China's Early Spring Map: Discover 10,000 Ways to Embrace the Season

What is spring? There are indeed many answers to this question.

Today marks the Beginning of Spring in China's 24 solar terms, signaling the earth's awakening from the long harsh winter. Ice rinks in Beijing, which hosted winter sports all season, closed on this day, while flower markets in Guangzhou adorned the city with vibrant blooms. Eager tourists chasing spring have already flooded the warm scenic spots of Yunnan and Hainan.

These scenes all herald the arrival of spring in the traditional Chinese sense.

Even icy cold cannot suppress the impulse of flowers to bloom.

Yet in early February, the Greater Khingan Range is still blanketed in snow. Where, then, does spring truly begin?

In meteorological terms, spring is a dynamic concept: when the average temperature stabilizes above 10°C for five consecutive days after winter, marking the earth's revival. But this seems unfair to the people of Hainan, who wear short sleeves year-round—do those basking in endless summer not deserve spring?

The cherry blossoms in Yunnan's tea gardens complement the distant mountains beautifully.

Spring is also sentimental. For millennia, ancient poets have celebrated this cherished season in countless verses. "A riot of color heralds spring" depicts flowers' northward march; "Spring waters flow eastward" embodies the vitality after winter's thaw; "The year's plan lies in spring" urges us to labor diligently in all fields, seizing the season's promise.

Spring's journey spans 30 latitudes across China.

Early spring's colors are a "floral war" of dazzling hues.

With the Beginning of Spring, a floral battle commences. The earliest blooms set out from Hainan, planting their banners across southern China as spring's vanguard.

In Nyingchi, Tibet, peach blossoms flourish in valleys beneath snow-capped peaks.

As the "Shangshu Dazhuan" states: "Spring means emergence, the rebirth of all things." Flowers are spring's most vivid proclamation.

Guangzhou, at China's southern edge, is among the first cities to welcome spring. Even before Lunar New Year, its flower markets brim with blooms, justifying its title as "Flower City." "The festive vibe is back!" locals exclaim, greeting this long-awaited spring after three years.

The towering kapok tree is honored as the "hero tree."

By late February, kapoks blaze across Guangzhou. "Several trees stain half the sky red—locals say they're kapoks in bloom." Their brilliance against twilight paints early spring's boldest stroke.

Spring never leaves the "Spring City." In Kunming, pink cherry blossoms defy winter's depth, blooming eagerly by year's end.

Kunming's winter cherries bloom with spring's exuberance.

"Golden rapeseed flowers blanket the earth, as turtledoves herald spring's depth." Soon, rapeseed joins the campaign, advancing from Anshun's karst peaks to the Yangtze's vast "golden seas," gilding over 10 million acres of land.

In Fujian's Yongding Tulou cluster, terraced fields overflow with rapeseed blossoms.

In Sichuan, the "King of Kangding Magnolias" will bloom as promised in March, fulfilling its annual rendezvous with Gongga Mountain, the "Monarch of Sichuan Peaks."

The pear blossoms in Sichuan create a picturesque harmony with the distant mountains.

In the northern regions north of the Yangtze River, it will take a little longer to completely shake off the gloom of winter. But there’s no need to lose heart too soon, because the splendor of spring in the north is absolutely worth the wait.

"The peach tree is young and elegant; its blossoms are bright and radiant." Across the North China Plain, common Rosaceae flowers like peach, pear, apricot, and cherry blossoms begin to take the stage in late March, becoming the undisputed stars of this boundless spring scenery.

This time, we don’t need to @Wuqiong Xiaoliang to get the answer!

By May or June, in China’s far northern regions like Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, lilacs by the Songhua River and mountain lilies (or "Sairang") on the grasslands bloom in succession, marking the end of this annual spring expedition.

The east wind thaws the ice, rippling the spring water.

