What's on in Beijing (Peking), China through the year

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Rule

  Real-name timed tickets

  1 Jan – 31 DecBook early

  The Palace Museum, the Summer Palace and the ticketed Great Wall sections all sell capped time slots against a passport number, released about a week ahead and gone in minutes around the holidays. The Palace Museum also shuts on Mondays. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Spring Festival travel rush

  2 Feb – 14 MarLunar New YearCrowdedClosures

  Forty days around the lunar new year and the largest annual movement of people anywhere. Trains and flights sell out weeks ahead and the city itself goes quiet. Source ↗

Still on: Heating season (15 Nov – 15 Mar), Winter smog days (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)), Skating on Houhai (20 Dec – 15 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Spring Festival travel rush, Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in China

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring Festival travel rush (2 Feb – 14 Mar), Heating season (15 Nov – 15 Mar), Winter smog days (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)), Skating on Houhai (20 Dec – 15 Feb (usually))

Busy — Spring Festival travel rush, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Sandstorm season

  1 Mar – 15 May · usuallyDust season

  Dust off the Mongolian plateau reaches the city several times each spring, turning the sky yellow and pushing the air readings off the usual scale for a day or two. Source ↗

• Nature

  Spring blossom

  25 Mar – 20 Apr · usuallyCherry blossom

  Cherry at Yuyuantan and crab apple in the temple courtyards for about three weeks, in the short window between the sandstorms and the heat.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Spring Festival travel rush (2 Feb – 14 Mar), Heating season (15 Nov – 15 Mar)

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sandstorm season (1 Mar – 15 May (usually)), Spring blossom (25 Mar – 20 Apr (usually))

Busy — Labour Day holiday, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Labour Day holiday

  1–5 MayNational holidayCrowdedBook early

  The year's second mass-travel week after Spring Festival: domestic tourists fill the Wall, the Forbidden City sells out its cap for days, and train tickets go the hour they release. Source ↗

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Sandstorm season (1 Mar – 15 May (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer break in China, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Summer rains

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyMonsoonRisk

  Most of the year's rain falls in these two months, in heavy short storms that flood underpasses and clear the air for a day afterwards.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Summer break in China, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Summer rains (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Peak crowds — National Day Golden Week, Fragrant Hills red leaves

• Holiday

  National Day Golden Week

  1–7 OctCrowdedBook early

  The whole country travels for a week from 1 October. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and every train seat are spoken for, and the autumn light is genuinely good. Source ↗

• Nature

  Fragrant Hills red leaves

  15 Oct – 10 Nov · usuallyAutumn colourCrowded

  The smoke trees on the hills west of the city turn from around the third week of October; weekend visitor numbers are published and the park caps entry.

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec)

Busy — Fragrant Hills red leaves

• Rule

  Heating season

  15 Nov – 15 MarRisk

  Central heating is switched on across the city on 15 November and off on 15 March by regulation. Flats are warm; the air outside is at its worst of the year. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Winter smog days

  15 Nov – 28 Feb · usually

  The heating season and a still, cold high can pin a grey lid over the city for days; it is far better than it was a decade ago, but the bad spells still come in runs of three or four days. Source ↗

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Fragrant Hills red leaves (15 Oct – 10 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Skating on Houhai

  20 Dec – 15 Feb · usuallyIce season

  Once the lake ice is thick enough the city opens rinks on Houhai and Shichahai, with hired chair-sledges and no pretence of elegance. It is the one winter thing Beijingers actually queue for. Source ↗

Still on: Real-name timed tickets (1 Jan – 31 Dec), Heating season (15 Nov – 15 Mar), Winter smog days (15 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))