Shanghai in January

January is Shanghai’s quietest month. The damp gets into everything — it is a wet cold, not a dry one, and 4°C here feels colder than -2°C in Beijing — but there is a real trade in exchange: you will have the museums, the lanes and the riverside almost to yourself, and hotel rates sit at their annual floor.

The one thing to plan around is Chinese New Year. If it falls in late January, the last ten days of the month turn into a mass migration: trains sell out, prices triple, and a third of the city’s small restaurants shut for a fortnight. Check the date before you book anything.

What is good about it

• Shanghai Museum and the West Bund galleries — indoor, heated, and empty in January
• A longtang breakfast with nobody queuing
• Hotel rates roughly 30% below shoulder season

Watch out for

• Little central heating south of the Yangtze — many older buildings are cold indoors
• Air quality can be poor still days
• If Chinese New Year falls in January, avoid the last 10 days entirely

What to bring

• A windproof outer layer — the river wind is the problem, not the temperature
• Layers rather than one thick coat, since indoors is often heated hard
• Lip balm and hand cream; the air is dry indoors and damp outdoors

The verdict

Come if you are cold-tolerant, budget-minded, and care more about having the Bund to yourself than about being comfortable.