Ganzi Weather
Are you planning to travel to Ganzi? One of the things you have to prepare on is the climate. It’s far too different from the rest of China, and that there could be some clothing pieces that you can opt not to bring in other cities but you should when you’re visiting Ganzi. To help you, you can use this page as a guide.
Where Is Ganzi?
Ganzi, also known as Garze, forms part of the Sichuan Province and is located in the western side within the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. However, it is an autonomous prefecture. It is composed of more than 15 counties, such as Dege, Litang, Batang, Xiangcheng, Daocheng, Derong, Dawu, Yajiang, and Kangding, which has the biggest population and one of the largest areas. Overall, Ganzi is huge, covering more than 150,000 square kilometers. It also has a terrain that has an altitude of about 3,000 meters above sea level.
Because of its geography, topography, and the location of its counties, Ganzi doesn’t have a definite climate. Instead, it can differ from place to place. In other words, some regions can be a lot colder than the others.
Nevertheless, we can provide you with a general picture of the climate within the region. For example, the average temperature can be around -8 degrees Celsius. During the summer months, the temperature remains low, although there can be a lot of sunshine. Thus, a lot of the locals would go in here so they can have respite from the high humidity. On winters, however, the regions can be covered with snow and ice—some areas actually have glaciers even if they have somewhat low altitude—and they can be difficult to navigate for tourists as some roads can end up being blocked.
In Ganzi, the temperatures are incredibly low during the months of December to January to February, which also comprise the winter season. Precipitation, however, is quite low, which means that even if there’s snow and it’s extremely cold, it hardly rains around this period. The days get warmer beginning in March, when the temperature can increase around 4 degrees Celsius. This goes on until around August. The temperature is almost consistent between April and June. The hottest months are around July and August, but these are also the times when precipitation is high. In July, the amount of rain can be up to 114 mm.
By September the temperature dips somewhat. It can change drastically around October. By November, one can surely feel the coldness of the region as the temperature becomes close to zero degrees Celsius.
When Is the Best Time to Go?
It all depends on your goal. Compared to other regions, Ganzi is admittedly less visited. Nevertheless, it’s gaining more attention the past few years, so you can still expect a good number of people in the region. If you don’t want to deal with them, you go for the low seasons, which can be around October to February. But again, the winter months can be harsh, and you can have some difficulty traversing. You can even put your life in danger in the process.
Springtime, which falls around April to May, is a great time to see how a huge portion of the region transforms. The traces of winter are slowly fading, and the flowers and trees are given their time to shine. It’s incredible to see how these myriad of colors adds sparkle to the snow-capped mountains.
What to Wear
Even if there’s a lot of sunshine in Ganzi, the climate is still cold, so you need to pack more clothing and wear a couple of layers even during the summer.