China cruises question

For those that have cruised China (including Beijing) which month you believe is better: February, March or April?

Thinking about weather during those three months.

For those that have cruised China (including Beijing) which month you believe is better: February, March or April?

 

Thinking about weather during those three months.

I would definitely pick April. It can be very cold in Beijing in Feb/March

We also chose April -- no, May. But that was because our TA had a contact at Viking (which is the line we used for our China cruise in 2008). She had lived in China for several years and highly recommended April/May over the early fall. Less rain, less heat. We did have wonderful weather when we were there. For the record we were there May 12-23.

This was prior to the Olympics when the Chinese were desperately trying to clean up the atmosphere ... it wasn't all that successful! Smog was just terrible when we were in Beijing. We had Oceania friends who were there just after the Olympics and by then the air was much cleaner. I doubt it's continued, however.

We did enjoy our visit there, very much.

Mura

May after the Chinese early May holidays.

May after the Chinese early May holidays.

I didn't know May was an option (see OP's post)

April--100% would be the best.

Rick

We went itowards the end of April. The weather was fabulous.

Our guide in Beijing told us that's one of the best times to go as there is less pollution since there is less demand for heat or air conditioning at that time of year. We had clear blue skies for our three days in Beijing.

We were in Beijing in December 2007....it was gorgeous. We were on the Regent Mariner...they bused us in from Tianjin and put the whole ship up in the Regent hotel. It was great!

As I said, the weather was great (short sleeves) and we didn't notice the smog being that bad.

jack

We were in Beijing in December 2007....it was gorgeous. We were on the Regent Mariner...they bused us in from Tianjin and put the whole ship up in the Regent hotel. It was great!

As I said, the weather was great (short sleeves) and we didn't notice the smog being that bad.

jack

You were very fortunate but I wouldn't count on that being the case very often.

Historical chart for the entire month of December for Beijing show HIGHS from 32 to 43 F (lows in the teens) - hardly short sleeve weather for most of us :)

April! We were on a land tour this past April. The weather was fabulous and all the spring flowers were in bloom. Gorgeous. We were in Shanghai at the beginning of the month where it was cooler but comfortable for touring. By the time we got to Beijing in the last part of April the temps were quite warm and humid. Upon returning to Beijing from the Great Wall the smog was rolling in. As far as breathing issues, we had none. Do check when the Chinese holidays are. You do not want to be there when the festivals are. Even the Chinese will tell you that. We could not get to Tianamen Square because they were getting ready for the festival the next week. We could only see it from across the street.

Enjoy your trip. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to China but be prepared for many steps and lots of walking.

Pearl

We went late Feb early March for a week prior to boarding the ship. It was definitely cool, but we are Canadians. ;-). We flew to Xian and rode bikes around the city wall on a glorious sunny day. Flowers were not out yet. Just getting ready to bloom. I would say we missed the cherry blossoms in Japan by 10 days. They were just starting to open when we were there. Smog was not an issue for us. This was in 2013.

Mo

We were in China this past March. Bitterly cold at Tianjin, the port. If you are dressed appropriately, you will be fine. We had thermal under our regular clothes, hiking boots with warm socks, toques, mittens, a fleecy under our winter jacket and we were fine once we were away from the port. We were lucky and had beautiful sunshine. Pollution was low because they had a terrific wind storm which blew all of the pollution away but made it very cold for us.