The typical meteorological database for 57 Chinese locations was developed for building simulations and air-conditioning design. The database consists of three parts: the typical meteorological years (TMY), the typical meteorological days (TMD) and the design temperature and humidity (DTH). The typical meteorological year (TMY) is the main part of the database. Because there are not data on solar radiation in the observations, a method to estimate solar radiation with dry bulb temperature difference, relative humidity, total cloud cover and wind speed was developed. Methodologies of interpolations were developed to produce 1 h data with the 3 h data. The global solar radiation on the horizontal surface was separated into direct and diffuse components with the Gompertz function. The typical meteorological day (TMD) consists of the monthly average values of dry bulb temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, etc. for each hour of the day. The design temperature and humidity (DTH) was developed for the purpose of air-conditioning design. The frequencies of 2.5% and 5.0% were selected to decide the design temperature and humidity for the 57 Chinese locations. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.