There is a Chinese saying that says, “The whole year’s work depends on a good start in spring.”

中国有一句古话，“一年之计在于春”。

As China has long been an agricultural country, for Chinese people, spring means the beginning of a whole year’s farming.

对于以农业立国的中国人来说，春季意味着一年农耕生活的开始。

There are six solar terms in spring: Start of Spring, Rain Water, Insects Awaken, Spring Equinox, Clear and Bright, and Grain Rain.

春季共包含立春、雨水、惊蛰、春分、清明，谷雨。

With these solar terms arriving in order, everything in the world wakes up from winter.

随着节气的推进，世间万物彻底从冬季中苏醒过来。

Start of Spring is the first of the 24 solar terms, which is considered the beginning of spring.

立春是二十四节气中的第一个，它被认为是春天的开始。

On this day, Chinese people have a custom of “biting spring” where they eat carrots or spring cakes to celebrate its arrival.

中国人在这一天有“咬春”的习俗，吃胡萝卜或春饼来庆祝春天的到来。

A shower of Rain Water awakens hibernating creatures.

一阵“雨水”催动冬眠的生物醒来。

The spring thunder surges after Insects Awaken, and then Spring Equinox falls, marking the true arrival of spring.

“惊蛰”这个节气之后，春雷乍动，随后便迎来“春分”，春天就真的来临了。

What follows is Clear and Bright time for spring outings.

接下来是“清明”踏青的时候了。

After finishing dates with blooming flowers, Grain Rain arrives, which is also the last solar term of spring. It indicates the hot summer is coming.

看完枝头的花，“谷雨”如期而至，这也是春天的最后一个节气，预示着一个热闹的夏天即将到来。

Picking tea leaves is an important spring activity in the Yangtze River basin in South China.

“采茶”是中国南方长江流域一项重要的春季生产活动。

Ancient Chinese agricultural production has long been guided by solar terms, and so has tea production.

古老的农业生产向来以节气为农事安排的指导，茶叶生产也是一样。

And tea leaves are ready to pick before Qingming, or Clear and Bright; people call tea picked at this time as Mingqian tea.

“清明”前就可采茶，我们把这时采摘的茶称为“明前茶”。

Because of the small output and good quality, Mingqian tea is considered very precious.

由于产量少、品质好，明前茶十分珍贵。

China has been a big tea producing country since ancient times.

中国自古以来就是茶叶生产大国。

Chinese tea culture has become part of people’s lives whether it’s in ancient courts or in modern society. It penetrates Chinese poetry, etiquette, religion and medicine.

茶文化渗透古今的宫廷和社会，深入中国的诗词歌赋、礼仪、宗教、医学。

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China’s tea planting area has grown continuously in recent years, with an increase of more than 1.81 million hectares in 16 years since 2000.

国家统计局和农业农村部数据显示，中国茶叶种植面积近年来连续增长，自2000年起16年间增加181万公顷。

China’s annual tea production has ranked first in the world for several years in a row.

中国茶叶产量连续多年排名世界第一。

East China’s Zhejiang province is a major tea-producing place in the country.

浙江省是中国的产茶大省。

For example, White Tea in HuZhou city’s Anji county and West Lake Longjing Tea in Hangzhou are two renowned teas in both China and abroad.

例如，湖州市安吉县的白茶，杭州市的西湖龙井茶等等都享誉中外。

In spring, local hillsides are filled with tea workers as well as farmers sowing seeds on their land.

在春季除了田间播种，山坡上满是忙着采茶的茶农。

The beautiful scenery of tea farms in the countryside has also led to a tourism boom in these places.

美丽的乡间采茶还带动了现代旅游业。

Many families take their children to experience the fun of picking tea leaves during spring outings with singing, chatting and laughter echoing in the mountains.

很多家庭带着孩子前来体验春季采茶的乐趣，采茶小调和欢声笑语飘满山间。

Picking tea leaves reflects the simplicity and hard work of Chinese workers, which is also full of vitality.

采茶倾注着中国劳动人民的朴素与辛勤，充满了浓厚的生活气息。

The busy harvest in the fields starts from tea farmers, and then comes summer – a season for plowing and weeding.

田野间的忙碌从茶农开始，耕耘的夏天就要到来。 作者：读书有三到我先到 https://www.bilibili.com/read/cv21042899/?spm_id_from=333.999.0.0 出处：bilibili