Hangzhou's Climate

Hangzhou is the capital city, as well as the political, economic and cultural center of Zhejiang Province. With its famous natural beauty and cultural heritages, Hangzhou is one of China's most important tourist venues.

Spring in Hangzhou is warm but there is plenty of rain as there are often rain showers. Hangzhou is famous for its changing weather. There is a proverb describing the variation of the daily temperature gap and one can never be sure about whether it is going to be a sunny day or rainy day. However, spring is still the best and peak tourism season.

The summers in Hangzhou are hot and humid. The rainy season, also known as the Plum Rain Season because this is the time where plums ripen, is from May to July. July and August are the hottest and sunniest months, and there is often drought as caused by high temperatures and lack of rainfall during this period. Sometimes during mid summer however, Hangzhou suffers from typhoon storms, but the typhoons seldom strike the city directly. Generally they make land along the southern coast of Zhejiang province, and affect Hangzhou with strong winds and stormy rains.

In autumn, the weather is pleasant and comfortable. Autumn is the most pleasant time of the year and lasts for about two or three months. However, there are often rain showers, but the air is exceptionally fresh during this time of year.

Winter is relatively cool and dry. Winters in Hangzhou are never absolutely freezing and even in January, which is the coldest month, the average temperature is about 3 °C. However, many places are not equipped with heating systems, making the winters much harder to bear as compared to the northern cities like Beijing.

Detailed information about the average temperatures and rainfall in Hangzhou are as follows: