January is the coldest month in China, and the main tourist themes in this month are related to ice and snow.
You can experience great winter scenery and ski resorts in northern China, such as inHarbin,Beijing, andChangbaishan. The official opening ceremony of the annualHarbin Ice and Snow Festivalis on January 5th and the celebration will last till late February of the next year.
YunnanandSanyabecomes a favorite for people who prefer a warm winter holiday.
Chinese New Year 2023 falls on January 22nd. Travel with your family to immerse in thetraditional Chinese New Year celebrations.
1. Harbin — Enchantment at Minus 20 °C
- Average January temperatures: -24–-13°C (-11–9°F)
- Read more onHarbin Weather: Ice Festival Temperature & Packing, 6 Day Forecast
Harbin, located in the northeast of China, is the city for the annualHarbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festivalruns throughout January. It's a crystalline fairyland of ice palaces, famous figures, cute animals, etc.
World famous landmarks, such as the Great Wall and Disney Castle, are carved out of ice and snow and lit up with colorful lights.
是另一个受欢迎的activit滑雪y. Harbin has one of China's best ski resorts calledYabuli Ski Resort. Staying 3 nights in the Club Med Yabuli to enjoy a all-inclusive skiing holiday with your family.
Recommended winter tours including Harbin:
- 6-Day Harbin Ice Festival and Yabuli Club Med Tour
- 5-Day Harbin and China Snow Town Tour
- One-Day Ice and Snow Fairyland Tour
China Highlights,Asia Highlights, andGlobal Highlights协作提供家庭和夫妇和personalized and stress-free experiences in diverse destinations.
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One Day Beijing Trip (Great Wall, Summer Palace) 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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
9月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
死机构(秋季unserem vertreten军队图图un) 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
The trip included Shanghai where Kris was our amazing 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. Beijing — Traditional Temple Fairs of Chinese New Year
Thespecial silence of winterwith fewer tourists in Beijing will make your visits to historical sites (Forbidden City,Great Wall,Summer Palace, etc.) much more peaceful and profound.
Chinese New Year 2023 falls on January 22nd. Many people go to Beijing's traditional temple fairs during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) for ritual praying, entertainment, snacks, and buying crafts. They are a great opportunity to experience local culture and traditions. (Check outBeijing's Top Temple Fairs)
Recommended Beijing Tours:
- 6-Day Beijing Chinese New Year Tour
- 6-Day Beijing Winter Tour with Skiing in a Winter Olympic Cluster
- 5-Day Beijing Family Tour
3. Jilin & Mt. Changbaishan — Rime Wonder and Skiing
- Average January temperatures: -24°C–2°C (-11°F–36°F)
Rime in Jilin, the karst landscape of Guilin, the Stone Forest in Yunnan, and the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River are the "Four Amazing Natural Wonders of China".If you like photography and look for spectacular winter scenery, the rime wonder of Jilin City should not be missed.
The Songhua River is frozen in winter, but the temperature of the water flowing under the ice is kept at 4°C. The big difference in temperature produces a lot of mist, which turns into rime hanging on the trees along the banks of the river.
The best time to appreciate the rime lasts from December to late Februaryand the city holds its Rime and Ice Festival in mid-January every year.
Skiing is another main tourist theme in Jilin City, and the best ski resorts areChangbai Mountain Resort, Beidahu Ski Resort, Songhuahu Ski Resort, and Zhuqueshan Ski Resort.
Recommended Winter Tours:
- 7-Day Harbin, Yabuli, China Snow Town, and Jilin Tour
- 7-Day Harbin, China Snow Town, and Changbai Mountain Tour
4. Yunnan (Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Dali, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna)
- Average January temperatures: 7–29°C (45–48°F)
- Read more aboutKunming Weather in January.
With clear skies prevailing above Erhai Lake inDali, warm winter sunshine in the ancient town ofLijiang, the pristine and holy land ofShangri-La, and exotic tropical rainforest inXishuangbanna,Yunnanhas become a top destination for China expats, especially family groups.
