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A child watches a potted plant at a flower market in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, Feb. 4, 2016. Feb. 4 marks the beginning of Spring in solar terms. (Xinhua/Guo Cheng)
The eleventh session of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritages opens in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa on Monday.
China's Twenty-Four Solar Terms, knowledge of time developed through observation of the sun's annual motion, is one among the 37 requests proposed for the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Spring (Chinese: 立春) is the first solar term of the year.
The names of the 24 solar terms are: Start of Spring, Rain Water, Awakening of Insects, Spring Equinox, Clear and Bright, Grain Rain, Start of Summer, Grain Buds, Grain in Ear, Summer Solstice, Minor Heat, Major Heat, Start of Autumn, End of Heat, White Dew, Autumn Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost's Descent, Start of Winter, Minor Snow, Major Snow, Winter Solstice, Minor Cold and Major Cold.
Start of Spring (Chinese: 立春) is the first solar term of the year. Start of Spring lifts the curtain of spring. After that everything turns green and full of vigor; people clearly see that the daytime is becoming longer and the weather is becoming warmer.
The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms.
Rain Water (Chinese: 雨水) signals the increase in rainfall and rise in temperature. With its arrival, lively spring-like scenery starts blossoming: the river water defreezes, wild geese move from south to north, and trees and grass turn green again.
