A raft of characteristic cultures from Quzhou – a prefecture-level city in East China's Zhejiang province – were recently selected in the first list of 100 "Zhejiang cultural identification" cultivation projects, according to local media reports on Jan 11.

These include the culture of Southern Confucianism (city level), the Ritual for the Start of Spring (1st of the Chinese 24 solar terms) in Jiuhua Mountain, Kecheng district, the culture of the ancient country of Gumie in Qujiang district and the Mao family culture in ancient Qingyang village in the country level city of Jiangshan.

Ritual for Start of Spring in Jiuhua

Quzhou city holds a grand ritual in early February in its Kecheng district to welcome the Start of Spring.

The Start of Spring (Chinese: 立春) is one of the 24 solar terms on the Chinese lunar calendar, representing 24 periods and climate-governing agricultural arrangements in ancient China. The solar terms were inscribed in the "Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity" by UNESCO in 2016.

During the ceremony, a total of 24 overseas Chinese are invited to join local residents for a series of activities, including paying tribute to the god of spring and the land and whipping the spring ox, as part of time-honored rituals to carry on China's agricultural traditions.

The rituals date back 1,000 years and have been formally observed each year since 2005 in the village on the special day of the Chinese lunar calendar, signaling the start of the farming season. On this day, farmers perform the ritual to wish for a rich harvest.

[Photo/WeChat account: quzhoufb]