Kashgar weather by month
The best time to visit Kashgar is April, September and October — 93/100 in April, 24°C and 3 rainy days. The best season is spring, March to May (86/100 on average).
The worst month is January at 46/100 — freezing, dry. See January →
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
Planning the wider trip? Best time to visit China →
Best season: March to May (86/100 on average) · worst January (46/100)
- Days
- 24°C
- Nights
- 10°C
- Wet days
- 3
- Sun
- 10.9 h
- Humidity
- 30%
- Daylight
- 13 h
Kashgar, month by month
Comfort score out of 100 for the kind of trip Kashgar is best for, the average high, rainy days and hours of sun a day from the climate normals, and how busy it tends to be.
What's on in Kashgar through the year
Festivals, natural spectacles, holidays and the seasons to watch out for — curated and sourced. The month pages carry the detail.
- January
- Spring Festival15–23 FebHoliday
- Clocks run on two times at once1 Jan – 31 DecRule
- March
- Floating dust season1 Mar – 31 May (usually)Season
- April
- Khunjerab Pass season1 Apr – 30 Nov (usually)Opening
- May
- May Day holiday1–5 MayHoliday
- July
- Peak summer heat1 Jul – 20 Aug (usually)Season
- August
- Melon and grape season1 Aug – 30 Sep (usually)Season
- October
- National Day Golden Week1–7 OctHoliday
Crowds in Kashgar in April
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
Busyschool holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Good to know before you go to Kashgar
Real experiences from travellers' own write-ups, quoted with a link to the original.
culture
The livestock market only runs on Sunday, but we learned not to show up too early since things in this part of China get going later in the morning than you'd expect. Once it was in full swing, the bazaar was a maze of stalls selling spices, hand-woven carpets and copperware, with grilled kebab smoke drifting over everything. Bargaining is completely normal but doesn't need to be aggressive; we just asked questions, stayed friendly, and were ready to walk away if a price didn't move. We dressed modestly and always asked before photographing anyone, which people appreciated.
Traveller notes on Kashgar
What people who have been say about the place — the year-round notes first, then month by month.
Forum posters describe March in Kashgar as gradually warming, with late-March-into-early-April temperatures typically cited around 15-20C during the day. Posters are direct that spring travel elsewhere in Xinjiang can still bring genuinely cold surprises - one traveler reported snow in nearby Ürümqi during an early April visit despite it technically being spring. Posters consistently flag March as sandstorm season for eastern Xinjiang and the neighboring Hexi Corridor in Gansu, generally recommending May as a more reliable alternative if avoiding that risk matters. Posters generally recommend warm layers regardless of the daytime warming trend, given how much cooler mornings, evenings and higher-elevation stops can run this early in spring. Posters generally rate March as a workable but still transitional, occasionally dusty time to visit Kashgar.
Forum posters name July through September as the best stretch for exploring the Silk Road cities - not too hot, with scenery at its best - though posters heading to nearby high-altitude spots like Karakul Lake note it can still turn glorious and sunny by day (low-20sC) while temperatures drop sharply after dark, making warm layers essential for any side trip outside the city itself. Early-to-mid September specifically gets recommended as the sweet spot before conditions shift heading into October, with one poster describing planning a westbound route that reaches the Kashgar area before October 1 as comfortably workable.
Add your own note from Kashgar's card on the map.