Liaoyuan has a continental climate with cold, dry winters and warm, humid summers. January temperatures regularly fall below minus fifteen degrees Celsius; July averages around twenty-four degrees. The best months to visit are May through September, when the hills are green and the Dongliao River is at its most attractive.
Autumn — September and October — is the most visually rewarding time, when the surrounding hills turn red and orange. Winter is harsh but not impossible; the city functions normally throughout, and if you enjoy a Chinese industrial city in deep freeze, Liaoyuan delivers an unvarnished version of that experience.