Cold Dew Customs

During Cold Dew, the sky is high, the clouds are light, and forests are transformed by autumn colors, making it an ideal time to climb high and look into the distance. The tradition of climbing during the Double Ninth Festival has a long history. Because the festival usually falls around the Cold Dew solar term, and because the clear, comfortable weather of Cold Dew is particularly suitable for mountain climbing, the Double Ninth climbing custom gradually became associated with Cold Dew itself. Climbing high carries the auspicious meanings of “rising step by step” and “long life.”

Climbing is not only good physical exercise but also carries positive symbolic meaning, expressing people’s aspirations for a better life. In ancient times, the practice originated in the idea of avoiding calamity. Nine was regarded as the highest yang number, and because the ninth day of the ninth lunar month contains two nines, it became known as Chongyang, the Double Ninth; climbing high was believed to help evade misfortune. Later, the practice gradually evolved into an autumn outing for appreciating the landscape. Compared with the vitality of summer, late autumn can appear somewhat desolate, yet climbing to high places, looking into the distance, and admiring autumn scenery also expresses a love of nature and an active, optimistic attitude toward life.

The pleasant climate of Cold Dew is especially suitable for mountain excursions. Hillsides are covered in layers of autumn color, and visitors who climb high to take in the distant view often feel refreshed and uplifted. In Beijing, Jingshan Park, Badachu, and Fragrant Hills are all popular destinations and attract large numbers of visitors almost every year.

The custom of climbing high has a long history. In ancient times, it was associated with avoiding calamity, and by the Han dynasty there were already traditions of climbing on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month and drinking chrysanthemum wine. By the Tang dynasty, climbing had become one of the principal activities of the Double Ninth Festival. Because the festival falls close to Cold Dew, and because Cold Dew brings clear skies and agreeable autumn scenery, the custom gradually became integrated into the solar term. For the ancients, climbing was not merely physical exercise but also a cleansing of the spirit: standing on an autumn summit and looking over the land below allowed one to sense both the vastness of Heaven and Earth and the turning of the seasons.

Around Cold Dew, visitors can climb mountains and scenic highlands throughout China. Fragrant Hills, Badachu, and Jingshan Park in Beijing are all popular choices. Because autumn weather is comfortable, visitor numbers often increase around Cold Dew, so planning ahead is recommended.

The ninth lunar month, when Cold Dew arrives, is also known as the “Month of Chrysanthemums.” Chrysanthemums are among the flowers most closely associated with the season and can be seen almost everywhere. Unlike most flowers that bloom in spring and summer, chrysanthemums flourish against the season: the heavier the frost and dew, the more brilliantly they seem to bloom. Climbing high and admiring chrysanthemums therefore became both a pleasure and a refined seasonal pursuit.

According to tradition, chrysanthemum appreciation originated with the Jin-dynasty poet Tao Yuanming. Tao was famous for his reclusive life, his poetry, his love of wine, and also his devotion to chrysanthemums; later generations followed his example, and the custom of admiring chrysanthemums during the Double Ninth Festival gradually took shape. He wrote many celebrated lines about the flower, including “采菊东篱下，悠然见南山” and “秋菊有佳色，更露摄其英.” Scholar-officials of his time admired his integrity and often cultivated chrysanthemums for their own enjoyment, praising the flower as one that “perfumes all herbs and outshines the many blossoms.” In Chinese folk culture, many festival customs became associated with chrysanthemums, including viewing the flowers, wearing them in the hair, drinking chrysanthemum wine, and eating chrysanthemum pastries. Passed down from generation to generation, these customs have endured and gradually formed a distinct cultural phenomenon.

Chrysanthemums occupy a special place in Chinese culture. The *Book of Rites · Monthly Ordinances* records: “季秋之月，鞠有黄华” — in the final month of autumn, chrysanthemums bear yellow flowers — showing their close association with the autumn season. References to chrysanthemums appear from the Zhou dynasty through the *Book of Songs* and Qu Yuan’s *Li Sao*. The latter includes the line “朝饮木兰之坠露兮，夕餐秋菊之落英.” By the Wei and Jin periods, Tao Yuanming’s famous love of chrysanthemums helped turn flower appreciation into a fashion among scholars and cultivated people. From the Tang and Song onward, the practice flourished even further, and chrysanthemum imagery became abundant in painting and calligraphy. Folk tradition also came to call the ninth lunar month the “Month of Chrysanthemums.”

During Cold Dew, major city parks often hold chrysanthemum exhibitions. Displays in Beijing, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, and other cities are particularly well known. Chrysanthemums can also be grown on a balcony at home, offering a simple way to experience the refined pleasures of the “Month of Chrysanthemums.”

