What's on in Chongqing, China through the year

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

• Holiday

  Spring Festival

  15–23 FebLunar New YearClosuresCrowdedBook early

  The city empties as workers go home, half the hotpot rooms shut for a week, then it fills again with returning families and their relatives. Seats in and out are the hardest of the year to get in either direction. Source ↗

Still on: Fog season (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually))

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

• Nature

  Rapeseed fields in flower

  20 Feb – 5 Apr · usuallyWildflowers & blooms

  The terraces in the counties outside the city turn yellow for a few weeks before the mist sets in for good, and it is the one time of year the hill country photographs well from a road. Source ↗

Still on: Spring Festival (15–23 Feb), Fog season (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually))

Busy — Three Gorges cruise season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Three Gorges cruise season

  15 Mar – 15 Nov · usuallyCrowdedBook early

  Chongqing is the upstream end of the Three Gorges boats and the season runs spring to late autumn. The reservoir sits low through the flood months and high in autumn, which changes what the gorges look like. Source ↗

Still on: Spring Festival (15–23 Feb), Rapeseed fields in flower (20 Feb – 5 Apr (usually))

Busy — Three Gorges cruise season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Rapeseed fields in flower (20 Feb – 5 Apr (usually)), Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Three Gorges cruise season, Labour Day holiday

• Holiday

  Labour Day holiday

  1–5 MayNational holidayCrowded

  Hongya Dong and the Liziba monorail station draw domestic crowds all year and unmanageable ones over the May break; the queue for the cable car runs to hours. Source ↗

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Three Gorges cruise season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Yangtze flood season

  15 Jun – 5 Sep · usuallyClosures

  The summer rains upstream push the Yangtze and Jialing up their banks most years, and in a bad one the lower levels of Hongya Dong and the riverside walks go under for a week. Source ↗

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Three Gorges cruise season, Summer break in China

• Hazard

  Furnace summer

  1 Jul – 31 Aug · usuallyExtreme heat

  One of the country's furnace cities: the mountains around the basin hold the heat in and it barely lets go after dark. Afternoons move underground into the metro, the malls and the cave restaurants. Source ↗

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Yangtze flood season (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — Three Gorges cruise season, Summer break in China

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Yangtze flood season (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually)), Furnace summer (1 Jul – 31 Aug (usually))

Busy — Three Gorges cruise season, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Yangtze flood season (15 Jun – 5 Sep (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, Three Gorges cruise season

• Holiday

  National Day Golden Week

  1–7 OctCrowdedBook early

  Seven days off and the whole country moving. Hongyadong and the Yangtze cable car queue for hours, the Three Gorges boats sell out weeks ahead, and hotel prices roughly double. Source ↗

• Season

  Fog season

  15 Oct – 28 Feb · usually

  The basin traps low cloud against the two rivers for months and the towers across the Jialing disappear for days at a time. It is why the place is called the fog capital, and why the night views are a gamble.

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Three Gorges cruise season

• Nature

  Wushan red leaves

  10 Nov – 10 Dec · usuallyAutumn colour

  The slopes above the Wu Gorge downriver turn red through late November and the county runs a festival around it, with extra boats from the city. It is the stretch of the Three Gorges that repays the deck time. Source ↗

Still on: Three Gorges cruise season (15 Mar – 15 Nov (usually)), Fog season (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Fog season (15 Oct – 28 Feb (usually)), Wushan red leaves (10 Nov – 10 Dec (usually))