24 Solar Terms: 9 things you must know about Start of Spring

Appreciating plum blossoms

Plums blossom from the 12th lunar month to the second month of the next year. The plum blossom, as it fights against the cold, is the most highly regarded. In China, the plum blossom, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are praised as the four gentlemen of Chinese flowers.

Welcoming spring

People in China began holding a special ceremony on the first day of Start of Spring about 3,000 years ago. They made sacrifices to Gou Mang, the god of Spring, who is in charge of agriculture. By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), greeting spring had become an important folk activity. In Beijing, government officials welcomed spring in the wild field near Dongzhimen (the east gate of Beijing).