Minor Cold

Video from Xinhua

Minor Cold is the 23rd solar term of the 24 traditional Chinese solar terms. Many Chinese sayings use the weather and climate situation during Minor Cold to predict the weather in the following spring. For most areas of China, it marks the start of the coldest days of the year.

Minor Cold literally means that it's pretty cold already, yet the extremely cold point has not arrived yet. Same to the solar terms Minor Heat, Major Heat and End of Heat, Minor Cold also indicates the change in temperature and climate. According to China's meteorological records, North China is already in the coldest period of the year, as proved by the saying "Minor Cold is even colder than Major Cold".