Weather: The weather is still chilly in February. Suzhou's average nightly low temperature is 2 °C (36 °F), and the average daily high temperature is 9 °C (48 °F). It rains or snows about 7 days a month, and total precipitation is about 59 mm. Check the current Suzhou weather and forecast>>
The average temperature is above 0 °C (32 °F), but it occasionally falls below zero to –1 °C (30 °F) or –2 °C (28 °F). It snows sometimes in February. UV radiation is low.
Clothing: Bring warm clothing such as a thick coat, gloves, and a hat or a scarf to stay warm. You'll need waterproof shoes if you walk in the snow or slush.
Suzhou February 2013 Weather Data Graphs
Things to Do in Suzhou in February
Visit the Taihu Plum Blossom Festival: The brave plum trees put out their flowers quite early in the year while it is still freezing. This popular festival is a place to see 30 varieties of plum trees and eat a variety of foods made from plums such as pastries and plum pie.
Colorful lanterns at Lantern FestivalEnjoy fine dining at the Suzhou restaurants: Suzhou restaurants serve up fresh seafood dishes and local vegetable dishes. When it is cold, you can stay inside and eat Suzhou cuisine. Suzhou's population is one of the most affluent, so you can enjoy fine dining here. See our recommended list.
Chinese New Year
Enjoy Chinese New Year: The Chinese Spring Festival holidays are annually the busiest days for tourism and travel. The Chinese New Year is in the early or middle part of February about 2/3 of the years. During the holidays, people have reunions, exchange gifts, feast, and play with fireworks. It is an opportunity to taste the local food and watch the cultural activities in the streets.
A variety of traditional celebrations are held in special sites in the area such as at the Humble Administrator's Garden and at the Lingering Garden. In February, the Camellia Flower Exhibition is held in the Lingering Garden. At this exhibition, you'll see exhibits of Chinese knots (a traditional handicraft knot), papercuts, and a flower boat.
Watch the Fireworks: Close to midnight on the Chinese New Year Eve, hundreds of thousands of people explode fireworks all around. You can watch these from any high vantage point in the city. A good place is at the Gangjiang Road bridge over the canal.
Enjoy the Lantern Festival at Jingji Lake: Every year, millions of visitors enjoy the very large lantern display that is reminiscent of the Harbin Ice Sculpture Festival on the scale and beauty of the lighted lanterns. As in the photograph above, these are not just lanterns, but huge lighted paper towers, ships, and castles of a variety of colors and themes.
The Lantern Festival is a traditional celebration of the Spring Festival period. It begins 15 days after the beginning of the Chinese New Year, so it is usually in February. It marks the close of the Spring Festival.
The Jingji Lake lantern display lasts almost a month, and there are a lot of activities and themes. It is sponsored by Taiwanese and Mainlanders. Eat Taiwanese and local foods such as delicious tangyuan (sweet soup balls) and hear the Taiwanese and Mainland musicians.
Touring Suzhou in February
High Travel Month
Spring Festival travel is very heavy except in the very few years in which the Chinese New Year is in the middle of January. The holiday travel rush usually starts about two weeks before the Chinese New Year, and it ends about two weeks after that day.
Prices are high for target hotel accommodations, flight tickets and train tickets. We can use our experience to arrange your personal or group tour and get discounts. Why wait in long lines at stations or try to book rooms remotely?
Recommended Tour Package
The 2-day Tour of Suzhou's Gardens: During this tour, you'll go to the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, and the Master of Nets Garden. You'll experience a rickshaw ride in an old city hutong and tour the Grand Canal by motorboat.
Modify these tours while booking or design your own with our Create Your Trip form.
Further Reading
Suzhou Climate Information by Month
- Suzhou Weather in January
- Suzhou Weather in February
- Suzhou Weather in March
- Suzhou Weather in April
- Suzhou Weather in May
- Suzhou Weather in June
- Suzhou Weather in July
- Suzhou Weather in August
- Suzhou Weather in September
- Suzhou Weather in October
- Suzhou Weather in November
- Suzhou Weather in December