The Yuanyang Rice Terraces in Kunming is one of China's five most beautiful rice terraces. It is recommended for magnificent natural scenery and mild winters.The best period to visit the rice terraces lasts from December to March (when the rice terraces are irrigated but without crops), and January is the best month.
At the beginning of the twelfth Chinese month (which always falls in December or January),the local Hani people hold a "long street banquet" — always hundreds of meters long — to sacrifice to their dragon god. You can experience unique minority customs there.
Recommended Yunnan tours for winter:
- 9-Day Yunnan Family Tour to Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la
- 7天昆明,大理和丽江冬季旅游
- 6-Day Jianshui and Yuanyang Terraced Fields Tour
- Check out moreYunnan Tours
5. Chengdu — Glacier, Hot Pot, and Pandas
- Average February temperatures: 3–11°C (37–52°F)
- Read more onChengdu Weather in January.
Getting close to pandaswill be an unforgettable moment in your winter holidays.
Besides meeting the lovely Giant Pandas, you cantaste real Sichuan foodand learn how to cook authentic Sichuan cuisine. The hot and spicy food will ward off the cold.
You can alsoenjoy the fun of skiingin beautiful Bipenggou National Park (3½ hours away by car), andsoak in a natural mineral hot springin a snowy wonderland.
In addition,Mount Emeiprovides beautiful snowy scenery in winter with sweeping cliffs, high-reaching peaks, gushing waterfalls, gurgling springs, and towering ancient trees.
Recommended Chengdu Tours
- 4-Day Wolong In-Depth Panda Tour
- 5-Day Chengdu and Bipenggou Tour
- 5-Day Chengdu, Leshan, and Mount Emei Tour
6. Xiamen — Explore Mulan's Hometown
- Average January temperatures: 11–18°C (52–64°F)
- Read more onXiamen Weather in January.
Relatively mild temperatures in January compared to China's northern cities make Xiamen a good place to visit, though it is not as warm as Sanya (below).Although a popular destination, there aren't many tourists in Xiamen in January. You will have more space and time to enjoy your trip to the full.
Feel the artistic temperament of uncrowded Gulangyu Island, and pay a visit to the Fujian Tulou (earthen castles) — Mulan's movie home, which is the traditional architectural style of Hakka people in the Fujian area.
Recommended Xiamen Tours
7. Sanya — Sunny Beach Time
- Average January temperatures: 20–27°C (68–81°F)
- Read more onXiamen Weather in January.
Lying in the tropics, Sanya's "winters" feature sun, blue sea, clear skies, soft sand, and warm weather.
There, you can sunbathe on a private beach, do some water activities such as surfing, snorkeling, swimming, and motorboat riding, and enjoy a rainforest hot spring at nightfall while you listen to the birds' evening chorus.
Recommended Sanya Tours
Plan Your Winter Holiday with Us
For travelers who prefer snow scenery and activities, see our most recommendedcustomizable ice and snow tours:
- 7-Day Harbin, Yabuli, China Snow Town, and Jilin Tour— Charming Northeast China
- 7-Day Harbin, China Snow Town, and Changbai Mountain Tour— Fascinating Changbai Mountain
- 6-Day Beijing Winter Tour— Skiing in a 2022 Olympic Winter Games Venue
- 5-Day Chengdu and Hailuogou Tour— a Song of Ice and Fire
For those who'd prefer a warm winter escape, see our top recommendedcustomizable warm winter tours:
- 5-Day Sanya Tour with the Best Beach— a Feast of Sea, Shore, and Sun
- 6-Day Xishuangbanna and Pu'er Tour— Escape to the Rainforest
- 7-Day Kunming, Dali and Lijiang Winter Tour— A Warm Winter Trip in Yunnan
- 8-Day Yunnan Tour of the Nu River and Tengchong— Discover Northwest Yunnan
Orcontact usif you have any questions or requirements to design a tour.