CHINESE 24 SEASONS



Chinese 12 Signature , 2015 Lunar Goat 未羊 胡髯郎

Chinese 12 Signature , 2016 Lunar APES 申猴 王孫

Chinese 12 Signature , 2017 Lunar Cock.Hen ( Rooster) 酉雞 司晨

Chinese 12 Signature , 2018 Lunar Canine Dwag ( Man's best Friend) 戌狗 烏龍

Chinese 12 Signature , 2019 Lunar Swine 亥豬 烏金

Chinese 12 Signature , 2020 Lunar Vavelt, (Bat, Swallow) 子鼠 社君

Chinese 12 Signature , 2021 Lunar Cattle 丑牛 八百里

Chinese 12 Signature , 2022 Lunar Panthera 寅虎 山君

Chinese 12 Signature , 2023 Lunar Leporidae (заяц) 卯兔 月精

Chinese 12 Signature , 2024 Lunar Dracan 辰龍 雲螭



CALENDAR DATE PRONUNCIATION CHARACTER ENGLISH
February 3~5, 4 Lichun 立春 Spring Begins
February 18~20, 19 YuShui 雨水 Rain Season
March 5~7, 5 Jingzhe 驚蜇 Insects Awaken
March 20~22, 20 Chunfen 春分 Spring Equinox
April 4~6, 4 Qingming 清明 Clear and Bright
April 19~21, 19 Guyu 穀雨 Havest Rain
May 5~7, 5 Lixia 立夏 Summer Begins
May 20~22, 20 Xiaoman 小滿 Grain Fills Out
June 5~7, 5 Mangzhong 芒種 Grain in Ear
June 21~22, 21 Xiazhi 夏至 Summer Solstice
July 6~8, 6 Xiaoshu 小暑 Moderate Heat
July 22~24, 22 Dashu 大暑 Hot Heat
August 7~9, 7 Liqiu 立秋 Autumn Begins
August 22~24, 22 Chushu 處屬 Limit of Heat
September 7~9, 7 Bailu 白鷺 White Dew
September 22~24, 22 Qiufen 秋分 Autumn Equinox
October 8~9, 8 Hanlu 寒露 Cold Dew
October 23~24, 23 Shuangjiang 霜降 Frost Descends
November 7~8, 7 Lidong 立冬 Winter Begins
November 22~23, 22 Xiaoxue 小雪 Light Snow
December 6~8, 6 Daxue 大雪 Heavy Snow
December 21~23, 21 Dongzhi 冬至 Winter Solstice
January 5~7, 6 Xiaohan 小寒 Quite Cold
January 20~21, 20 Dahan 大寒 Frozen Cold



HOW TEA GROWS : Traditionally , tea plants were grown from seeds the size of hazelnuts, gathered in October and kept over the winter in a mixture of sand and earth. With this method, in spring they are sown either in a nursery area or directly into the field, about four feet apart. After two years the plants, now five to six feet tall, are cut back to about one foot. They are allowed to grow a bit, but after that are pruned weekly to keep them waist high. Plucking can begin at three years, or at five in in high altitudes. A bush can produce for thirty or forty years.

Plants can also be started from cuttings or through layering, that is, transplanting of rooted branches. The years since the 1960s have seen cloning, which involves a leaf cutting rather than a branch cutting. The layering and cutting methods are the only ones that yield a true reproduction of a strain, as a plant that grows from seed may be the result of cross-fertilization and unlike either of its parents.

Most tea plants have a flush, or growth , period and a dormant phase. The leaves are plucked when they young shoots, or flush, are coming out. In the hotter climates the plants have several flushes and leaves can be plucked all year round. At higher elevations, there is a distinct plucking season. In most parts of China, harvesting takes place from April to October. Plucking in northern India and Japan is also seasonal.

Leaves from the earlier flushes, usually in spring, are considered the most desirable, with the second flush the best of all. The reason for this is that the sunlight is milder in the spring than in summer or fall. The choice parts to be plucked are the "two leaves and a bud" (the first two leaves and the bud at the tip), a poetic phrase which was used as the title of a fine novel by the Indian writer Muldk Raj Anand. They are nipped off by the thumbnail with a downward movement of the thumb. The leaf bud is considered the finest quality, partly of the fine hair, or tip, on the end and underside of the leaf. This , the pekoe (in Chinese bai bao or white hair), is what imparts the finest flavour to the tea. The whiter down the better. Plucking and pruning take a great deal of labour, and labour is listed with acid soil and adequate rainfall as one of three things necessary for growing tea.

Authorities have cited tea variety interring between 350 and 500. The prominent nineteenth century British botanist Sir George Watt defined four varieties of the tea plant, but most tea growers acknowledge only three, named for location: China, Assam, and Cambodia. Scientists currently believe that all of the different types of tea descended from one centre, probably located near the source of the Irrawaddy River in Burma, and gradually spread throughout Southeast Asian in a fanlike movement.

The is grown commercially in a belt that circles the earth on either side of the equator. "Superior tea comes from high mountains”, is an old Chinese saying. But the best places lie in mountains below 6,000 feet. The altitude and mountain mists help protect against excessive sunlight and create the right temperature and humidity to enable the leaves and buds to develop slowly and remain tender. Thus they produce a higher content of caffeine, amino acids, and essential oils. The frost, heat , and dampness of the lowlands are not conducive to good growth. At a daily main temperature above 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees centigrade) the buds are rough and age rapidly. Many of China's most famous teas come from well-known mountains: Wuyi (Fujian) , Lushan (Jiangxi). Emei (Sichuan) , and Huangshan (Anhui).

Tea plants grow best in an acid soil of pH 4.5 to 605 with a moisture content of 70 to 80 percent , and air humidity above 70 percent.




Update:
1:53 20/12/2010, 15:14 13th Dec. 2014 w7p, 17:04 .hk 16th Dec. 2014 w7p ,21:33 .hk Jan. 05th 2015 w7p , 22:13 .hk Jan. 21th 2015 w7p, Feb.27th 2016 10:38.hk w7pw10p, Dec. 08 2016 15:20.hk w7pw10p mdm ov , Dec. 10 2016 16:44.hk, Aug. 16 2017 13:14.hk m93p GLF- IPsec 042g , Aug. 17 2017 18:07.hk w8.1pro 042g IPsec m93p GLF-, 10:43 PM 12/21/2017 GLF-m93p IPsec,1:06 PM 8/16/2017 :: 5:46 PM 8/17/2017, 12:39 PM 2/26/2018:1:06 PM 8/16/2017:5:46 PM 8/17/2017:12:55 PM 2/26/201815:46.hk Dec.10 2018 m800 glf5 rv345 em :: 11:34AM ~ 11:58 .hk Nov 16 2019 m800 , 11:19~17:31 PM.hk 10/14/2020, 10:41AM.hk 10/30/2021 m920t, 7:55 PM 12/16/2022 19:55.hk w11p.22H2 m920t.FO76QM5 m.sg(pri).rv(v6cf, ssl); Nov. 07 2023 22:43~2314.hk m920t.FO76QM5 m.mx- (w3);DEC.11 2023 2033.hk m920t.FO76QM5 m.RV &mx- (w3)