Best Time to Visit Kunming

Dry season: November to May

Kunming's nickname is the Spring City, and it earns it. From November to May you get mild, bright days and cool nights. Winter afternoons can reach 16°C in the sun, but mornings and evenings are properly chilly, and many older buildings have no heating. Bring a jacket for the evenings.

February to April is the sweet spot. It's dry, sunny and warm enough for a T-shirt by midday. Walk around Green Lake Park, wander the Flower and Bird Market, or ride out to the Western Hills for views over Dian Lake. In winter, thousands of black-headed gulls arrive from Siberia and gather around Green Lake, and locals feed them. It's a charming sight from November through to about March.

May is the turning point. It's still warm, but rain shows up on about 11 days, and the sun fades.

Rainy season: June to September

Expect rain on most days from June to August. July and August are the wettest, with rain on 21 days each, and the sky is grey much of the time. It's not cold, though. Highs hover around 27°C and nights are mild, so you won't be uncomfortable, just damp.

Is that a dealbreaker? Not necessarily. Rain often comes as an afternoon downpour, and the Yunnan Provincial Museum and the old Yuantong Temple make good wet-weather stops. Hikers heading to the Stone Forest (Shilin), about 90 minutes away, should know the paths get slippery. Rock formations look moody in mist, and the crowds thin out.

September is still wet, so treat it as a fair month rather than a good one.

October and the shoulder months

October is a nice surprise. The rating is Excellent, the rain is easing, and the air is cool. It's less sunny than spring, so it suits city breaks better than big views. By November the skies clear and the gulls begin to return.

Crowds and events

China's big holiday weeks are the busiest times. Chinese New Year, usually late January or February, and the National Day week in early October fill trains and hotels, so expect higher prices and full Stone Forest car parks. Summer school holidays bring Chinese families escaping the heat elsewhere, because Kunming stays cool.

If you want quieter streets, aim for March, April or November. The Torch Festival of the Yi people, held around July or August by the lunar calendar, is a colourful reason to come in the rain. Locals also celebrate the Water-Splashing Festival in April, though the biggest versions are further south, in Xishuangbanna.