China Field Kit

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The Handbook — $19

China by season

Find river mist in spring, high mountain valleys in summer, colour in autumn and a choice between ice and beach weather in winter.

Spring · March–May

Blossom and river mist

Look for pale light over water, fresh green in the hills, and gardens waking up along the Yangtze.

An orange sunset reflects over West Lake with Leifeng Pagoda on the horizon. — Hangzhou The sun sets over West Lake beside Leifeng Pagoda.

Sunlight catches flooded fields beside a karst hill in the morning mist near Yangshuo.

Guilin & Yangshuo

Karst peaks rise around the bends of the Li River.

Bright yellow rapeseed terraces surround white-walled houses below a wooded ridge in Wuyuan.

Wuyuan

White-walled villages sit among terraces, hills and fields.

Fresh green trees lean over a pond leading the eye toward a small pavilion.

Suzhou

White walls, narrow canals and gardens designed as small landscapes.

Three stone pagodas glow in late sunlight against dark mountains and clouds.

Dali

Villages and fields run between the Cangshan range and Erhai Lake.

A giant panda perches among green branches at the Chengdu Panda Base.

Chengdu

Giant pandas, teahouses under the trees and fire on the opera stage.

White blossoms cross a grey wall above a row of traditional roof tiles.

Xi’an

City walls and night markets, with the Terracotta Army east of town.

The carved stage at Xiuzhen Temple with upturned roof corners and a leafy tree to the left.

Wuzhen

Stone bridges and waterside houses line a network of canals.

Pink cherry blossoms in front of the Shanghai World Financial Center under a blue sky.

Shanghai

Evening crowds on East Nanjing Road, red roofs in the old city and towers across the Huangpu.

A staircase leads below a natural limestone arch in the green Wulong karst.

Chongqing

Bridges, trains and streets stack above two rivers.

Summer · June–August

High country and open water

Climb into cooler country or plan a morning by the sea. At the coast and in the mountains, check the local forecast before setting out.

A curved lakeshore and small island in blue Sayram Lake beneath broad summer clouds. — Lake Sayram A sweep of shoreline leads toward Sayram Lake’s island beneath a bank of summer cloud.

Green sandstone columns seen from below under a bright break in the clouds.

Zhangjiajie

Sandstone pillars rise out of forest and cloud in Wulingyuan.

A curving beach and red-roofed buildings meet blue water under large summer clouds.

Qingdao

Red roofs meet rocky shores on the Yellow Sea.

Pale travertine terraces and mint-green pools curve down a wooded hillside at Baishuitai beneath summer clouds.

Shangri-La

Monastery roofs and broad wetlands sit above the valleys of Yunnan.

Lit stupas and a roadway lead to the illuminated Potala Palace at night.

Lhasa

The Potala Palace rises over the city against a high mountain valley.

Two distant beachgoers with a pale umbrella on Xiamen’s shore, beside teal water and beneath layered clouds.

Xiamen

Harbour water separates Gulangyu’s roofs from the modern shoreline.

Green trees partially screen a red temple hall and pagoda at Huayan Temple.

Datong

Carved sandstone meets the open country of northern Shanxi.

Autumn · September–November

Gold leaves and long shadows

Colour reaches the northern forests and mountain valleys first. Farther west, look for long shadows on the dunes.

Golden trees surround turquoise water with submerged trunks visible at Five Flower Lake. — Jiuzhaigou Autumn foliage frames the clear water of Five Flower Lake in Jiuzhaigou’s Rize Valley.

The Great Wall winds along bare autumn hills toward layers of misty mountains.

Beijing

Imperial gardens, palace roofs and a wall that follows the mountains.

Bands of fog curl between steep Huangshan cliffs topped by pine trees.

Huangshan

Granite ridges and wind-shaped pines emerge from cloud.

A pale green river winds between gold deciduous trees and dark conifers in Altay.

Kanas & Altay

Forested slopes wrap around an alpine lake in the Altay Mountains.

Orange sandstone towers in Binggou Danxia catch the sun against a deep blue sky.

Zhangye Danxia

Bands of red and ochre fold through the hills at the edge of the Hexi Corridor.

A small freestanding rock formation sits before broad, layered red cliffs on a bare desert plain.

Dunhuang

A crescent lake sits below the dunes at the edge of an oasis.

Winter · December–February

Ice cities and winter sun

The same month can mean a walk among ice towers in Harbin or along the beach in Sanya.

The steel span recedes above two distant walkers on the frozen Songhua River. — Harbin Two distant figures give scale to the steel bridge over the frozen Songhua River.

Turquoise water curves around a palm-lined beach in Sun Bay, Sanya.

Sanya

Tropical bays and forested headlands at the southern tip of Hainan.

A band of pale glacier ice runs between rocky slopes under winter clouds on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Lijiang

Canals thread an old town below the mountains of northwest Yunnan.

A Ferris wheel and palms are silhouetted against a pink sky above lights reflected in the water at Jinghong’s Starlight Night Market.

Xishuangbanna

Tropical forest and river valleys at the far south of Yunnan.