Plan your packing layers
Reference: Libo 400 m · Kaili 720 m · Fanjing 2572 m · Leigongshan 2178 m · Jiucaiping 2900 m
How to read the result
Layer count
How many distinct layers to bring — base, mid, insulation, shell. The number is for the summit, not the city you fly into. You'll always strip down at lower altitudes, so don't optimise for the average.
Specific items
Not just "a jacket" — the list names what kind of fleece, what gram-weight shell, whether the trail runners will do or you need waterproof hiking boots. Real items from real Guizhou trips.
Warnings
The two or three non-obvious things that catch travellers out: UV intensity at altitude, sudden fog or rain on the summit, laundry logistics on a 14-day loop. Read these even if you skip the rest.
What this tool can't tell you
- Your personal cold-tolerance, which varies wildly. The "cold = yes" group option is a rough flag, not a medical one.
- The exact morning temperature on the day you go. Fanjing's 4 a.m. summit reading swings 8–10 °C between clear and overcast nights even in the same week.
- Whether your hiking boots are broken in enough. New boots at 2,500 m = blisters by the second hour. Always wear them on flat days first.
- What the cable car allows you to skip carrying. Fanjing's cable car drops the climb to ~700 m vertical, but the upper ridge is still wind-exposed — pack as if you're doing the full climb.
- Luggage size constraints on regional Chinese airlines — a 50 L pack may force a checked-bag fee that outweighs the cost of one duplicate layer at the destination.
Common questions
Do I really need a fleece in July?
How much does altitude actually change the temperature?
Sun protection — how serious?
Sources & reference data
Peak elevations from SRTM 30 m DEM cross-referenced with Guizhou Bureau of Surveying and Mapping 2024. Lapse rate uses the international standard atmosphere -6.5 °C/km. UV intensity scaling from WHO UV-Index guidance. Hotel and gear references are 2024–2025 personal-trip logs.