Best Time to Visit Neijiang

March to May: spring warms up fast

March is the best month here, and it's easy to see why. Days reach about 21°C, nights are cool, and the rain is light. It's grey more often than sunny, though. Sichuan's basin holds cloud like a lid, so expect soft light rather than blue sky.

By April it's warmer and wetter, and May turns muggy, with rain on more than half the days. If you want to walk around the old streets near the Tuo River, March and early April are the sweet spot. Neijiang is known as the "Sugar City" for its sugarcane history, and the sweet local treats make a good reason to duck indoors when showers roll in.

June to September: hot, wet and sticky

This is the hard stretch. July is the wettest month, with rain on 21 days, and August is the hottest at 33°C. Nights stay warm, so there's little relief after dark. Even so, August has the most sun of the year, at 4 hours a day.

Our ratings call all four months Poor, and we agree. Hot afternoons and sudden downpours make long walks tiring. If you must come, plan short outings and use the afternoons for museums, teahouses and hotpot. Hotpot in a steamy summer may sound odd, but it's what locals in Sichuan do. Chinese school holidays run through July and August, so domestic travel is busiest then.

October to February: the quiet months

November is the other best month. It's mild, with a high of 19°C and just 9 rainy days. October is good too, but it's the gloomiest of the lot, with only 1.7 hours of sun a day.

December and January are cool and dry compared with summer, but damp air makes the cold feel sharper than the numbers suggest. Nights drop to 2°C in January, and homes here often have no central heating. Pick a hotel that says it has heating.

Late January or February usually brings Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year. Many shops and family restaurants close for several days, and trains and roads fill with people heading home. If you want a calm trip, avoid that week.

For most travellers, March and November are the answer. They're comfortable and uncrowded, and neither is soaked by summer rain. Pick November if you prefer drier days, and March if you like to see things turning green.