September is one of the best months for travelling China weather-wise. Compared to the summer holiday peak season and October's National Day holiday, September is less crowded, which means a better travel experience.
The traditionalMid-Autumn Festivalusually falls in September, bringing with it a great cultural atmosphere but crowds of Chinese travelers. In 2019, it falls on September 13. We list six best places to visit in the cool September.
1. Beijing
Beijing has four distinct seasons: blowy spring (sometimes with sandstorms), burning hot summer, cool autumn, and chilly winter. So, autumn is the peak season for travelling to Beijing, however, the most recommended month is September.
The low rainfall (46 mm (2 in)) and moderate temperatures (on average 14 °C (57 °F)–26 °C (79 °F)) can make your tour in Beijing smoother and more enjoyable.
Beijing has some of China's best World Heritage sites, such asthe Great Wall of China,the Forbidden City,the Summer Palace,the Temple of Heaven. In this historical capital city, you can maximize your appreciation of Chinese culture and history.
- Recommended tour:4-Day Essence of Beijing Tour
China Highlights,Asia Highlights, andGlobal Highlightscollaborate to provide families and couples with personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.
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有一天北京之旅(长城,颐和园)With Jennifer
My tour guide Jennifer made this quick one day trip to Beijing great! The day started out a bit overcast and rainy when I landed, but Jennifer’s positive attitude and kind communication (along with her being able to keep up/put up with my jokes) made it fine.Despite this, Jennifer and our driver Chen were able to swing an extra photo shoot stop at the Olympic Stadium. I guess it gives me an excuse to come back to visit again, and when I do - I will use China Highlights and this great fantastic team. more
Sep 2023, Alan Landau
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Best Great Wall experience
Used China Highlights for a private all-day tour of Jinshanling portion of the Great Wall. One of the best days of my life! Tour guide Alan and a driver met me at my hotel and the ride was very comfortable. Alan was extremely knowledgable and friendly, I really enjoyed talking with him. The scenery was astoundingly beautiful; this is a less touristy portion of the Wall. The hiking was fun, Alan brought plenty of water, and showed me things I would not have noticed by myself. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a local restaurant for lunch that Alan had arranged - delicious! Once in a lifetime experience. more
Sep 2023, LZviajera
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Non-standard private China tour
I booked a 4 weeks private China tour with ChinaHighlights covering landscapes and cultural sites between Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Hangzhou and Shanghai. The entire tour was set up accurately, very fast and in the light of all relevant personal preferences by Mrs. Carol Wang, an expert in organizing hand made voyages in China. Due to her knowledge and immediate responses the tour was scheduled comfortably and straightforward, including all transfers and authentic hotel bookings. I highly recommend ChinaHighlights and in particular Carol Wang for organizing any extraordinary, non-mainstream travel to China. more
Sep 2023, Dr. Manfred Leubner
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Best way to see Beijing
Our guide Lily Liu was lovely - super patient, warm, knowledgeable about Chinese history, and great English skills. Would definitely recommend this service! more
Sep 2023, Stephanie N
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Amazing tour!
Our guide, Linda, was by far the best person to have for our tours of The Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and Mutianyu Great Wall. She was an encyclopedia with great knowledge of Chinese History and was able to explain every detail of what we were seeing. She picked us up with a very nice car and driver from our hotel both days, at the time most convenient to us, and dropped us back off wherever we wanted at the end of our tours. Both the Forbidden City and the Great Wall are marvels of human and Chinese achievements and are a must to see in Beijing. Visiting them both with a tour guide that feels more like a friend was certainly helping enjoying it even more. more
Sep 2023, Robin Z
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Beijing is AMAZING
Linda Wang our amazing tour guide helped us to have an unforgettable trip to all the best of Beijing. From organizing the driver (also excellent) to drop us/pick us up exactly when we were leaving busy tourist sites, excellent food recommendations, fascinating knowledge relevant to us and our children (13yo and 11yo) making The Forbidden City, Tiannamen Square, Great Wall, Beijing Zoo and The Hutongs thoroughly enjoyable. Handling all the entrance/exit passport and ticket requirements, interpreting, answering any questions we had about local culture, we were so comfortable and happy, never rushed, everything you could want and more. more
Sep 2023, Michelle A
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Personal Private tour China
Me and my wife have book a personal private tour to China with China Highlights in March'23 and I must say Ms Maggie Jiang has been very helpfully all along. Advising us on the trips, Visa, Covid and details of our trips coming this 18th September'23. We hope that with all the information provided by Maggie, we should be enjoying our coming tour in China. more
Sep 2023, John Wee
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Very helpful with trip planning
Planned a trip to Beijing for around a week with China highlights. The consultant Silvia did a great job creating the itinerary of the trip. more
Sep 2023, ax zx
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Streamlined and Customized Trip Planning at its Finest!
