Things to Do in China in March
March weather, activities, events & insider tips
March Weather in China
Is March Right for You?
Advantages
- March sits in the sweet spot between Chinese New Year crowds and Qingming Tomb-Sweeping Day traffic - you'll find hotel availability at reasonable rates without booking six months ahead
- The plum blossoms hit peak bloom across Jiangnan region - impressive at Suzhou's Humble Administrator's Garden where 500-year-old trees drop petals that smell faintly of honey into the canal water
- Southern China's tea harvest begins in March - you can watch pickers in straw hats working the terraces around Hangzhou's West Lake, plucking the first flush of Dragon Well green tea that costs more per gram than silver
- The air quality improves dramatically from February's winter coal burning - Beijing's AQI typically drops from 'unhealthy' to 'moderate' levels, making those Great Wall hikes enjoyable rather than a lung-burning ordeal
Considerations
- Northern China remains bone-cold through March - Beijing's morning temperatures still hover around freezing, and that famous smog gets trapped under temperature inversions that create a gray lid over the city for days
- The weather flip-flops between seasons within a single day - Shanghai might start at 5°C (41°F) fog and end at 18°C (64°F) sunshine, leaving you either sweating in winter clothes or shivering in spring layers
- Domestic tourists flood scenic spots on weekends - places like West Lake in Hangzhou or the bund in Shanghai become shoulder-to-shoulder spectacles where you'll queue 40 minutes for a photo spot
Best Activities in March
Yangtze River Three Gorges Cruise Tours
March water levels are perfect - high enough from snowmelt to navigate the full gorge route, but not so high that the famous Qutang Gorge views get obscured by mist. The terraces along the riverbanks are turning green with early spring crops, creating those classic layered landscape photos. Morning fog burns off by 10 AM, revealing 300-meter (984-foot) cliffs that plunge straight into jade-colored water.
Hangzhou Tea Plantation Tours
March 20th marks the Qingming tea harvest deadline - the most prized picking window in Chinese tea culture. The terraces around Longjing village are alive with activity, and you can join pickers in the morning mist, learning why they only pluck the bud and first leaf. The tea masters fire the leaves in woks heated to 200°C (392°F) - the smell of fresh tea fills the air for kilometers around.
Beijing Hutong Cycling Routes
March's moderate temperatures make cycling Beijing's 7.8 km² (3 square miles) of hutongs pleasant - no summer sweat or winter ice. The courtyard houses are waking up from winter hibernation - you'll smell coal smoke mixing with breakfast youtiao frying, hear caged songbirds that residents hang outside their doors, and see elderly men playing xiangqi chess under leafless scholar trees that won't provide shade for another month.
Guilin Rice Terrace Photography Tours
The terraces around Ping'an village are flooded for spring planting, creating 880 hectares (2,175 acres) of natural mirrors that reflect sunrise like broken glass. March's morning mist rises from the valleys, creating those classic layered landscape shots - but unlike summer, the afternoons stay clear enough for long-distance views of the 1,200-year-old villages perched on ridge tops.
Shanghai Art Gallery Walks
March gallery openings coincide with the city's art week - the former French Concession's colonial mansions transform into pop-up exhibition spaces. The walk from Fuxing Park to Tianzifang covers 50+ galleries in 2 km (1.2 miles), with temperature-perfect weather for ducking in and out of courtyard spaces. The smell of camellia blossoms from residential gardens mingles with coffee from the 1920s-era cafes that now serve as unofficial gallery annexes.
March Events & Festivals
Shanghai International Literary Festival
English-language authors from 15+ countries read in historic venues like the 1920s Peace Hotel ballroom. The festival happens across multiple bookshops where you can browse Chinese translations of international bestsellers alongside 30-year-old propaganda posters that shops still stock in back rooms.
Qingming Festival Preparations
While the actual festival is early April, March sees families preparing paper money and food offerings. Visit Beijing's Niujie Mosque area to watch master craftsmen making paper iPhones and sports cars - the modern version of traditional burial goods. The smell of burning incense and paper creates a distinct late-March atmosphere around cemeteries.