Guilin Weather & Climate

Guilin is a world famous scenic city and a famous historical and cultural city in China; with its mild subtropical climate, it is a pleasant place to visit Guilin at any time of the year. The area of mild climate, abundant rainfall, frost-free period long, sufficient light, heat rich, summer long winter short, four distinct seasons and rain heat basically the same season, climatic conditions are very superior, so that magnificent Karst landscapes form typically. Limestone all over the city experience weathering and erosion of millions of years; with the formation of a thousand peaks around the city, rivers hug and twine the city, and unique landscape of caves are created.

What Is the Best Time to Visit Guilin?

Guilin's subtropical monsoon climate makes it warmness longer than coldness, making it a comfortable place to visit in any season. Considering that the most attractive natural scenery in Guilin is the Karst landscapes, nature and rural countryside, we recommend that May to the end of October will be the best time to visit Guilin. The most attractive and highlights of Guilin can be perfectly presented to people from all over the world during this period.

Spring in Guilin is from the early April to the middle of June. During this period, the temperature rises quickly and rainfall begins to increase. Fortunately, the rain of spring is a gentle drizzle, and short; sometimes you can even go out without an umbrella. Take the Li River Cruise in spring; you can see the Li River in a dream-like scene, which is surrounded by drizzle and fog, showing a mysterious feeling in Chinese style or a Chinese brush painting. If you are a photography enthusiast and want to capture the shimmering terraced fields with water, the best time to visit Longji Rice Terraces is from the late May to mid-June, which is the time for peasants to fill water into the fields and prepare to plough.

The temperature will stay high from the end of June to the middle of September, this is Guilin’s summer. It’s a period mixed with high temperature and heavy rain. Sometimes a heavy rain can trap you somewhere, but it also ease the dryness just in time, adjusting the humidity and cooling the air. In summer, as long as you keep an umbrella by your side, it is good to visit everywhere in Guilin. If you don't like the heat, the Seven Stars Cave, Reed Flute Cave, Crown Cave and the Gudong Waterfall of Guilin must be your favorite summer resort.

Guilin comes into fall from late September and ends in mid-November. The autumn in Guilin is short but lovely. Although the rainfall has decreased, the air will not be as dry as that in the north. What's more, this season is the season that osmanthus is in full bloom. When the osmanthus trees bloom in Guilin, the whole city will be scented by the fragrance of flowers, you will know why Guilin got its name (“Gui” refers to osmanthus trees and “lin” refers to the sea of trees in Chinese). It’s fabulous to visit ancient towns and villages in summer.

Winter stars from the end of November to the end of March. With the occasional rain, the temperature is not very low, but it will still make people feel relatively cold due to the high humidity. If you have rheumatism or arthritis, please do protection during this time. In winter, the water level of the Li River has been lowered; although the view from the cruise is not as wonderful as other seasons, you can still have a good experience in Yangshuo and Guilin downtown.

What Do People Wear?

Wear a shirt and a jacket will be fine; T-shirt and sunglasses in summer; T-shirt or a thin hoodie is suitable in autumn; you can change warm clothes of sweaters and coat in winter.

When is the Rainy Season in Guilin?

The rainy season of precipitation peaks are from late May to early July in summer in Guilin. Rainy days are not very frequent, but every time it rains heavily, occasionally continue for several days. It usually rains after a period of high temperatures, which has caused dryness and heat, so it's not a nuisance because it cools people down. It is a wise choice to travel to Guilin with an umbrella in summer.

Does Guilin Snow?

The temperature of Guilin is hardly lower than 0°C, and only a couple of days of the coldest days will be lower than 0°C during the entire winter, which determines that it hardly snow in Guilin city and Yangshuo County. But it sometimes snow in some counties on the north where we seldom plan to have a visit, like Guangyang or Ziyuan Counties. Of course, there is snow on the top of Mao’er Mountain, the tallest mountain in Guilin; but the entrance will be limited from the end of Nov.