Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Zhangjiakou China

In Zhangjiakou, the summers are long, warm, and partly cloudy and the winters are freezing, dry, windy, and mostly clear. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 7°F to 84°F and is rarely below -2°F or above 91°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Zhangjiakou for warm-weather activities is from mid June to late August.

The warm season lasts for 4.0 months, from May 15 to September 15, with an average daily high temperature above 72°F. The hottest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is July, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.0 months, from November 23 to February 24, with an average daily high temperature below 37°F. The coldest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is January, with an average low of 7°F and high of 26°F.

In Zhangjiakou, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Zhangjiakou begins around September 9 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around February 24.

The clearest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is December, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 77% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 24 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around September 9.

The cloudiest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is June, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 43% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Zhangjiakou varies significantly throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 3.7 months, from May 30 to September 22, with a greater than 18% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Zhangjiakou is July, with an average of 10.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 8.3 months, from September 22 to May 30. The month with the fewest wet days in Zhangjiakou is January, with an average of 0.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Zhangjiakou changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 9.3 months, from February 15 to November 25. The month with the most days of rain alone in Zhangjiakou is July, with an average of 10.4 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 2.7 months, from November 25 to February 15. The month with the most days of snow alone in Zhangjiakou is November, with an average of 0.2 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Zhangjiakou experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from April 15 to October 19, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Zhangjiakou is July, with an average rainfall of 3.1 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.9 months, from October 19 to April 15. The month with the least rain in Zhangjiakou is January, with an average rainfall of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Zhangjiakou varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is December 21, with 9 hours, 15 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 15 hours, 6 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 4:48 AM on June 14, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 57 minutes later at 7:45 AM on January 5. The earliest sunset is at 4:52 PM on December 8, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 4 minutes later at 7:56 PM on June 27.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Zhangjiakou during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Zhangjiakou experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 1.7 months, from July 1 to August 25, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 6% of the time. The month with the most muggy days in Zhangjiakou is July, with 4.7 days that are muggy or worse.

The least muggy day of the year is February 23, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Zhangjiakou experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from October 16 to June 3, with average wind speeds of more than 9.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.6 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.4 months, from June 3 to October 16. The calmest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 6.6 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Zhangjiakou varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the south for 4.0 months, from May 28 to September 27, with a peak percentage of 52% on July 26. The wind is most often from the north for 1.1 weeks, from September 27 to October 5 and for 5.7 months, from December 5 to May 28, with a peak percentage of 34% on October 2. The wind is most often from the west for 2.0 months, from October 5 to December 5, with a peak percentage of 45% on November 17.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zhangjiakou throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zhangjiakou for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to late August, with a peak score in the second week of August.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zhangjiakou for hot-weather activities is from early July to early August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Zhangjiakou typically lasts for 6.0 months (182 days), from around April 15 to around October 14, rarely starting before March 29 or after May 3, and rarely ending before September 29 or after October 30.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Zhangjiakou should appear around April 20, only rarely appearing before April 13 or after April 29.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from April 13 to July 29, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.1 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is May, with an average of 6.9 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.1 months, from November 2 to February 4, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.3 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Zhangjiakou is December, with an average of 2.4 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Zhangjiakou are 40.810 deg latitude, 114.879 deg longitude, and 2,487 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Zhangjiakou contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 935 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 2,628 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (3,133 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (5,558 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Zhangjiakou is covered by artificial surfaces (62%), trees (23%), and cropland (13%), within 10 miles by cropland (39%) and trees (24%), and within 50 miles by cropland (34%) and trees (30%).