JordanDemarco

I'm off to Tokyo in a few weeks time, but have rather late in the day decided to do a few days in Beijing as well to mix up the holiday.

Was fine about it all, till i started to read posts around various forum talking about how harsh the weather can be in July.

I assume the temperature are around the same for Shanghai? What about Hong Kong?

Thrown a bit of downer on my plans actually.

mackenzie77

Uh, have you referenced a map lately? Shanghai is over 1000km south of Beijing, HK over 2000km. Of course it's going to be hot!

And because I'm in a good mood (post-lunch celebratory cocktails will do that), I'll even throw you an amazing bone......WEATHER REPORTS ON THE INTERNET!!!

HERE WE GO!!!

Shanghai
Interpretation: Bloody hot

Hong Kong
Interpretation: Mother of sweet Jesus hot

So yes, if you are from dem yonder Northern parts, you will probably not enjoy yourself too much.

Chinatrvl

Couple of things, after the previous cheeky reply .

Beijing, hot and dryish, pollution and 30+ degrees (celsius!) plus no wind make it not the nicest time of the year to go. When you're lucky you'll get a sandstorm on top

Hong Kong, hot and humid. Humidity makes the heat bearable, you sweat the very second you exit your airconditioned hotel, but it never feels Arizona/Dubai style "mother of sweet Jesus hot", despite the forecast is 35-39°.

It's a matter of your own preference. Whilst I enjoy the sub/tropic climate of the south, many prefer the drier north during the summer months.


All that being said, it's not like I would recommend not to go in July. It'll be "fine".
Enjoy your stay.

HawaiiO

HK is really humid in July... dont recommend it.
Even at night, it was sweltering!

Shanghai is about the same but not as humid as HK.

Beijing is also hot but it's a lot drier.

If u're going to be in Tokyo, why not go to one of the Japanese places like Hokkaido or maybe Kyoto.

aaron1262

in Hk right now. It hasn't been that hot these past couple days. There has been a slight breeze. When it gets too hot just go inside a department store and cool off with the strong AC. Personally don't like this weather..too hot and humid for my liking. If you don't like it...don't come during the summer. fall or spring is best.

tauphi

Interesting, I've always found that the humidity makes it worse.

YVR Cockroach

If are used to eastern N. American during the summer, it's pretty much the same. Humidity is what gets you. Can walk a few blocks and your shirt's soaking wet. What makes it worse is the vast amounts of concrete structures that capture heat all day and radiate it back out all night.

As for humidity making it bearable, I second the contrary. Look up the term "humidex".

jiejie

BEIJING DOES NOT HAVE SANDSTORMS IN THE SUMMER!!!
There, I feel better. March through May is SS time. You need ultra dryness and wind from the west/northwest for SS's, and those aren't present in the summer.

With the exception of yesterday which was overcast and not so hot, Beijing over the last couple of weeks has been blisteringly hot and dry (36-37 degrees C, upper 90's F), though there have been a surprising number of fairly blue sky days. This is likely to continue through late July. There has been much less rain than usual so far this summer, usually this will cool things off by several degrees. There are plenty of a/c places to cool off though. Beijing is relatively more humid in summer than winter, but by absolute standards, still fairly dry.

The humidity in South China including Hong Kong makes things feel much worse. A/C feels even better there.

Neither north or south China summer weather will unduly upset the plans of anyone from place that has similarly hot summers, such as the lower half of the continental USA, Mediterranean Europe, or any tropical or subtropical region of the world.

Chinatrvl

Comes down to your own preferences - and as I said, many people prefer dry over humid, whilst I prefer sweating over sizzling.

I even have photos - July last year, got stuck at PEK airport.

phillipas

Fair enough. The problem comes when you get to places were it's hot and humid - i.e. Guangdong.

I have photos from the more typical Spring ones when I was on a 3 day trip around one of the more desert parts of Gansu. On leaving I was seriously considering taking shorts and t-shirt only as it was fairly clear that decent weather was set to stay. As it turned out day 2 was a sand storm which promptly shut most of the shops and had the locals wandering around with plastic bags over their hair. I;d post the photo's but they simpy came out as though I'd photographed a blank orange wall Day 3 we were under 10cm of snow (not ideal for a few hundred km drive!) and I was thanking myself that I'd decided to pack an emergency sweater and a pair of jeans.

moondog

It should go without saying that July is hot... pretty much everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere.

I happen to like Beijing in the summer because you don't get the same humidity that encroaches upon Japan/Shanghai/HK.

You might want to head up to the Goose and Duck Ranch for a day/night and hit Mutianyu at the same time. Their swimming pool is one of my favorites in the BJ area.

jiejie

Ah, but those aren't true Gobi-originated sandstorms of the spring that most people reserve that word for. Those are localized man-made dust clouds, from the uncovered construction and infrastructure sites going on all around Beijing. I guess if you want to call this phenomenon a "sandstorm," you're entitled. If you've ever been through a real honking honest sandstorm that turns the sky end-of-the-world orange (I will never forget March 20, 2002 as long as I live), you'll immediately spot the difference.

HotelSlave

A few days ago a city bus here in Beijing caught on fire on the streets due to the heat. It's been cooling down a bit now since the 42C spike, rain and fog is turning the city into a hot and wet steam room, its fun!

The nights do cool down a bit to almost 25C.

But that's just Beijing...I bet Tibet is enjoying some beautifully seasonable weather in July and August.

jth

I too have a week in Beijing from 7/28 to 8/4. So can anyone recommend any place with swimming facilities where one can go to cool down if it get's too hot? Some lake or pool area is fine, or shouldn't i bother bringing the swimming gear?

mnredfox

Hot as hot. PVG will be 35 the next two days. Compare that to SIN, MNL, or HKG, all will be cooler.

Not to mention PVG is hot AND humid. PEK is hot, but not that humid.