Beginning of Spring ushers in seasonal vitality across China

Feb. 4 marks the Beginning of Spring, the first of China’s 24 solar terms, signaling the gradual retreat of winter cold and the quiet arrival of spring. From traditional whipping the spring ox ceremonies to farmers seizing the farming season in fields and greenhouses, and from children tasting spring vegetables to hands-on folk activities celebrating renewal, vivid scenes across the country capture both the warmth of daily life and the poetic rhythm of the season. As spring gives birth to all things, a new cycle of cultivation begins, carrying the promise of growth and possibility.

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows farmers thinning peach blossoms at a honey peach plantation in Dehou Town, Wenshan City, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xiong Pingxiang/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows children eating fresh radish and spring pancakes at the affiliated kindergarten of Jiyuan No.1 High School in Jiyuan City, central China's Henan Province. (Zheng Zemin/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows the "Zhonggu Welcomes Spring" whipping-the-spring-ox folk ceremony held at the Bell and Drum Towers in Beijing, China's capital city. (Liu Xianguo/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows fruit growers thinning peach blossoms in Xiaoyin Village, Tanfang Town, Qingzhou City, east China's Shandong Province. (Wang Jilin/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows villagers working inside a pepper greenhouse in Zhaocun Village, Longju Town, Yanhu District, Yuncheng City, north China's Shanxi Province. (Yan Xin/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 4, 2026 shows villagers tending tomato seedlings at a seedling nursery base in Tuanjie Village, Awati Town, Awati County, Aksu Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Bao Liangting/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows children learning to make spring rolls under teachers' guidance at Xinghe Nursery Center in Hai'an City, east China's Jiangsu Province, while listening to stories about the Beginning of Spring. (Gu Binbin/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 3, 2026 shows volunteers explaining the tradition of "biting spring" to children at Jianhua No.1 Community, Yanshan Road Subdistrict, Fengrun District, Tangshan City, north China's Hebei Province. (Zhu Dayong/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows teachers leading children in a traditional "standing eggs to welcome spring" activity at the county-run kindergarten in Bo'ai County, Jiaozuo City, central China's Henan Province. (Cheng Quan/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows children running across the playground with wind-catching bags at Tiancun Branch of Changjiang Road Kindergarten Education Group in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province. (Zhao Ming/Guangming Picture)

Photo taken on Feb. 2, 2026 shows a young boy watching a traditional "spring chicken" at a rural fair in Tancheng Subdistrict, Tancheng County, Linyi City, east China's Shandong Province. (Zhang Chunlei/Guangming Picture)