Cold Dew coincides with the full bloom of chrysanthemums, and many regions preserve the custom of drinking chrysanthemum wine to counter autumn dryness. The wine is brewed from chrysanthemums together with glutinous rice and fermentation starter and was traditionally known as “longevity wine.” Cool and sweet in flavor, it has the effects of nourishing the liver, improving eyesight, strengthening the brain, and slowing aging. Drinking chrysanthemum wine also carries wishes for dispelling misfortune and inviting blessings.

Because Cold Dew falls close to the Double Ninth Festival, when chrysanthemums are also in full bloom, the custom gradually shifted toward and blended with the festival, together with the tradition of climbing high. On the day of Cold Dew, the ancients also drew well water to soak and prepare pills or medicinal wines intended to nourish the five zang organs. Brewing several jars of chrysanthemum wine was also customary: newly opened chrysanthemums, together with a small quantity of green stems and leaves, were mixed into grain and fermented, then sealed until the same period the following year, when the wine was opened and drunk. It was said to bring considerable benefit to the body.

The brewing of chrysanthemum wine was already popular during the Han and Wei periods. The *Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital* states: “菊花舒时，并采茎叶，杂黍为酿之，故谓之菊花酒。” The ancients believed that chrysanthemum wine nourished the liver, brightened the eyes, and delayed aging, and it was commonly prepared around the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, when chrysanthemums were in bloom. The custom closely combines the seasonal calendar, flower culture, and health practices, reflecting the traditional wisdom that medicine and food share a common origin. Chrysanthemums can also be used in cooking, while chrysanthemum wine remains one of the most refined seasonal drinks of autumn.

During Cold Dew, chrysanthemum wine can be purchased from supermarkets or wineries, or made at home using chrysanthemums, glutinous rice, and fermentation starter, with proper attention to brewing conditions and time. A cup of chrysanthemum tea with goji berries offers a simpler alternative.

Cold Dew generally falls close to the Double Ninth Festival, and after climbing high on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, people traditionally eat flower cakes. Because the Chinese words for “high” and “cake” are homophones, these seasonal pastries are known as Double Ninth flower cakes and symbolize rising step by step. As the weather turns colder and trees, flowers, and grasses begin to wither, people also refer to this time as “bidding farewell to green.”

Flower cakes traditionally come in three main types: coarse flower cake, fine flower cake, and coin-shaped flower cake. Coarse flower cakes are marked with coriander leaves and filled with dried fruits such as green fruits, red dates, and walnut kernels. Fine flower cakes may have two or three layers, with delicate candied and dried fruits — such as preserved apple, peach, apricot, or black dates — placed between each layer. Coin-shaped flower cakes are similar to fine flower cakes but much smaller, resembling coins, and were more often eaten in the households of wealthy officials and aristocrats.

The custom of eating flower cakes is closely tied to the Double Ninth Festival. Because “cake” and “high” sound alike in Chinese, eating cake came to symbolize rising step by step and everything reaching greater heights. The custom cleverly combines festival food with auspicious wordplay, reflecting the Chinese tradition of using names and sounds to convey good fortune. The elaborate preparation and many varieties of flower cake — from coarse to fine to coin-shaped — also reveal distinctions in traditional food culture across social classes.

Around Cold Dew, Double Ninth flower cakes can be purchased from traditional pastry shops. Established shops in Beijing, Suzhou, and other cities often offer seasonal varieties during the festival. Simple versions can also be made at home from glutinous rice flour and rice flour, with fillings such as red-date paste or preserved fruit, then steamed.

During Cold Dew, many places preserve the custom of viewing red autumn leaves. The celebrated line “霜叶红于二月花” — frosted leaves are redder than February flowers — describes precisely this season. The idea of truly “viewing” the leaves is important: it is not enough merely to glance at them from a windowsill or pass them on the street; one must enter the landscape itself to appreciate their full beauty.

Visiting Fragrant Hills during Cold Dew to see the red leaves has long become a traditional autumn activity for Beijing residents. Autumn winds sweep through the hills, and the leaves of the smoketree turn red. The successive temperature drops after Cold Dew gradually bring color to Beijing’s autumn foliage. In golden autumn, Fragrant Hills becomes a tapestry of layered forest, with red leaves spreading across the mountains like glowing clouds and brocade, picturesque and poetic. Cold Dew carries away the heat of summer, and enjoying autumn scenery becomes one of the pleasures of the season.

The custom of viewing red leaves is closely connected with the autumn outings of ancient scholars. As early as the Tang dynasty, the poet Du Mu wrote the famous line “停车坐爱枫林晚，霜叶红于二月花”, describing the beauty of late-autumn maple leaves. Around Cold Dew, the growing difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures causes chlorophyll in the leaves to break down while anthocyanins become visible, making this an ideal period for autumn foliage. The custom brings seasonal phenology and aesthetic pleasure together, reflecting a Chinese art of life based on appreciating beauty at the proper time.

