The best time of the year to visit Shanghai

Shanghai has four distinct seasons - Spring is pleasant and warm, Summer is very hot and rainy, Autumn is comfortably cool and Winter is overcast and cold.

We find the best time of the year to visit Shanghai is either Autumn or Spring. Autumn tends to be drier than Spring.

• April or May are the best Spring months to visit with a temperature around 20°C.
• In Summer the temperature is typically mid- to high-30°C during the day and very humid, the hottest time being July and August. The monsoon season starts from mid-June and lasts about a month, so best avoid visting around that time.
• Late September or early October are the most comfortable months in the Autumn with a temperature of mid-20°C. Typhoon season is from late August to mid-September and can bring heavy rainfall and is best avoided.
• During Winter, the temperature gets as low as single figures in °C with late January to early February being the coldest time of the year and means you'll need a thick coat to keep warm.

We visited Shanghai in April on the last two occasions because it coincided with the UK school holidays for Easter and we didn't have to take our daughter out of school during term time. But if we weren't constrained by school holidays our preference would be to visit Shanghai in late September, early October.

If you do decide to visit Shanghai in Spring be prepared for showers and always take a waterproof jacket and/or an umbrella with you. On our trip to Shanghai in 2011 we were fortunate that it rained overnight only on a couple of occasions, during the day the weather was fine and dry. In contrast, we had several days of rain during our visit in April 2008. So, it's always a good idea to have a couple of indoor attractions/activities planned as a backup to keep the kids entertained even when it pours. We always keep the trip to Shanghai Science and Technology Museum for just such an occasion.

Our Tips:

• Visit in September/October or April/May time
• Pack clothes that can be layered such as t-shirts, long sleeved tops, thin cardigan/sweater or light coat/jacket as it can get fairly warm around mid-day and tends to be cool in the morning and after dusk
• Be prepared for showers and have waterproof jackets or umbrella always with you
• Plan a couple indoor activities/attractions into your itinerary to keep the kids amused on those rainy days.