November could be an ideal time to travel in China after the peak season crowds head home and before the worst of the chilly winter weather arrives.
You could also appreciate the amazing scenery. Red, gold, yellow, and brown hues create amazing autumnal views and the sky is usually clear in the dry season of fall.
North China may see its first snow but Central and South China have moderate and comfortable temperatures.
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China Weather in November: Overview
- Average daily temperature range: 3–13°C (37–55°F)
- Average rainfall: 29 mm (1 in), low
- Average rainy days: 2
- Average sunny days: 28
Weather in North China (Beijing, Xi’an...)
November is the beginning of the real winter weather in China's northern and high-altitude areas. North China gets crisp, cool, and clear weather.
Beijing gets cool days and it usually stays above freezing at night. The average temperature range is 0–10°C (32–50°F) and there is typically just 1 day of low rainfall, around 13 mm (0.5 in) in November.
Xi'an will be a little warmer than Beijing, averaging 4–13°C (39–55°F). The days are still pleasant and most days are clear.
Clothing: November is cold at night. Wear a coat, gloves, and head covering as well as lighter clothes.
Weather in East China (Shanghai, Hangzhou...)
There are generally cool or warm days and cool nights that are well above freezing in East China.
The comfortable weather and sunshine in the east are great for outdoor activities, sightseeing, and traveling around.
Take Shanghai as an example — the average temperature range is 9–17°C (48–63°F) and there are typically 5 days of low rainfall (42 mm, 1½ in) in November.
Shanghai generally has pleasant autumnal weather and there may be fog in the mornings. However, a cold snap might bring bitter windy weather with it.
Clothing: Wear a jacket, light clothing, and a hat/hood
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One day trip to Shanghai with Martin
I liked beautiful riverfront with skyscrapers, especially in the evening. The garden is very nice, lots of walkways makes it feel really big. Thanks to the guide the schedule was very flexible. Instead of waiting in a huge queue for the tv tower we went to nearby skyscraper, we also were able to meet with our friends who also visited Shanghai on the same day. more
Aug 2023, Dmitry
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We had an amazing trip with China Highlights!
Kris was an excellent tour guide in Shanghai and flexible with our travel plans. Mervyn has impressive knowledge of history and culture in Xi'an and did a stellar job navigating the crowds of tourists seeing the Terra-cotta Army. Cactus brings a depth of historical knowledge to the tours that is super interesting, and she has great enthusiasm that makes the tour enjoyable. All our drivers were very good and helped ensure that we got from one destination to the next as safely and quickly as possible. The air conditioning in the comfortable cars during the exceptionally hot summer was appreciated, as well. Our itinerary included Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing, plus a few days trips such as a small water town outside Shanghai and the Terra-cotta Army outside Xi'an. We took high speed trains between all our destinations, and the China Highlights team did everything they could remotely to pre-arrange those logistics and also escorted us as far as they were able to at each train station. We traveled first class whenever the tickets were still available, and we stayed in quality hotels that were clean and centrally-located for most tourist activities in each city. It was maybe the greatest culinary trip of our lives. :) more
Aug 2023, Brett N
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Kris from China Highlights in Shanghai was wonderful
We toured Shanghai with Kris from China Highlights as our guide, he was friendly, helpful and made the trip a lot of fun! He also went above and beyond when we traveled to my daughter’s birthplace helping to get information and connect with people from the orphanage where my daughter was adopted from.Highly recommend!! more
Aug 2023, Rita A
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Personalized and very memorable!
Kris with China Highlights was friendly and personable during our trip. He told us the history of Shanghai in an interesting way, and gave us great recommendations to avoid crowds but still see the highlights of Shanghai. He also traveled with us to the city I was born and was very helpful in helping us communicate with locals. He made sure we had a memorable and very special experience. more
Aug 2023, Annie A
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Short but great visit to Shanghai with Kris
We spent a day touring Shanghai with Kris as our tour guide. Kris was very knowledgable about Shanghai and was great at sharing that knowledge with us. He also made great suggestions on how to enhance our visit and make it even more interesting. We visited the Yu Garden in the morning, super interesting, very beautiful and Kris was able to share the history of the Garden and buildings with us make the visit that much more interesting. We then went up the Shanghai tower, an exhilirating trip with stunning views! Lunch was in a local restaurant and was super tasty. In the afternoon Kris suggested that we take a boat tour down the river to see the Bund from the water. A great suggestion and we enjoyed an hour floating on the river admiring the amazing views!! Thank you Kris for showing us parts of Shanghai that we would never have found ourselves and making our stay very memorable. more
Aug 2023, Sandra
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Unusual places in Shanghai with Martin
我们有机会参观优质柞丝绸马蒂n. It was the second time for us in the city but I must say that Martin made our experience great. We were looking for something different, I love art and Martin inserted in the schedule extra spot to visit such us M50 district. We are used to travel a lot for work, and I can tell that by far Martin is one of the most professional tour guide I have ever met. He was extremely passionate about is work, prepared to talk about topics not only related to the city itself but on different cultures. Super. Strongly recommend a tour with him. more
Aug 2023, Isabella L
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Excellent Guide makes an enjoyable tour
My husband booked a two day guided tour with China Highlights for our family whilst in Shanghai. Our guide Jessie was extremely knowledge and professional and made both our days very enjoyable and insightful. I highly recommend booking a trip with Jessie. more
Aug 2023, Sue
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Shanghai from many perspectives with Kris!
