Zhangjiajie in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Zhangjiajie sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 213 mm of precipitation over about 30 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Zhangjiajie's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Zhangjiajie's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 8°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 213 mm
- 30 wet days
- Avg wind
- 6 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Zhangjiajie in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.
A typical winter day in Zhangjiajie reaches about 8°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Zhangjiajie
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 36 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Zhangjiajie weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) 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 | 7° / 1° | 71 | 10.5 | 4.5 | 10.3 | 0.7 |
| Feb | 9° / 3° | 96 | 11.3 | 2.5 | 11 | 1.7 |
| Mar | 14° / 7° | 150 | 15.8 | 0.9 | 11.8 | 3.3 |
| Apr | 20° / 12° | 220 | 16.2 | 0 | 12.7 | 5.0 |
| May | 24° / 17° | 247 | 16.5 | 0 | 13.4 | 5.6 |
| Jun | 27° / 20° | 293 | 18.2 | 0 | 13.8 | 5.0 |
| Jul | 30° / 23° | 317 | 19.9 | 0 | 13.7 | 3.9 |
| Aug | 29° / 22° | 165 | 16.9 | 0 | 13 | 4.4 |
| Sep | 25° / 19° | 111 | 11.3 | 0 | 12.2 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 20° / 14° | 115 | 11.5 | 0 | 11.3 | 6.0 |
| Nov | 15° / 8° | 92 | 10.4 | 0.2 | 10.5 | 4.2 |
| Dec | 9° / 3° | 46 | 8.3 | 1.6 | 10.2 | 1.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Zhangjiajie gets around 213 mm of rain and snow over 30 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 6 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 10 h 18 min in early December to 11 h 18 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.3 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Zhangjiajie
None of Zhangjiajie's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Zhangjiajie's rainy season runs March–August, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Zhangjiajie?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Zhangjiajie.
What to pack for Zhangjiajie in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Zhangjiajie sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 30 days see rain.
UV index in Zhangjiajie in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Zhangjiajie peaks around July 13 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 10 at about 3 (moderate).
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) | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 |
| Level | Moderate | High | High | High | Very high | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 3 | Moderate |
| Feb | 6 | High |
| Mar | 7 | High |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 10 | Very high |
| Jun | 10 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 8 | Very high |
| Oct | 7 | High |
| Nov | 4 | Moderate |
| Dec | 4 | Moderate |
Air quality in Zhangjiajie in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Zhangjiajie is worst in March — around 39 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 2.5× the cleanest month (July, 15 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Zhangjiajie's WHO annual average of 29 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 39 | 37 | 39 | 34 | 31 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 31 | 37 |
| Level | Poor | Poor | Poor | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Poor |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 39 | Poor |
| Feb | 37 | Poor |
| Mar | 39 | Poor |
| Apr | 34 | Moderate |
| May | 31 | Moderate |
| Jun | 21 | Moderate |
| Jul | 15 | Moderate |
| Aug | 17 | Moderate |
| Sep | 22 | Moderate |
| Oct | 26 | Moderate |
| Nov | 31 | Moderate |
| Dec | 37 | Poor |
Where is Zhangjiajie?
Zhangjiajie sits at 29.1°N, 110.5°E, 174 m above sea level, in China. The nearest listed city is Fenghuang, 158 km away.
Topography around Zhangjiajie
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Zhangjiajie.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Zhangjiajie has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 380 m around an average of 228 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,365 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,831 m.
The land around Zhangjiajie is covered by trees (42%) and artificial surfaces (37%) within 3 km, trees (80%) within 16 km, and trees (94%) within 80 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 Zhangjiajie (29.1294°, 110.4783°, elevation 174 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.