Gansu Climate

Best Time To Visit

Located in the inland, more temperate, area of China, Gansu Province's climate is characterized by dryness and abundant sunlight. Winter here is long and freezing, with little precipitation; spring is harder to pin down, with rapid temperature swings; summer is short and hot, with heavy precipitation; autumn witnesses quick drops in temperature. The annual average temperature is between 4 and 14 degrees C.

Although a fairly small province, there are still some discrepancies among different cities in Gansu. Lanzhou, that has a semi-arid climate, boasts a relatively long winter. Zhangye, drier than the capital city, is characterized by sharp temperature differences between day and night. Further west, Dunhuang, is cold in winter while sweltering in summer, often with as little annual precipitation as 50mm. Generally speaking, the optimum time to pay the province a visit is between May and October.