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Read More →The 24 solar terms divide the Sun’s annual apparent path into calendar markers. They are used to describe seasonal change, organize the traditional Chinese calendar and provide a framework for agricultural history and cultural learning.
Calendar use
Each successive term is separated by 15° of solar longitude. Solar terms are solar events within a lunisolar calendar; they are not twenty-four lunar phases. The principal terms also have a role in assigning traditional lunar months and leap months.
Agriculture and culture
The Hong Kong Observatory relates the names to seasonal weather and agricultural activity in ancient central China. Modern readers can use them to compare a calendar marker with local observations, but this does not produce a planting schedule or a weather forecast.
A practical example
Choose White Dew and record the date, place, morning temperature and whether dew was visible. Keep the observed result separate from the name. Then compare a locally sourced food practice with the astronomical definition.
Calendar sources
Hong Kong Observatory: term names and solar longitudes; 2026 Gregorian–lunar conversion table; date and time notes (Hong Kong Time, UTC+8). The calendar sources establish astronomical timing and terminology; they do not verify regional customs.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
How should dates be recorded?
Record the year, term name, source and timezone. Hong Kong Observatory dates use Hong Kong Time (UTC+8). A date from another timezone can differ near midnight.
Are solar terms lunar phases?
No. They mark the Sun’s position in 15° intervals; the traditional Chinese calendar combines solar and lunar cycles.
