Lijiang in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Lijiang sees average daytime highs around 20°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 189 mm of precipitation over about 29 wet days across the season. It is the 2nd-warmest season and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs climb from about 16°C in early March to 23°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

Spring is Lijiang's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Lijiang's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 20°C; 2nd-warmest season
Avg overnight low: 7°C
Precipitation: 189 mm; 29 wet days
Avg wind: 7 km/h
Travel score: 6.3; best season of the year
Months: Mar · Apr · May

← Winter Lijiang year-round climate Summer →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Lijiang in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 16°C in early March to 23°C by late May.

A typical spring day in Lijiang reaches about 20°C and drops to 7°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

How spring really feels in Lijiang

Once humidity and wind are folded in, spring brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 7 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in spring is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Lijiang weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	13° / -1°	16	3.3	1.4	10.5	4.4
Feb	15° / 1°	17	3.8	0.8	11	5.3
Mar	17° / 3°	29	6.5	0.5	11.8	6.4
Apr	20° / 7°	45	9.2	0.1	12.6	6.5
May	22° / 11°	115	13.2	0	13.3	6.1
Jun	23° / 15°	248	21.6	0	13.7	4.6
Jul	22° / 15°	317	27.8	0	13.5	3.7
Aug	22° / 14°	277	27.9	0	12.9	3.8
Sep	20° / 13°	249	24.5	0	12.2	4.0
Oct	19° / 9°	113	14.6	0.1	11.4	5.4
Nov	16° / 3°	29	5.2	0.2	10.7	5.7
Dec	13° / -0°	10	2.5	0.6	10.3	4.8

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across spring.

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitationSnow

Lijiang gets around 189 mm of rain and snow over 29 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of spring feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

Wind in Spring

Winds average 7 km/h across spring.

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 24 min in early March to 13 h 36 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 5.9 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in spring

Hazard calendar for Lijiang

In seasonPeak

None of Lijiang's seasonal hazards peak in spring. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Lijiang's monsoon runs June–September, when most of the year's rain falls.

Monsoon

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Is spring a good time to visit Lijiang?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

6.3

Sightseeing

1st-best month of the year

3.2

Beach & pool

1st-best month of the year

spring is a reasonable time to visit Lijiang for sightseeing.

What to pack for Lijiang in Spring

From spring's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In spring, Lijiang sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 7°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: light clothes, a warm layer and rain gear. About 29 days see rain.

sun protectionlight clothesa warm layerrain gear

UV index in Lijiang in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Lijiang peaks around July 10 at about 15 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 23 at about 5 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	5	8	11	10	12	15	15	12	12	9	8	5
Level	High	Very high	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme	Very high	Very high	High

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	5	High
Feb	8	Very high
Mar	11	Extreme
Apr	10	Extreme
May	12	Extreme
Jun	15	Extreme
Jul	15	Extreme
Aug	12	Extreme
Sep	12	Extreme
Oct	9	Very high
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	5	High

Air quality in Lijiang in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Lijiang is worst in March — around 22 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (June, 14 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Lijiang's WHO annual average of 17.7 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	19	20	22	21	17	14	15	17	16	16	17	18
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	19	Moderate
Feb	20	Moderate
Mar	22	Moderate
Apr	21	Moderate
May	17	Moderate
Jun	14	Moderate
Jul	15	Moderate
Aug	17	Moderate
Sep	16	Moderate
Oct	16	Moderate
Nov	17	Moderate
Dec	18	Moderate

Location & terrain

Where is Lijiang?

Lijiang sits at 26.9°N, 100.2°E, 2,397 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Shangri-La, 118 km away.

Topography around Lijiang

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Lijiang.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Lijiang has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 294 m around an average of 2,400 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,641 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 4,216 m.

The land around Lijiang is covered by artificial surfaces (62%) within 3 km, trees (65%) within 16 km, and trees (74%) within 80 km.

3 km

294 m

artificial surfaces 62%

16 km

1,641 m

trees 65%

80 km

4,216 m

trees 74%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← Winter Lijiang year-round climate Summer →

Spring weather nearby: Shangri-La 118 km · Dali 143 km · Kunming 322 km · Myitkyina 327 km · Danai 353 km · Panglong 363 km · Mogaung 371 km · Laukkai 382 km

China travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type A / I; 220 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 47% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $13,862; 2025
Happiness: 6.1 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate: 0.5; per 100k, 2020
Road deaths: 17.4; per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group: Upper middle; World Bank
English: Low; EF EPI 464
Religion

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Lijiang (26.8688°, 100.2207°, elevation 2,397 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.