As spring equinox approaches, the day and night balance across the globe. In the Chinese traditional calendar, spring equinox, or Chunfen in Chinese, is the best time to go outdoors to fly kites. Also, people cook sprouting vegetables to welcome a season of renewal and rebirth.

Falling on March 20, Chunfen is the fourth of the Twenty-four Solar Terms following Awakening of Insects about half a month ago. Usually, Chinese people do farm work based on the solar terms. However, Chunfen is one of the few solar terms that has little relevance to agriculture, according to Nie Yuanlong, an expert on traditional culture.

Chun in Chinese means spring while fen refers to divide the spring. It signals half of the season. After Chunfen, daytime gets longer and warm weather heralds colorful landscapes.

"People in different places have different traditions to celebrate Chunfen. They often go out to take part in various activities to enjoy the good weather and also have fresh vegetables on their tables," Nie says.

For kite makers like Yang Liping, Chunfen is the best time to fly them. Since he was a little boy, it was a tradition for him and his friends to fly kites on Chunfen because the wind is stable and kites can easily soar.

Yang is good at making swallow-shaped kites, a typical type of kite in Beijing. In ancient Chinese poems, poets described the migration of swallows from south to north in spring.

A Beijing local, the 59-year-old recalls that decades ago, he and his peers often made kites themselves and went to the fields to fly them. They were told by old people that flying kites on Chunfen can get rid of bad luck and bring back good luck.

"It was a really happy time in my childhood. But nowadays it's hard to find a place without high buildings to fly kites in cities," says Yang, adding that the kites he made are displayed in people's homes as a decoration instead of being flown.

"Sometimes, I can see the elderly in parks fly kites. Young people and children maybe are attracted by entertainment programs on their mobile phones," jokes Yang.

Flying kites demands an appropriate wind direction and speed. It can't be too strong or too gentle. And the breeze in spring, especially on the day of Chunfen, perfectly meets those requirements, Yang says.

Yang is also an inheritor of shayan (swallow) kites in Beijing. He uses silk fabric, bamboo chips and paper to create a body of the kite and then paints various patterns on them to decorate the coverings. He has been invited by primary and middle schools to offer kite-making classes.

"My students are interested in making kites. However, they don't have a good venue to fly them and the pandemic hindered their passion to go outdoors," says Yang.

Apart from going outside, the Chinese also have the tradition to cook particular vegetables on Chunfen.

In southern China's Fujian and Guangdong provinces, people living in villages dig wild vegetables and cook them in soup to clean their stomachs. The meals are also regarded as a ritual to pray for a healthy and strong body.

"Since ancient times, we ate food based on the changes of seasons," says Zhang Libin, a chef working at a Chinese restaurant whose menu changes according to solar terms.

In spring, sprouting vegetables such as Chinese toon leaves and bean sprouts are very common on dinning tables. And in summer, it's time to cook leaves of vegetable while in autumn it's fruits of plants. When winter comes, people eat root vegetables like potatoes and carrots.

"Chunfen means hope and to grow up, just like the plants."

Zhang says chunbing, a pancake made in spring wrapped with eggs, leek and Chinese toon, are popular across China, although cooking styles are quite different between northern and southern China.

"During Chunfen, leek is delicious and fresh. It's the best time to cook food with it," says Zhang.

Also, the round pancake placed on a round plate signals reunion and happiness in Chinese, adds Zhang.

The restaurant Zhang works promotes a noodle for Chunfen. It's cooked with long-tailed anchovies, a migratory fish found in the Yangtze River.

After the Awakening of Insects, fish wake up from the winter and eat a lot to prepare to spawn. A well-known poem by Zhang Zhihe from the Tang Dynasty (618-907) says that in peach blossom-mirrored streams, mandarin fish have fully grown up.

"During Chunfen, fish in rivers are the best food for a spring flavor," says the chef.

The 41-year-old has worked in Beijing for two decades. In 2011, he resigned from a five-star hotel and worked for a restaurant offering solar term recipes.

On each solar term, Zhang will provide a particular menu, cooking with seasonal food and vegetables. Thanks to fast transportation, Zhang can get the food he needs quickly and easily.

Though he has lots of choices, Zhang still selects food based on seasons. He believes that people and food should be connected, and what to eat depends on what nature offers at the time.

"There are lots for us to dig out from the solar terms which have been passed down from our ancestors. I'm exploring how to make suitable flavors with suitable food," Zhang adds.

Zhang was born in Sanmin in Southeast China's Fujian province. His hometown has a tradition to make soup with herbs. Zhang's menu, consequently, features various soups matched with different solar terms.

For soup of Chunfen, Zhang says the major point is to offer enough water for our body after the dry winter. Besides, there are lots of bad materials in our body and spring is the best time to clean it out. The chicken soup cooked with coconut juice and fish maw can meet such needs.

Apart from food and soup, spring tea is also best during Chunfen when leaves are sprouting.

Though the chef has cooked solar term menus for more than a decade, he says he has to learn more because it covers so many aspects of our culture.