Around Cold Dew, visitors can travel to autumn foliage destinations across China. Fragrant Hills in Beijing is among the most famous, while Qixia Mountain in Nanjing, Tianping Mountain in Suzhou, and Yuelu Mountain in Changsha are also popular choices. Checking the best viewing period in advance is recommended.

When Cold Dew arrives, the weather shifts from cool toward cold. According to the traditional Chinese medical principle of “nourishing yang in spring and summer, and nourishing yin in autumn and winter,” this is the season to nourish yin, guard against dryness, moisten the lungs, and benefit the stomach. For this reason, folk tradition developed the custom of eating sesame during Cold Dew. Sesame has the effect of nourishing yin and moistening dryness, and many households prepare it as sesame paste, sesame cakes, and other foods.

Common sesame foods include sesame crisps, sesame mung-bean cakes, and sesame flatbreads. During Cold Dew, dietary care calls for balancing the five flavors while eating somewhat more sweet, mild, and moistening foods. These can both nourish the spleen and stomach and moisten the lungs and intestines, helping prevent or relieve dry throat, dry mouth, and related symptoms. Sesame is one of the foods used for precisely these purposes.

Sesame has an extremely long history of consumption in China and is an important traditional health food. Chinese medicine regards sesame as neutral in nature and sweet in flavor, with the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, moistening the five zang organs, and benefiting qi and strength. During Cold Dew, dryness becomes dominant, and sesame’s moistening nature fits the principle of “nourishing yin in autumn and winter.” The custom reflects both the traditional wisdom that medicine and food share a common origin and the dietary philosophy of eating according to the season.

During Cold Dew, sesame paste, sesame cakes, sesame crisps, and other foods can be purchased from supermarkets. Sesame paste can also be prepared at home by roasting and grinding sesame seeds, then mixing them with glutinous rice flour and sugar. It is one of the easiest Cold Dew health customs to experience.

A folk saying goes: “寒露发脚，霜降捉着，西风响，蟹脚痒。” At this time, female crabs are full of eggs and rich golden roe, making Cold Dew one of the best seasons for eating them. Another saying declares: “九月团脐，十月尖” — round-bellied female crabs in the ninth month, pointed-bellied males in the tenth. During Cold Dew, female crabs are full of roe and rich in golden fat, making them especially prized. In Jiangnan, people also combine eating crab with admiring chrysanthemums, a practice known as “holding a crab claw while viewing chrysanthemums,” which inspired many poems and sayings across the dynasties.

However, people with allergies or cold stomachs, as well as pregnant women and those with high blood lipids, should not eat crab roe. Crab should also not be eaten together with persimmons, in order to avoid the formation of stomach stones.

The custom of eating crab has a long history in China. The ancients regarded autumn as the season when crabs were at their richest, and the period around Cold Dew was considered particularly suitable. The abundance of river crabs in Jiangnan water towns made the custom especially popular there. The image of “holding a crab claw while viewing chrysanthemums” joins seasonal food with flower appreciation and became one of the most refined late-autumn scenes in Jiangnan literary culture.

During Cold Dew, hairy crab can be sampled at restaurants throughout Jiangnan or purchased fresh at aquatic-product markets and steamed at home. Ginger and vinegar are traditionally served to dispel cold, while crab is avoided together with persimmons or cold drinks.

Old Nanjing preserves the custom of drinking Cold Dew tea. The period around Cold Dew is an excellent growing season for tea plants. Tea picked during the three days before and four days after Cold Dew is known as proper autumn tea, and among autumn teas it is considered the best. Cold Dew tea is neither as delicate and short-lived in infusion as spring tea, nor as dry, astringent, and bitter as summer tea; instead, it possesses a distinctive mellow sweetness and clear fragrance and is especially loved by experienced tea drinkers. In some places, drinking Cold Dew tea is also associated with climbing high, looking into the distance, and viewing autumn scenery, expressing a broad and open attitude toward life.

The custom of drinking Cold Dew tea arose from the solar-term tea culture of Jiangnan. The ancients believed that tea plants entered another favorable period of growth around Cold Dew, giving the leaves harvested at this time a distinctive quality. Spring tea is prized for tenderness, summer tea for bitterness and astringency, while Cold Dew tea is valued for mellow sweetness. With one sip of autumn tea, one tastes not only the fragrance of tea but also the rhythm of the turning seasons.

During Cold Dew, Cold Dew tea can be sampled in Nanjing teahouses or proper autumn tea can be purchased from tea shops and brewed at home. This is one of the most direct ways to experience Jiangnan’s solar-term tea culture.

