China - May or October?
 

Just beginning to plan our first trip to China. Which month is better for clear air, flowers, less rain, and pleasant temperatures. I had heard about sand storms in Beijing in the Spring. Will this be a problem in the second two weeks in May?

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March through May is considered to be the sand storm season in Beijing area.

October is definitely the month to visit China. Avoid the ENTIRE first week of October because of celebration of National Day (10/1).

We went last yr Oct and the weather was good - bordering on cold esp coz we did a Wild Wall weekend which was at a remote location. I would def suggest Oct over May - even more so if you plan to spend some time in HK. Sept-Oct are the best months for HK, end May is either muggy or (this year) rainy.

October it is! Hobbes, what was your itinerary? Looking for suggestions. We'll have only just a little over two weeks.

I live in HK so we have seen China in bits and pieces. Still nto done Xian and Guilin. If you are willing to trek take a look at www.wildwall.com - an amazing way to "experience" rather than just see the Great Wall. I have posted about it earlier. I would say in 2 weeks you should try to cover at least Beijing (4-5 days), Xian (2-3), Shanghai (2-3, depends on how much you like cities) and HK (4-5). In case you are skipping HK you could add Guilin or Yangshou or if you like cruises the 3 gorges dam.

How about Suzhou and the other "water towns" around Shanghai?