Roger Li has crafted the most amazing trip for my family for next summer! We have emailed back and forth about different experiences I wanted to add, and he always responded within a few hours. He actually ended up creating 4 different itineraries for me to choose from! Now we’re all set for a completely customized trip to China that includes all the major sites plus cultural experiences! I would recommend China Highlights to anyone thinking of going to China whether they are an experienced travel planner or a novice! Especially, if you get to work with Roger! more
Sep 2023, Tamara Scheel
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Unforgettable trip!
Helen, my tour guide, to make possible this amazing first trip to China that I'll never forget! Each day was amazing, Helen helped a lot and was there since I got out to the arrival hall at the airport and replied all my curious questions related to China's history during the visit. For sure an unforgettable trip!!!! more
Sep 2023, Rebeca Elena
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强烈推荐
Our tour guide, Mark was excellent. He was very accommodating and knowledgeable! We wouldn’t have seen half the places without Mark. He was able to get us past crowds and organised passport entry. Alongside Mr Who, the driver, it made our time in China hassle free and very memorable! Thank you Mark, Mr Who and China Highlights! more
Sep 2023, Sara N
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Great service from China Highlights in planning my trip
I've been very happy with the service I have gotten so far (noting that my trip has not happened yet). My agent Roger Li has been so helpful. He helped me plan the Guiling day trip according to special requests and had great advice on how to plan a unique trip away from the crowds. We couldn't be more excited. Roger was also happy to help and answer all the questions I had unrelated to my planned trip with them and to help me out when I had some issues when I accidentally gave the wrong information when booking train tickets. His replies were always prompt and friendly. I feel very comfortable traveling to China knowing I can reach out to Roger with any issues that may arise during our China Highlights trip. more
Aug 2023, Jóna Marín ólafsdóttir
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Beijing and a little beyond!
We have recently returned from an action packed 4-days in Beijing, including a trip to the Great Wall, in the company of Bruce, our tour guide from China Highlights. Bruce was very knowledgeable throughout the 4-days and took the time and effort to discuss various aspects of Chinese history with our teenage son, including quite a bit in mandarin . Our days were both busy and enjoyable and Bruce also seemed to know all the good places to eat – thanks Bruce and look forwards to next time! more
Aug 2023, Mike M
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China Highlights - Beijing
Our trip to Beijing with China Highlights was amazing! We took our 12 year old daughter. Mark our guide did a wonderful job making sure we were all comfortable, stayed busy and got acclimated to China as Beijing was our first stop on the mainland. Mark has a lot of knowledge about China and the sites we saw and communication was easy (with us and with our daughter in Chinese). Thanks Mark! more
Aug 2023, Breton P
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2-day Beijing
Top notch! Our 2-day Beijing trip was very well organised and tailored to our wishes. We visited the Great wall, Tiananmen square, forbidden city and had food at local restaurants. Email contact with China Highlights (Chandler Wang) was very convenient and replies were quick. Our tour guide (Felix) was very knowledgeable and very easy to speak to. The local restaurants visited during our trip had amazing food, really great experience! We had a great time and would definitely use China Highlights again. Thank you! more
Aug 2023, Jonna
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Der Partner für eine individuelle China Reise
Die Agency (in unserem Fall vertreten durch Tutu Sun) hat für uns eine perfekte Reise organisiert. Sehr gute Kommunikation im Vorfeld der Reise und vor Ort. Zu 100% verl?sslich, immer pünktlich und an jedem Ort sehr freundliche und engagierte Guides. Wir k?nnen eine Buchung bei diesem Unternehmen absolut und uneingeschr?nkt empfehlen. In Beijing hatten wir mit Herrn Chen 3 interessante Tage inklusive einer sehr spannenden individuellen Wanderung auf der grossen Mauer. more
Aug 2023, Jeanne K
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Beijing Tour
Bruce was an amazing guide and very knowledgeable. He got me past ALOT of long lines fast and knew all the best places to go to take pictures! Also provided good recommendations for additional activities! If you get Bruce you’re in good hands! more
Aug 2023, Anthony L
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Great two weeks in China with China Highlights
这次旅行包括上海,克丽丝是我们阿玛斯ing guide, Guilin and Yangshuo with Gary who did an amazing job at adjusting the schedule to meet our needs given the incredible heat, Chengdu with Helen who shared her passion for the Pandas with us, had fun in the peoples park with us and introduced us to the local opera which was fascinating and ensured we were able to taste amazing Sizhuan food without burning up! We then moved on to Xian with Jenny who ensured we got to the Terracotta army early enough to get an amazing view, took us to try our hand at making our own warriors, was very knowledgable about the history of Xian which was very interesting and lastly allowed us to try making dumplings which we all loved. Our final stop was Beijing. Ethan was our tour guide and he again did an amazing job ensuring we got to the Great Wall of China early enough to see the amazing wall without too many people and whilst it was still relatively cool, share his great knowledge of the Forbidden City and Summer Palace with us, introduced us to the Beijing Hot Pot and importantly ensured we were able to celebrate our sons 18th birthday in style and with his favourite Chinese food!! Thank you again for making our 2 weeks so special and we will for sure be back very soon. more
Aug 2023, Sandra
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There is tour guides and there is felix
I had a blast with this tour! Felix is such an amazing person and so knowledgeable! He understands how to share knowledge and make us interested! Me and my friends had a wonderful day with Felix around the city I highly recommend China Highlights and would most likely recommend felix!!! more
Aug 2023, PrettoMauricio
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Jennifer is an awesome guide and the…
Jennifer is an awesome guide and the tours were great! more
Aug 2023, Renan Santos
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2. The Yellow Mountains
The Yellow Mountainsis one of the most famous and beautiful mountainous areas in China. Thepeculiar-looking pine trees and rocks, the seas of clouds(which make the mountains and trees much more mystical), andthe hot springsare the four highlights of the Yellow Mountains.
