WildChina > WildChina > Traveling through China in the Winter

In recent weeks, those living in China have learned that snow can completely shut even the largest cities down; government heating is now barely adequate in staving off the cold; and sweet potatoes sold on the street invariably double as hand warmers. What can travelers traveling through China to make their China trip in the cold winter months enjoyable, safe, and meaningful?

Traveling through China

1) Familiarize yourself with alternate transportation modes and have resources handy. Beijing’s residents were completely unprepared a week ago when taxi cabs across the city disappeared to avoid the January snow. Lesson learned? Keep a subway map on you, ask your guide/concierge for bus suggestions, hire a car if you’d like, and don’t rule out rickshaws – they may be your ticket home if all else fails.

2) Take advantage of the fact that many people are avoiding the cold. China is never entirely calm, empty, or spacious – but winter means quieter months for tourism. One can expect somewhat shorter lines, more room, and (maybe) a little more peace and quiet when visiting monuments, museums, and other attractions.

3) Make reservations early and often. The cold weather means that casually searching for a hotel/hostel and strolling to find a good restaurant are no more; travelers want to make sure that they have confirmed places to stay warm when not out sightseeing. Be sure to plan accommodations, and make any other preferred reservations, farther in advance than you would otherwise, especially in areas that are very popular with tourists.

———-

Photo credit: WallpapersUp

Have more questions about China in the winter? Send us a tweet @WildChina.

Leave a Reply

We are using cookies to give you the best experience. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in privacy settings.
AcceptPrivacy Settings

  • We use cookies to make your experience of our website better.

We use cookies to make your experience of our website better.

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyze web traffic or let you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyze data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. However, this may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Detailed information about the use of cookies on this website is available by clicking on more information.