Ancient Chinese divided the 15 days after the Start of Spring into three pentads: the first pentad sees the east wind thawing the ice; the second, hibernating insects stirring; and the third, fish carrying ice on their backs.

"Fish carrying ice on their backs" refers to the melting ice on the water’s surface,

floating as if borne by fish.

Photo/Beijing Doubao'er, Image/IC Photo.

In the warm southern regions, though rivers rarely freeze over even in the depths of winter, the arrival of the Start of Spring still breathes vibrant life into the ever-flowing waters. "At sunrise, the river flowers bloom redder than fire; in spring, the river waters turn green as indigo." As temperatures rise, algae dormant through winter begin to multiply, dyeing the spring waters a jade-like emerald green.

The spring waters of Yunnan brim with a vitality that "delights all living things."

But in the still-chilly northern regions, where thick ice stubbornly refuses to melt, the gentle "Spring Maiden" must transform into a burly man, mustering strength to awaken the "slumbering heart" of the spring waters.

The spring waters of the north will颠覆 your imagination.

On the northeasternmost lands of China, beneath the heavy ice of the Songhua River, immense energy is gathering. Flowing from south to north across 10 degrees of latitude, the Songhua River sees its southern stretches thaw first when April’s warm spring arrives. Like a dragon rousing from hibernation, it surges northward with unstoppable force toward the still-frozen snow plains, creating the spectacular "violent ice breakup" phenomenon.

On the Yellow River, muddy waves carry ice floes downstream during the ice breakup.

Further south in Beijing, lakes like Beihai and Kunming Lake, frozen all winter, begin to thaw—partially, but not completely. The half-melted ice provides resting spots for waterfowl returning from foraging and offers land-bound birds like sparrows and pigeons rare chances to mingle with mandarin ducks and wild ducks, often seen competing for food.

Further south on the Loess Plateau, the Hukou Waterfall—where "the Yellow River’s mighty flow is funneled into a single pot"—breaks free from winter’s grip. "The Yellow River’s torrents shake the mountains; its whirlpools thunder like drums in the land of Qin." The misty spray embodies the enduring vitality of this ancient land, while the raging muddy waves mark spring’s first roar across the old northwest, usually so gentle.

The first rainbow of spring over Hukou Waterfall.

The spring waters of Jiangnan nourish the children of the water towns.

Across all of China, it seems nearly impossible to find another region as enamored with spring waters as Jiangnan.

Zhejiang is rich in rivers, with its eight major water systems, represented by the Qiantang River and the Ou River, long serving as the preferred retreats for literati and scholars. The upper reaches of the Qiantang River, the Xin'an River, connect on one end to the "peerless" Huangshan Mountains, serving as the mother river flowing past the white-walled, blue-tiled towns of Huizhou; on the other end, it merges into the Fuchun River, famed for its "unique and extraordinary mountains and waters," forming a spring-exclusive "Thousand-Mile Landscape Painting."

Qiandao Lake, the spring-limited edition of the "Thousand-Mile Landscape Painting."

In 1960, the Xin'an River Hydropower Station was completed, submerging 580 square kilometers of mountainous terrain upstream into the river, creating over a thousand islands of varying sizes—hence the name "Qiandao Lake" (Thousand-Island Lake). The vast water volume keeps Qiandao Lake at a constant temperature of around 17°C, preserving the emerald waters of spring forever in Hangzhou, the "paradise on earth."

The Quyuan Fenghe in Hangzhou, whether in seclusion or in the world, embodies carefree ease.

"The highest virtue is like water, benefiting all things without contention." The ancients imbued the murmuring spring waters with the same vitality as humans. Though spring waters are beautiful, they still need those who can appreciate them. The people of Suzhou, masters of making the most of limited space, are experts in harmonizing with water. They channeled the flowing waters of Jiangnan into the "worlds within inches" of Suzhou's classical gardens.

A sudden breeze ruffles the surface of the spring water.

