My husband will retire in the end of October and we would like to travel to China. Because we are going to be very flexible timewise we would like to chose the best time of the year but also off-season if possible. <BR>What would you recommend?

Depends on where in China you'd like to visit. In general, I like the months of Oct/Nov for a combination of nice weather (cooler and less humid in the south and lower elevations, not so cold yet in the north and higher elevations) and lower crowds (except for the one week national holiday the first of October).

Cindra, I've visited both Beijing and Shanghai in April and highly reocmmend that month for travel. In Beijing, there isn't much rain and you'll have nice crisp but Spring-like weather. Shangai gets a little more rain, but the city has no many wonderful parks that it's just gorgeous! I've also heard the same advice as what Patty said, if I were to plan another trip (and I know I'll go back again, I love China) I'd go either in April or in October/November.

I agree with the above posters; fall and spring are generally the best seasons to visit. Winters can be very cold, and summers very hot and humid. Living in Shanghai, though, I tend to recommend late October over spring, since it's so rainy here in the spring. In March/April you'll probably be ok, though. You can check average percipitation on www.weather.com in their travel section, vacation planner, destination finder, option 2 (here's a link):<BR><BR>http://www.weather.com/activities/travel/vacationplanner/?from=travfl<BR><BR>Have fun!

Do avoid the time around May 1 and Oct 1 though - it's the two biggest national holidays in China and tons of Chinese tour around China themselves.