Though the Yellow Mountains is worth a visit all the year round, September is the most recommended moth to visit. Because the burning sun of summer has gone, autumn has added a cool mystery to the Yellow Mountains. It is easier to come across seas of clouds and see sun rises (less rain).
The average temperature in the Yellow Mountains in September is 14 °C or 66 °F. The temperature difference between day and night is big, so remember to bring warm clothes.
今年冬天来得早在黄色山脉,lasting from late October (begins to snow) to March, so the later you visit in September the more likely you are to see fall colors.
- Recommended tour:3-Day the Yellow Mountains and Hongcun Village Tour
3. Shanghai
Shanghai is always popular, but September is especially suitable because of its more comfortable weather, and less crowding than in summer or early October.
You can stroll onthe Bundalong the Huangpu River and admire the historical architecture one side and gleaming skyscrapers the other. Or take a cruise to enjoy Shanghai's classic skyline views.
Alternatively, go up the highest building in Shanghai — the Shanghai Tower — and have a bird's-eye view of the city.
The surroundingwater townsbecome cooler and more conducive to explore in September. Take a day trip toZhujiajiao, a water town with fascinating canals, bridges, and architecture, and relax on a punted boat.
- Experience the Charming Shanghai and Water Townin our2-Day Shanghai's Old and New Collision.
4. Chengdu
August is the month when most giant pandas give birth to cubs. If you visit Chengdu in September, you will have a great chance to see new-born or baby pandas. Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Center is the best place to see baby pandas. SeeThe Top 4 Places to See Giant Pandas in China.
The weather is comfortable, with less rain and clearer skies than in summer. It is a good idea to extend your trip to the adjacent mountain scenic areas if you visit Chengdu in September.
One of its best scenic areas isJiuzhaigou. It sees its best scenery in fall, when the leaves turn golden and red, striking a lively contrast with its clear and emerald lakes. The colors are so vivid, it looks like an oil painting.
- Discover the charm of Chengduin our2-Day Panda Keeper and Chengdu Highlights Tour.
5. Yuanyang
Yuanyangis a county in the southeast of Yunnan Province. It is famous for its terraced fields. The spectacular view from the scenic mountain terraces in autumn harvest season is definitely amazing. When the rice ripens, turning the hills a brilliant yellow color, with the terraced structure creating a myriad of golden tiers.
The terraced paddy fields wind from the valley bottoms up to the top, like, from a distance, great chains or ribbons as they wind their way around the contours of the mountain slopes in parallel, tiered bands.
- Discover the beauties in the southeast of Yunnanin our6-Day Jianshui and Yuanyang Tour.
6. Fenghuang Ancient Town
Fenghuang Ancient Town, a graceful town near the mountain and by the river, is renowned for itsnatural beauty, unique wooden buildings, and colorful ethnic customs(especially Miao Minority and Tujia Minority).
Generally speaking, Fenghuang Ancient Town is worth a visit all the year round. But, if you want to see the most beautiful Fenghuang Ancient Town, spring and autumn are recommended.
However, it always drizzles in spring, which may bring some inconvenience for outdoor activities. Hence, autumn, and especially September, is the best time for visiting this beautiful ancient town.
Cool weather, clear skies, less crowds (because summer holiday in China has finished), and rare rainfall will make your travel smoother.
Traveling to the town during weekends and Chinese public holidays is still not recommended, as there are more visitors, and hotels and restaurants raise their prices.
- Recommended tour:7-Day Changsha, Zhangjiajie, Fenghuang Ancient Town Tour
Visit These Beautiful Places with Us
Can't wait to discover the above destinations, or do you want to explore more hidden gems? Having explored many facets of China, our specialists can help you to maximize your travel experience by suggesting the optimal trip.
Tell us your requirements and one of our specialists will be in touch toplan a unique trip for you.
Here are our two most-chosen sample itineraries for your reference:
- The Golden Triangle: Beijing – Xi'an – Shanghai (8 days)
- Classic Wonders: Beijing – Xi'an – Guilin/Yangshuo – Shanghai (11 days)
See morecustomizable China tour ideas.