Xiaoshu (Chinese: 小暑) is the 11th of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms. This solar term indicates the heat of summer starts but does not get into the scorching period. Therefore, its English name is Minor Heat.

After the Minor Heat, we start to enter the sanfu period. This period usually occurs between the Minor Heat and the End of Heat, when the temperature is the highest and humid and sultry. Monsoon climate is the main feature of China's climate. In summer, under the influence of warm and humid airflow from the ocean, many places in China enter the season with the most thunderstorms since the Minor Heat. Although the sun is fierce, hot, humid, and rainy during this time of the year, the rain and heat at the same time are good for crops, and everything enters the peak growing season.

During the Minor Heat period, with the most extended amount of sunlight and the strongest sunlight radiation, many families hang their clothes out in the sun to prevent mildew. This is what we call “Shai Fu”.

During this time, when various fruits and melons are harvested on the market, everyone in China has become a "melon-eating mass." One custom in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is “enjoying small melons on the day of Minor Heat and having big melons on the day of Major Heat.” Small and big melons commonly refer to cantaloupes and watermelons.

In Minor Heat, high temperatures are suitable for the growth of the lotus flower. The lotus flower is in full bloom from Minor Heat to the Double Ninth Festival.

(By Yang Jiming/Qi Qian)