Beauty of Seasons: Start of Summer

Hi everyone! I'm Sisi, a travel enthusiast! Today is Lixia, or Start of Summer, the seventh solar term of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms and the first one in summer. Come to Kunming, a beautiful city in southwest China's Yunnan Province with me, and enjoy the beginning of summer here!

"All things flourish from this day onward; hence it is named the 'Start of Summer.'" As each day experiences more and more daylight and the temperatures rise, all things flourish. Look, the Jacaranda trees on the streets of Kunming are now in full bloom!

During this solar term, many regions in China still keep the tradition of tasting fresh food to celebrate the harvest in early summer. "Tasting San Xian" means savoring various seasonal ingredients on this day. Cherries, broad beans, and fresh bamboo shoots from Yunnan are gifts from nature during the transition from spring to summer.

Chinese traditional healing associates summer with heart strength. Following the belief that "foods nourish organs they resemble," eggs are considered good for the heart because of their similar shape. This is why some places in China have traditions of eating eggs and playing egg-fighting games when summer begins.

Interestingly, Easter in the West also involves activities related to eggs, like painting, hiding, exchanging and hunting Easter eggs.

"The little lotus bloom has just shown its tip slight, when all at once you see a dragonfly alight." I let the breeze send the message of summer to you. Let us embrace the season with enthusiasm and vitality!