我们的第一站是上海,我们都祝福ed to spend a few days exploring the city with Kris, our amazing tour guide. He is knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and committed to curating the trip you want. There were a few things that were not on our original itinerary and Kris went out of his way to rearrange the schedule and make sure we got to see and do them all. He made excellent recommendations for evening activities after our tours were complete. It was fun to get to know one another and share our stories of cross-cultural travels and adventures. I plan to recommend China Highlights's tour with Kris to everyone I know heading to Shanghai! more
Jul 2023, Kaila W
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Shanghai & Suzhou.
My friends and I, group of four pax visited Shanghai, Hangzhou and Huangshan in June. We had 3 tour guides for the various cities. Our first guide, Martin was indeed very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. He was our guide for Suzhou. His explanation and description of Suzhou in English is very good. In Shanghai, he helped us locate the places we wanted to go for our shopping and restaurants to go to. He was very helpful when picking us at airport and train stations and also helping us check in for our train departure at the ever busy Hongqiao station. Martin is highly recommended if you’re looking to visit Shanghai. more
Jul 2023, CindyBeezeebee
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Wonderful Shanghai Experience
我们将参观上海和克里斯是我们的导游。He has a lot of knowledge on the sights we went to, such as the Yuyuen garden, Shanghai tower, French neighborhood. He was very friendly and flexible. If you visit Shanghai ask for Kris, he is a great guide that gave us a wonderful experience . Enrique Marin more
Jul 2023, 840enriquem
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Fantastic guide - Kris in Shanghai
我和一个朋友去上海有1天力it and we were very lucky to have Kris as our guide. He was fantastic and very accommodating to all our needs, he spent most of the day with us which was very much appreciated during the crazy heatwave and large crowds during Dragon boat festival. His English was also excellent and we learnt a lot about Chinese culture (thank you for sharing!) We’ll be be very happy to recommend Kris for future trips in Shanghai! more
Jul 2023, Dreamer47605491007
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Private Shanghai Tour during Dragon Boat Festival 2023
A friend & I traveled to China in Jun2023 and we had Kris as our private tour guide in Shanghai. He was extremely professional & entertaining and spent the entire day with us supporting a flexible itinerary. He was very knowledgeable about the sights and relevant history and of course current affairs. He greeted us early morning at our hotel lobby and helped transport us (with a private driver) throughout the day. Though we were meant to see the bund during the day, he was willing to join us into the evening during the Dragon Boat Festival so that we felt safe and supported. We really enjoyed our day with Kris and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him or request his services again when we we are back! more
Jul 2023, Ankita K
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Shanghai with teens
Our guide Martin was so cult but so cool. We learnt a lot about the city, totally recommended. It was a great experience for us and our teen children. Our guide Martin was flexible cult and cool. Our family of 2 adults and 2 teens were very happy. Martin helped us solve some issues we had at the airport when leaving Shanghai. more
Jul 2023, gilberto b
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Places a must to visit
很长一段路要走,但天气的昆仑(ex Hilton ) hotel fabulous and well situated , whilst shanghai fast becoming my favourite city in the world , fabulous resteraunts , fabulous shopping , go to the Bund , people’s square , shanghai museum , indoor market , Jade Temple , yuan gardens , West Nanjing road and Bar Rouge at night. more
Jul 2023, Peter R
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Shanghai - expert local tourguide, Kris
Had the most amazing time in Shanghai, thanks to our nice and helpful expert local tourguide, Kris! more
Jun 2023, Lilla L
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Shanghai Tour with China Highlights
We recently had the pleasure of going on a tour of Shanghai with China Highlights, and our guide, Ryan! This experience was wonderful, we were able to visit some of Shanghai’s most iconic locations, such as The Bund, the French Concession, and even got to try some famous Xiaolongbao at Jia Jia Tang Bao. Overall, really recommend China Highlights. more
May 2023, Francesco
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Shanghai 1/2 day Tour
上海是一个现代化的大城市和一些脱颖而出architecture modern and from the past. Ryan was again my guide for Shanghai City tour. We started with Yu Garden which was already flocked with domestic tourists! Yu Garden is the highlight of my Shanghai tour. Ryan explained and pointed out what makes it so special.The next thing we did was go to the Bund and Ryan #chinahighlights, explained some of the prominent old banking buildings and the clock tower tgat was made by the same person that did Big Ben in London. Also pointed out and we entered in disguise, was Peace Hotel. That was another highlight being an Art Deco style original and the Old Men Jazz Band. Then we walked a bit and our driver took us to The Shanghai Tower. Before you go up there is a whole display of Skyscrapers so you can see how the Shanghai Tower ranks. Going up was easy and you would never know you were going so high. It was a rainy morning but visibility was ok. You can walk all the way around to get a view of Shanghai. There were locks you can buy, marketed a "lucky", so you can lock your wishes up there. There is also a metal tree where you can ties a wish ribbon. We then went to the French Quarter which are some old buildings now occupied by modern venues and shops. I was told the area was a night spot so things were just opening. Nanjing Rd is the Retail Heaven thoroughfare, pedestrian only traffic. If you are shopping for name brand you will find it there, just like any other major city. Chinese tourists were out and about, I know they are happy! more
May 2023, JeanneC
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Speak about travel in China means speak about China Highlights!
