A time of thunder and renewal

"In some years, I did follow her instructions. I really heard muffled thunder."

On the day of Jingzhe, Jia's grandmother would observe the weather very carefully and refer to the farmers' proverbs such as "If north wind blows on Jingzhe, we're to live through another winter", or "If it's cold on Jingzhe, it will be warm on Spring Equinox".

"It's a pity that I haven't verified what she told me, but now it's not too late to act," she says.

On Eryueer, the grandmother would get up early and before daybreak, she would shovel some ashes to draw a circle in the yard, praying for good harvests. The family would also go to the reservoir to worship the dragon king, praying for a good year for the family.

In the days that followed, the short buds of grass came up. Assorted wildflowers sprouted everywhere from nowhere. Jia says she would get very excited at seeing them. Then wild vegetables, dandelions, winter jasmine, magnolia, cherry blossoms and peach blossoms would color the landscape.

Now living in Beijing, Jia says that she can still hear thunder faintly on the day of Jingzhe despite the noise of traffic and construction in the city. However, modern life and the noise of the industrialized society have impacted the natural rhythm on this old land, together the customs "that contain ancient people's wisdom", she says.

"Even if many of us are now living in cities, we can't and should not separate from nature. Even the magnolia in the streets or parks can always give us a break from our busy life," she says.

Now when it comes to days of Twenty-four Solar Terms, Jia will practice some rituals and find her connections with nature.

In spring, she will go to Yuyuantan Park to see cherry blossoms, or Olympic Forest Park to see the miscellaneous trees and plants, first cherry blossoms, then apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, roses and so on. In autumn, she will go to the avenue near Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to see the golden ginkgo leaves.

"On the days of Twenty-four Solar Terms, I always think of my grandmother. Although she has passed away, she will be in my heart forever. At such time, I will totally forget my age and go back to my warm childhood that I spent with her," she says.