Moganshan dispatch, week 45: rain for the Spartan Race weekend

Rain on both days of the Spartan Race weekend

The national forecast for Deqing, updated at 18:00 on Wednesday 4 November, has two dry days and then rain. Thursday 5 November is sunny turning cloudy, 13 to 22 °C. Friday is cloudy turning sunny, 12 to 21 °C. Saturday 7 November brings light rain turning moderate, 12 to 20 °C, and Sunday more light rain, 14 to 17 °C. The wet spell runs through Monday and clears on Tuesday night, when the low falls to 8 °C.

The National Meteorological Centre (中央气象台), updated at 20:00 the same evening, has the same shape: light rain on Saturday, moderate rain on Saturday night, light rain on Sunday and Monday. Both forecasts are for the county town. The mountain is higher and usually cooler.

The Spartan Race (斯巴达勇士赛) runs on both wet days. The registration page, read again on 4 November, still names the venue only as the Moganshan International Tourist Resort. The 50 km race with 60 obstacles starts at 08:30 on Saturday. The 21 km, 10 km and 5 km races go in waves between 09:30 and 15:00 on Saturday, and between 08:30 and 14:00 on Sunday. We found no traffic notice for the weekend by Wednesday evening.

What this means for a visitor: put the long walk on Friday; if you come at the weekend, pack waterproofs and expect runners in the resort from 08:30 to mid afternoon on both days.

Source: 中国天气网 (China Weather Network), Deqing forecast updated 18:00, 4 November 2026, tier 1. https://www.weather.com.cn/weather/101210204.shtml

Source: 中央气象台 (National Meteorological Centre), Deqing forecast published 20:00, 4 November 2026, tier 1. http://www.nmc.cn/publish/forecast/AZJ/deqing.html

Source: 最酷 (Zuicool), the Spartan Race registration page, read 4 November 2026, tier 3. https://reg.zuicool.com/11858

A year on, no visa free extension

Last year the extension came on 3 November. This year that date has passed with nothing new. The consular notices page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外交部), read on Wednesday 4 November, still lists the notice of 3 November 2025 as its latest word on the 30 day visa free scheme. Under it, entry ends at midnight on 31 December 2026 for 48 countries, Britain, France, Germany, Australia and Japan among them. Russia runs to 31 December 2027 and Brunei has no end date.

The newest notice on the same page, dated 30 October, is a different change. From 1 November, holders of an APEC Business Travel Card can stay in China for up to 90 days, up from 60. Our visa free entry page has the rules as they stand.

What this means for a visitor: if you plan to enter without a visa after 31 December, keep that part of the trip refundable until an extension is announced; if you hold an APEC card, you can now plan a stay of up to 90 days.

Source: 中华人民共和国外交部 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), consular notices, read 4 November 2026, tier 1. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/wjbzwfwpt/kzx/tzgg/

Source: 中华人民共和国外交部 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), notice on the APEC Business Travel Card, 30 October 2026, tier 1. https://www.mfa.gov.cn/wjbzwfwpt/kzx/tzgg/202610/t20261030_12049768.html

Source: 中华人民共和国驻旧金山总领事馆 (Consulate General of China in San Francisco), visa free entry questions and answers, 12 November 2025, revised June 2026, tier 1. https://sanfrancisco.china-consulate.gov.cn/lsfw/qianzhen/zgqz/202511/t20251112_11751227.htm

The red maple season still has no date

The scenic area has run three red maple seasons (红枫季). The first opened on 1 November 2023, the second on 12 November 2024 and the third on 18 November 2025, each later than the last. By Wednesday evening we had found no announcement of a fourth, in the Deqing News (德清新闻网) tourism listings or in a Chinese web search.

What this means for a visitor: do not tie a trip to an opening ceremony that has not been announced; our red leaves page sets out when the old maples have turned in past years.

Source: 中国日报网 (China Daily website), 2 November 2023, tier 2. https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202311/02/WS65436631a310d5acd876d141.html

Source: 德清新闻网 (Deqing News), 13 November 2024, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2024/11/13/034801734.shtml

Source: 中国新闻网 (China News Service), relaying 潮新闻 (Tide News), 18 November 2025, tier 2. https://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/2025/11-18/9636841.shtml

Winter shoots reach the Deqing market

Winter shoots (冬笋), the buds of the moso bamboo dug before they break the soil, are on sale in Deqing. A Deqing News reporter visited the Xinfadi farmers’ market (新发地农贸市场) on 28 October. Most of the shoots there came from Fujian and Hunan, with a few local ones. In the shell they sold at RMB 30 to 50 a kilo by size, and peeled at RMB 100 to 120. A stallholder of more than ten years said the real volume arrives in November, and the paper expects local shoots to follow as the weather cools.

Those are county market prices, not what a guesthouse charges for the dish.

What this means for a visitor: as November goes on, ask your guesthouse for a winter shoot dish such as salt pork and winter shoot soup (咸肉冬笋汤); our food guide has the dishes by season.

Source: 德清新闻网 (Deqing News), 30 October 2026, tier 2. https://dqnews.zjol.com.cn/dqnews/system/2026/10/30/035322307.shtml

Last checked 6 November 2026 by Cyril Drouin. Prices, timetables and entry rules on this mountain move without notice, so confirm anything you are booking around.