Chris, in Shanghai; Alice, in Lijiang; Lee, in Dali; May, in Kunming; and others that we have previously known no less efficient and friendly. My greetings and respect to all of them and also to the drivers. They all have a very good command of the English language and strive to make one dedicate themselves to enjoying what China offers us. Thank you, China, and thank you China Highlights!! Just tell you: SEE YOU IN OUR NEXT TRIP!!! more
May 2023, Horacio S
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Our consultant Roger Li did a wonderful…
Our consultant Roger Li did a wonderful job of making a great private tour plan for my husband who wanted to add on a few days in China. He incorporated everything my husband wanted to see and made a great tour based on our needs and wants.Roger Li was very easy to get in touch with and was always available and accessible when we had questions. more
Apr 2023, Brian
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Shanghai's Best
My husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by exploring China ; and first in our bucket list was Shanghai and Beijing.We booked this trip via China Highlights, and we had a tour guide , named Ryan, who made our trip memorable by not only sending us to Shanghai's best spots but most of all his rich knowledge on all these places. One of the best part is that he communicates very well, fluent in English, made us understand China's culture, its stories behind those buildings and sceneries. No doubt will recommend this travel site to our friends, "High Five" to China Highlights and again kudos to our tour Guide, RYAN, see you again !! more
Mar 2023, Jocelyn So G
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Weather in South China (Guilin, Hong Kong...)
South China's temperature is comfortable at about 20°C (68°F) during the daytime. There is still some rainfall in November, so it won't be too dry.
Take Guilin as an example — the average temperature range is 11–19°C (52–66°F) in November.
Hong Kong benefits from warm and sunny weather, which is ideal for outdoor activities, sightseeing, and shopping in the street markets. There is little rain. November and December are the most pleasant months.
Clothing: The weather is changeable in most of the region. It is generally warm but it can get cold unexpectedly. You would need warm weather clothing and a jacket.
Weather in West China (Chengdu, Tibet, Yunnan...)
In most areas, the temperature falls significantly — it gets cold and the mountains receive snow. There are usually no rainy days in November in West China.
The average temperature range in Lhasa is -3–15°C (27–59°F) and there are usually completely clear days in November.
Chengdu’s temperature is 9–16°C (48–61°F) and there are typically 4 days of low rainfall (16 mm, 0.5 in) in November.
Yunnan has a large temperature difference between day and night. During the day, the temperature is warm at about 20°C (68°F). However, it has cold nights that are just above freezing.
Clothing: The weather is changeable in most of the region. It is generally warm, but it can get cold unexpectedly. You would need warm weather clothing and a jacket.
Top 6 Places to Visit in China in November
Autumn scenery and leisurely outdoor activities are highlights of traveling in China in November.
If you enjoy landscapes, destinations like Huangshan and Guilin are excellent choices. Outdoor activities, such as hiking on the Great Wall, are also well-suited for November.
For urban experiences and culture coupled with pleasant weather, Shanghai and Hong Kong are good choices.
1. Shanghai
Shanghai is quiet in November, with a charming blend of autumnal colors and urban vibrancy.
The plane trees on both sides of the streets turn a golden hue, complemented by the gentle breeze and warm sunlight, making it perfect for a leisurely stroll in the former French Concession. You could see almost all of the architectural styles of old Shanghai there. There are also numerous cafés and museums.
As for the unmissable Bund, compared to a simple sightseeing trip for photo shoots, an in-depth walking tour, which we offer, with a local guide would take you into some old buildings and help you understand the stories behind them.
