Beijing

• Winter air quality · Jan 1 – Jan 31 · holiday

  Coal-heating plus winter inversion can push AQI past 300 for days - bring masks and a flexible itinerary.

• New Year's Day · Jan 1-7 · holiday

  A nationwide public holiday - many businesses close and the city takes on a festive note.

• Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) · Jan 29 – Jan 25 · religious

  Most shops close for a week and the city empties - beautiful temple fairs, terrible transport, fireworks each night.

• Lantern Festival · Feb 19-25 · religious

  Closes Spring Festival; sweet glutinous-rice balls (tangyuan) and lantern displays at every park.

• Spring Dust Storms · Feb 26 – Feb 27 · festival

  Gobi Desert dust storms sweep Beijing in spring, turning skies a sickly yellow and cratering air quality — masks are advisable.

• Spring sandstorms · Mar 12 – Mar 15 · holiday

  Mongolian-origin dust storms - sky turns yellow, AQI spikes for a day or two at a time before clearing.

• Tomb-Sweeping Day (Qingming) · Apr 2-8 · religious

  Public holiday - parks and cemeteries busy, many locals travel to ancestral villages.

• Labour Day holiday · Apr 30 – Apr 13 · holiday

  Domestic-travel peak - the Great Wall packed, Forbidden City queues spilling onto the square.

• Vesak · May 28-Jun 3 · religious

  Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing marked in one day - temple visits, lantern-lit processions and acts of merit.

• Peak Summer Crowds · May 28 – Sep 2 · festival

  Beijing summers combine oppressive heat above 35 °C with the year's heaviest tourist traffic — a combination that tests even the most patient traveller.

• Dragon Boat Festival · Jun 4-10 · religious

  Rice dumplings (zongzi) everywhere, dragon-boat races at Houhai - a three-day public holiday.

• Golden Autumn · Sep 3 – Nov 4 · festival

  Beijing's celebrated 'Golden Autumn' — clear skies and mild temperatures make September and October the undisputed sweet spot for exploring the capital.

• Mid-Autumn Festival · Sep 10-16 · festival

  Family gatherings, mooncakes and lanterns - quieter than other holidays, a good window between the Octobers.

• National Day Golden Week · Sep 24 – Sep 14 · holiday

  China's biggest domestic-travel surge - the Forbidden City sees 80,000+ visitors a day. Avoid if possible.

a reason to go mixed worth knowing about