, Taiyuan, Luoyang, Jinan, Zhengzhou

Subtropical zone: South of isotherm of Qinling Mountain-Huaihe River, east of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Representative cities: Zhenjiang , Guangzhou, Wuxi, Jiujiang , Yichang

Tropical zone: Hainan province, southern Taiwan, Guangdong, and Yunnan Province Representative cities: Haikou , Sanya

Plateau climate zone: Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
Representative cities: Lhasa , Shigatse, Shannan

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 Taipei , the average annual precipitation can reach over 6,000mm. The rainy seasons are mainly May to September. In some areas, especially in the dry northwest, changes in precipitation every year are greater than in the coastal area. Viewed spatially, South China, with a 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 400mm 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 200mm 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, including the cities of Shenzhen , Shantou , Nanning , etc. 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.

Seaside Cities & Climate
China has many seaside cities and most of them have a favorable climate. Besides Hong Kong and Macau, the cities of Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Ningbo, Quanzhou and Fuzhou are also notable seaside cities in China.

The Ten Most Suitable Cities to Live: Weihai and Qingdao in Shandong; Dalian in Liaoning; Xiamen in Fujian; Zhuhai in Guangdong; Hangzhou in Zhejiang; Chengdu in Sichuan; Guilin in Guangxi; Suzhou in Jiangsu; and Shanghai

City Nicknames & Climate
Kunming − Spring City (for its good climate)

Lanzhou − Melon City (for being suitable for melons’ growth)

Yinchuan − Southern Country beyond the Great Wall (for its fertile land and good climate)

Climate & Tourism
Through the above introduction, you may know the climate of some Chinese cities. According to this information, you can choose the best season to travel to these cities. Moreover, if you are going to China, you can also go to Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan Province, Changsha and Yueyang in Hunan Province and Yangzhou in Jiangsu Province, which all boast a fine climate and wonderful landscape.

For other Chinese city climate information, you may refer to the China Guide section or just use the Search function on top.