White Dew, the Autumn Equinox, and Cold Dew form the peak cricket-fighting season in Beijing, Hangzhou, and other cities. Crickets are also known as cuzhi, “urging the loom”; hearing them chirp usually means that autumn has arrived and the weather is cooling, reminding people to prepare winter clothing. This idea is expressed in the saying “促织鸣，懒妇惊” — when the crickets call, even the lazy woman is startled into preparing cloth — and in the line “九月授衣” from the *Book of Songs · July*.

Records indicate that cricket fighting began during the Tianbao era of the Tang dynasty. Jia Sidao, the powerful minister of the Southern Song, was said to have been fond of gambling and amusements in his youth and, after gaining power, became especially devoted to cricket fighting, even writing a book titled *Classic of Crickets*. The Xuande Emperor of the Ming dynasty also loved the pastime, causing an excellent cricket to fetch prices of dozens of pieces of gold. When those above develop a passion, those below often follow it with even greater enthusiasm, and Beijing’s tradition of cricket fighting probably also took shape during the Ming.

The custom of cricket fighting has a long history and, according to written sources, began in the Tang dynasty. Crickets have many traditional names, including “促织,” “蛬,” “吟蛩,” and “趣织.” They are naturally vocal and combative. From White Dew through the Autumn Equinox to Cold Dew, crickets are at their most active, and folk contests became one of the distinctive street entertainments of late autumn.

During Cold Dew, crickets can be caught in rural fields and traditional matches played with friends. Some folk-culture villages organize cricket-fighting demonstrations and hands-on activities in late autumn.

In Jiangnan, once Cold Dew arrives, temperatures fall rapidly and sunlight can no longer warm the deeper waters sufficiently, so fish move toward the shallower areas where the water remains warmer. This gives rise to the saying “autumn fishing along the banks.” By Cold Dew, most of China has entered autumn, and in Jiangnan, in addition to admiring chrysanthemums, people traditionally eat crab and go fishing. Anglers take advantage of this seasonal change and cast their lines from the banks, enjoying both the warmth of the autumn sun and freshly caught river fish.

The custom arose from the long-term observation of fish behavior by people living in the waterways of Jiangnan. As temperatures fall during Cold Dew, deeper water becomes colder and fish move into shallower areas to feed and warm themselves, creating ideal fishing conditions. The custom closely joins seasonal change with fishing life and reflects a harmonious interaction between people and nature.

During Cold Dew, autumn fishing can be experienced along rivers and lakes in Jiangnan. Fishing gear can often be rented locally, and some rural guesthouses offer combined fishing and cooking experiences.

“At Cold Dew everyone is busy — sowing wheat, picking cotton, threshing beans.” Cold Dew is an important period for autumn harvesting, autumn sowing, and autumn field management. As the saying goes, “If a person misses the land for a moment, the land makes the person lose a year.” The arrival of Cold Dew means that many agricultural tasks must be accelerated, otherwise the following year’s harvest may be affected.

In northern China, people are busy finishing work such as sowing wheat, picking cotton, and digging sweet potatoes. Cotton is highly vulnerable to frost, so whenever it is not raining, cotton farmers hurry into the fields to gather it before frost arrives, preventing frost damage from lowering its quality. Sweet potatoes are also extremely sensitive to frost and can develop a “hard core” after freezing, resulting in reduced yields, so harvesting is generally completed during Cold Dew.

In southern China, Cold Dew marks the true arrival of autumn, and it is a suitable time for planting cold-resistant crops such as rapeseed. What crops fear most during this period is the arrival of the “Cold Dew wind.” Jiangnan has the saying: “People fear poverty in old age; rice fears the Cold Dew wind.” The Cold Dew wind is a low-temperature, dry, and relatively strong cold-air event occurring around the solar term; it can hinder rice grain filling and cause yield losses.

Agricultural proverbs say: “From Cold Dew to Frost’s Descent, sowing wheat keeps us busy day and night.” “If tobacco is not picked at Cold Dew, do not blame Heaven when frost strikes.” “If scallions are not dug at Cold Dew, their hearts will surely be hollow.” “Harvest hawthorn at Cold Dew, dig sweet potatoes at Frost’s Descent.” “At Cold Dew the persimmons turn red; pick them and take them to market.” These proverbs preserve generations of farmers’ experience with seasonal agricultural timing.

Cold Dew agricultural customs grew out of thousands of years of Chinese farming civilization. Through long observation, farmers discovered close relationships between the climate changes of Cold Dew and the growth of crops, summarizing practical experience in sayings such as “Cold Dew is the right time to sow wheat.” Passed down from generation to generation as agricultural proverbs, these observations became an important guide to production.

During Cold Dew, rural areas offer a view of the busy autumn harvest and sowing season. Some agricultural tourism parks open seasonal experiences where visitors can pick cotton, dig sweet potatoes, harvest hawthorn, and take part in other farm work.