Take the Humble Administrator's Garden, the crown jewel of Jiangnan gardens, where the owner generously dedicated a third of the garden's area to lakes and streams. Pavilions, halls, verandas, towers, boats, and kiosks—every structure revolves around the ever-present flowing water. Delicate willows sway in the breeze, and the spring water ripples gently, composing a "Drunken Flower Spring" sung in the soft Wu dialect, capturing the charm of Jiangnan.

The whole year's work depends on a good start in spring—do not waste this fleeting beauty!

The Eastern Han-era dictionary "Shiming" explains: "Spring means stirring, as all things stir and come to life." The arrival of spring is like a restless little insect, rekindling vitality and energy in all living beings, including us.

With spring's arrival, life suddenly seems full of promise again!

The ice has melted, but not entirely, leaving patches for waterfowl to rest upon.

As early as the Spring Festival, while winter still raged, people who had stayed indoors for too long eagerly set out to seek the long-awaited spring. Places like Yunnan and Hainan, the first to embrace spring, were already flooded with "migratory birds" from the north.

How important is Lichun (Start of Spring) to us? In the minds of the ancients, it was on par with the Spring Festival, marking the beginning of the year in a different sense. Take the twelve zodiac animals we know—their annual handover doesn't happen during the Spring Festival as commonly believed, but rather on—you guessed it—Lichun!

So, strictly speaking, the time before today still belonged to the lunar Year of the Tiger.

In early spring in Conghua, Guangzhou, farmers are busy tending to rice seedlings.

As far back as the Taosi civilization over 4,000 years ago, our ancestors observed the twenty-four solar terms through the twelve gaps in the rammed-earth pillars of their observatory, making it the earliest calendar of Chinese civilization. The twenty-four solar terms represent the temporal and spatial concepts guiding daily life and agricultural production in China and are recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Spring plowing in the southern regions is imminent.

"Spring for birth, summer for growth, autumn for harvest, winter for storage—this is the great principle of heaven." Around Lichun, on the Hai day of the first lunar month, the emperor would perform a ceremonial plowing in the "one mu three fen" field, symbolizing the start of the agricultural year.

Farmers whip the spring ox in the fields, praying for a bountiful harvest in the coming year; children eat spring rolls, pancakes, and radishes, seeking good fortune through the most tangible sensations; while generations of "spring officials" distribute spring couplets, going door to door singing of spring's arrival.

This year's Beginning of Spring coincides with the Lantern Festival (and the first weekend after the Spring Festival), adding even more festive joy to the season's arrival.

Fig. 1-2: Shuo Chun (Spring Proclamation) at Shiqian Confucian Temple.

Tingzhou in Fujian is the famous capital of the Hakka people. The mountain-dwelling Hakka celebrate the ancient custom of "Nao Chun Tian" (Spring Field Revelry), unleashing the vitality of the new spring—or, more plainly put, "mud wrestling."

Lord Guan is a superstar-level figure in Fujian. With gongs, drums, and firecrackers, his statue is brought out from the temple, aired, washed, and spruced up! Dozens of strong young men carry Lord Guan's statue through the muddy fields, awakening the dormant earth and welcoming the spring plowing season.

Running joyfully through the rice paddies, sharing the fun with the people.

Though early February is still too soon for farming in northern China, on Hainan Island, the southernmost part of the country, the call for spring plowing sounds right after the Spring Festival. The greening fields spread like a green wave, growing steadily from south to north, painting a picturesque landscape.

"The whole year's work depends on a good start in spring." Facing this beautiful season of renewal, what are your plans to make the most of such splendid springtime?

"Whipping the spring ox" symbolizes reminding people to start working at the Beginning of Spring, welcoming a year of good harvests through hard work. In this vibrant season, we at "Local Wonders" also wish everyone smooth sailing and great success.

Break the spring ox to get the lucky draw keyword.

Uncredited images | Visual China Group.

This article is original content from [Local Wonders].