China in March: Weather, Top Places to Visit & Travel Tips

- Stroll around the Royal Palace and Imperial Gardens with Early Spring Flowers

As spring steps into Beijing in March, the temperature gradually gets warm. It is the best time to appreciate the early blooming flowers in the imperial royal gardens of Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and Temple of Heaven. On a fine day, roaming around the imperial gardens, you can see all kinds of flowers like pear blossoms, peach blossoms, lilac, crabapple, peony, etc. With these lovely flowers, the gentle spring breeze, and genial sunshine, the leisure time in the palaces can be very relaxing. Also, the famous Yuyuantan Park with gorgeous pink blossoms attracts many visitors to appreciate the beauty of natural harmony with the delicate and solemn royal architecture.

- Visit the “Spring City” with the Nearby Golden Sea of Rapeseed Flowers

As Kunming is usually known as the “Spring City” of China for its moderate temperature and various blooming flowers in springtime, the capital city of Yunnan, Kunming has become a top popular destination during springtime. The oldest karst landscape in Shilin(the stone forest), flourishing flower markets, and Yuantong Temple with cherry blossom are the most unmissable sites to feel the spring vibes.

Also, about 210km away from Kunming, Luoping, a small county in Yunnan Province, is the best place to go near Kunming. Every year from late February to early April, thousand square meters of Rapeseed Flowers are blooming flourishingly in the whole county of Luoping. Besides appreciating the beautiful flowers, an annual international Rapeflower Festival is held there. It attracts numerous visitors and photographers here to hike, join ethnic folk activities here, and capture the stunning golden scene. 

- Take a Spring Hike at Yellow Mountain with blooming Yellow Flowers

Spring is the best time to visit Yellow Mountain with its surrounding ancient villages. It is a top destination in China and well connected by high-speed railway from Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou. Besides hiking up to the Yellow Mountain (Huangshan), there are many distinctive Huizhou-style ancient villages scattered at the foot of the mountain in Southern Anhui. Those villages themselves are precious historic and cultural heritages, and a good media of local traditional culture, history, and geography. With the blooming rapeseed flowers decorating the tranquil ancient villages during the springtime with a comfortable temperature, these ancient villages have become more idyllic and romantic. The recommended villages include Hongcun Ancient Village, Xidi Ancient Village, Nanping Ancient Village, Bishan Ancient Village, and Xian’an River, etc. 

- Top Rapeseed Flowers Sea for Photography

Besides Luoping, Wuyuan in Jiangxi Province is another site to get immersed in the sea of flowers. It is also near Huangshan. The bright yellow rapeseed flowers decorate the remote mountainous county and it has won the reputation of being one of the most beautiful countrysides of China. Not only being famous for the blooming flowers, but Wuyuan is also a historic site to learn about traditional Hui architectures. Many of them are well-preserved and some old ones can be traced back to the 7th century. The Typical white walls and black tiles on them with yellow rapeseed flowers blooming on the slopes and terraces around the village form an idyllic tranquil scene.

- Picking fresh Tea Sprouts in Longjing Tea Plantation and Gentle Spring Breeze on West Lake

Spring is the best time to visit Hangzhou, while the march is the golden time to pick the No. 1 China Tea, Longjing tea, or dragon well tea. In Hangzhou, there are many time-honored tea villages, plantations, parks, and even a museum related to the Longjing tea culture. Among them, Meijiawu village, 13km away from Hangzhou downtown, is well renowned for many celebrities, country and regional heads have visited there. In the morning, you can carry a little bamboo basket with the tea pluckers and pick the tea roaming around the lush tea plantation and return with these green treasures and learn how to bake the tea, as well as the tea art performance and introduction. 

Besides the tea plantations, Lingyin Temple and West Lake in Hangzhou are unmissable sites to visit in March. Printed in the banknote, West Lake is the landmark site of Hangzhou. Beautiful pavilions, pagodas, gardens, temples, bridges, are built around this lovely lake. Biking, jogging, or boating on the lake with the gentle spring breeze forms a tranquil Chinese scene. With over 1700 years’ history, Lingyin temple is a well-renowned temple with lush forest, marveling Feilai Peak beside there, and countless Buddhist treasures. 

- White Sea of Pear Blossom and Tibetan Villages

Located in the west of Sichuan Province, Jinchuan is about 490km away from Chengdu, one of the best places to see the “Snow Pear” blossoms. The moderate climate and untouched highland have nourished this white snow sea of pear blossom in every march. The best places to see pear blossoms in Jinchuan include Shenxianbao Viewing Platform, Pear Garden in Jinchuan, Ge’erxiang, Jinjiangcun Viewing Platform, Dapingcun, Danzhamucun, etc. The picturesque snow pear flower sea attracts many photographers here. Besides, there also many historic sites like the Guangfa Temple and Buddhist sites like Guanyinqiao Scenic Area and Guanyinqiao Religious Cultural Area with many interesting Tibetan-style architectures.

About 100km from Jinchuan, Danba is a small county in Garze that also offers a picturesque spring scene of snow pear blossoms. With many interesting Tibetan watchtowers and houses of the local Jiaju villages inlaid, the vast green land of Danba is well decorated with pear blossoms, forming a fairyland. In March, it is still cold in Danba and Jinchuan, and the average temperature ranges between 4°C-11 °C, and it is colder at night. You may need to bring some extra layers to keep warm.

- Imperial Hiking Route with Romantic Peach Blossoms

Listed in the world natural & cultural heritage site in 1987, Mount Tai is the foremost of the Five Sacred Mountains in China. There are over 72 ancient Chinese emperors who have visited the mountain. Even Confucius has hiked to the top and sighed “the world is small”. Numerous ancient temples, tablets, inscriptions have been well preserved here. It is a symbol of Chinese culture in many ways. During springtime in March, the solemn mountain has become more romantic as the spring peach trees waking up with pink blossoms. Traveling from the west side of Taohuayuan uphill to the Jade Emperor Peak, you will encounter the natural beauty of the majestic mountain with fewer crowds. Also, it may be cold in the early spring and nighttime, so bring some extra layers or rent a down jacket to keep warm on the mountain.

- The Most Beautiful Pink Sea of Peach Blossoms on the untouched Highland

Nyingchi is a prefecture city at an average altitude of 3000 meters above sea level. It is home to Tibetan and many other ethnic groups in China with the peach flower as its symbol. For its remote locations, Nyingchi preserves many beautiful lakes, awesome gorges, lush forests, while the pink blossoms in spring add some romantic vibes to the springtime of Nyingchi, known as the "East Switzerland". Usually, the annual Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival starts in late March and the beautiful scenery attracts many photographers. The pink peach trees are like gems, inlaid in the vast green land and harmony with the villages. The best sites to see peach blossoms in Nyingchi are Gala village, Yarlung Zangbu Grand Canyon, Nyang River, Bome County, etc. During the Nyingchi Peach Blossom Festival, you can also join and experience some interesting activities there, such as horse racing, archery, stone-carrying competition, Tibetan dancing, and singing fairs, etc. Since the altitude is high and the temperature drops a lot during the night time, you may need to pack some extra layers for the event.