Must-knows about BRICS

14:20, November 12, 2019

• 

  Confidence and action to deepen BRICS cooperation

  BRICS.cooperation.countries,.

• 

  24 Solar Terms: 8 things you may not know about Start of Winter

  The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Start of Winter, (Chinese: 立冬), the 19th solar term of the year, begins this year on Nov 8 and ends on Nov 22.Start of Winter is the first solar term of winter, which means winter is coming and crops harvested in autumn should be stored up.File photo: VCGHere are eight things you should know about Start of Winter.Beginning of winter or notIn ancient times, the Chinese people took the Start of Winter to be the beginning of the winter. In fact, the Start of Winter is not the beginning of winter in terms of meteorology. The climate every year is different, so the beginning of winter could be quite different. And with the vast territory of China, winter in every area doesnt begin at the same time.Welcoming the winter in ancient timesThe four beginnings of the seasons were important festivals in ancient times. Before the Start of Winter, an ancient emperor would take a shower and eat no more meat. On that day, the emperor would lead his officials to the suburbs and perform the ceremony of "welcoming the winter."Eating dumplingsA legend has it that at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220), "Medical Saint" Zhang Zhongjing saved many people in Henan province from a typhoid epidemic and their ears from being frostbitten around Start of Winter.He cooked mutton, hot peppers and herbs to dispel the cold and increase body heat. He wrapped these ingredients into a dough skin and made them into an ear shape. Since then, people have learned to make the food, which became known as a "dumpling". Today there is still a saying that goes "Eat dumplings on Start of Winter Day or your ears will be frostbitten".Yifan Festival of Mulam ethnic minorityYifan Festival is one of the most important festivals of the Mulam ethnic minority in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It is held around the Start of Winter every three to five years and lasts one to three days. The...