When to visit China and Hong Kong
Thu, 2007-01-11 22:14 — Anonymous
I am planning a trip to China (Beijing, Shanghai, and places in between)and Hong Kong. When is the best time to visit, weather-wise? What about March?
Autumn is good
Say start in Beijing in September before it gets too cold, then down to Shanghai and arrive in Hong Kong in October when the hot weather is cooling off.
MrB
PS Also check Mr Tall's guide to the Hong Kong weather.
A point in Summer's favour
Summertime in Hong Kong is hot & sweaty - and can be hard work for visitors from more temperate climates. But on the plus side, it is also when Hong Kong's air is cleanest.
This chart shows the number of hours of low visibility each month, as recorded by the Hong Kong Observatory. Since low visibility is caused by dirty air, a larger number on the chart means pollution was high for longer that month.
As you can see, May-August sees by far the cleanest air in Hong Kong, with the smoggiest weather during October-January.
MrB
(The figures are taken from the HK Observatory's website, which gives 'Number of hours
of Reduced Visibility' per month for years 2005 and 2006. The numbers shown here are the average of those two years.
The Observatory define 'Reduced Visibility' as 'visibility below 8 kilometres when there is no fog, mist, or precipitation'. ie they only record low visibility caused by pollution in the air, not bad weather.)