At night, we could carefully select a hotel with a rooftop bar for you. There, you could leisurely enjoy the night view of the Bund and the moon with a glass of wine.
2. Hong Kong
The weather in Hong Kong in November is comfortable without the dry heat and humidity of summer.
The drop in visitors and prices during the off-season makes November a good time to visit Hong Kong.
The milder temperatures make exploring the city's neighborhoods and bustling markets a pleasant affair. Whether it's a leisurely stroll along the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade or a visit to the markets of Mong Kok, November offers a comfortable backdrop for urban exploration.
Victoria Harbour, a centerpiece of the city, glistens under the gentle sunlight, reflecting the towering buildings that stand along its shores.
Lantau Island's natural beauty shines during this time of year. The cable car ride up to Ngong Ping offers breathtaking views of the surrounding hills and seascape. The iconic Tian Tan Buddha stands serenely amid the changing foliage, inviting visitors to find solace in the tranquil surroundings.
3. Huangshan
November also brings fewer crowds to the Yellow Mountains, allowing you to immerse yourself in the serenity of the mountains and fully appreciate the tranquility of the surroundings.
The crisp air carries a hint of winter, enhancing the clarity of the panoramic views.
November is one of the best times to see the seas of clouds between the Yellow Mountain peaks. As you ascend, misty veils often shroud the peaks, creating an ethereal atmosphere.
The granite peaks, twisted pines, and iconic stone pathways appear to float amid the seas of clouds, making for a truly otherworldly experience.
Bishan Village is also a highlight. You could walk around the village to see how artists have turned this small area into a rural utopia.
If you are interested in craftsmanship and Chinese culture, we recommend the experience of making traditional Chinese lanterns. It could be a great souvenir to take home.
4. Guilin
November is a good time to explore the Guilin countryside, revealing charming villages and rice terraces that seem to glow in the autumn light.
The terraced fields, adorned with their golden harvest, create a patchwork quilt of colors that stretches into the distance.
Beyond the natural beauty, its cultural experiences also beckon. Visit a minority family and enjoy lunch with them. You could see how local dishes are cooked, such as how to cook rice inside a bamboo tube and the process of making oil tea.
For a leisurely experience, take a Li River cruise. The Li River meanders gracefully through this stunning backdrop, reflecting the striking peaks and lush vegetation along its banks.
5. Beijing
The Great Wall and the Forbidden City, which are must-see attractions, have fewer tourists in November, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest advantages of visiting Beijing at this time.
Views of the Great Wall are still good in November. The Great Wall weaves through forests displaying their fall colors. The watchtowers and battlements seem to emerge from the foliage, offering breathtaking vistas that span the horizon.
You could explore the old hutong area where you could visit a local family. From talking to them, you would get a local perspective on the area's history and the way of life.
If you want an exceptional night out in Beijing, you could start a food tour. From hidden snack bars in the hutongs to street-side shops that are popular with locals to renowned roast duck restaurants, you could sample Beijing's signature snacks, dishes, drinks, and desserts.
6. Tibet
Visiting Tibet in November allows you to take full advantage of the off-peak season, benefiting from more affordable prices and a less crowded travel experience.
It's a time to witness the resilience of both nature and the local people in the face of the changing seasons and to appreciate the raw and untamed magnificence of Tibet's landscapes.
你可以pay a visit to the Potala Palace and stroll along Barkhor Street, following in devout pilgrims’ footsteps and experiencing the profound Buddhist ambiance of Tibet. There, you could also imbibe the daily rhythms of Tibetan life at a local market.
Lakes, such as Yamdrok Lake and Namtso Lake, which are usually surrounded by snow-capped peaks, can be frozen over during November, adding an extra layer of enchantment to their already stunning beauty.
Costs and Crowds in November
November is the low season for Chinese tourism, so you could benefit as prices decrease substantially from what they were during the high season.
Typically-crowded attractions reach a state of calm in November. Together with the cool, dry weather, November is a really good time to travel.
Recommended China Tours
We could solve the problem of planning a complex trip in an unfamiliar region for you, saving you time and effort while ensuring that your travel needs and desires are met. Justcontact usto book a tour by telling us your requirements.
When booking with us, you would receive a 100% refund of any payments made to China Highlights if you cancel up to 3 weeks before departure. (See more on our cancelation policy.)
All of our tours can be adjusted or customized based on your requirements. See some of our popular itineraries for inspiration:
- 13-Day Shanghai–Chengdu–Xi'an–Pingyao–Beijing Tour
- 12-Day Shanghai – Beijing – Hong Kong – Guangzhou – Zhangjiajie Tour
- 16-Day Beijing – Xi'an – Chengdu – Kunming – Guilin – Hong Kong Tour