Beauty of Seasons: Beginning of Spring

Hello, everyone! I'm Sisi, a travel enthusiast! Today marks Lichun, or the Beginning of Spring, the first of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar. Let's set off together and discover the beauty of the four seasons through travel!

To embrace the arrival of spring, I've come to Quzhou, a national historical and cultural city in east China's Zhejiang Province. Here, the early spring warmth brings everything back to life, filling the air with the vitality and energy of the season.

Lichun represents the beginning of spring and serves as the starting point of the year's four seasons. In ancient times, this solar term was divided into three periods: The first featured the spring breeze defrosting the land; the second was hibernating insects reawakening; and the third was fish swiming with half-melted ice floating on their backs.

In ancient China, people celebrated the Beginning of Spring by putting up spring couplets, hanging spring banners, and displaying spring paintings to welcome the season. One of the most fascinating traditions was whipping a "spring ox," symbolizing prayers for a bountiful harvest and favorable weather in the coming year.

Another tradition during the Beginning of Spring is the custom of "biting spring." This involves eating spring pancakes or spring rolls, a bite full of the taste of spring!

"Warmth comes late in the year, ice and frost disappear;

When spring returns on earth, grass and woods fell the mirth."

As the signs of spring emerge, I send my warmest wishes for spring to friends far away. May everyone feel the vitality and hope that spring brings!