Summer Days:

Welcome to this edition of China Lifestyle Journeys, the series that brings you chats, discussions and insights on all aspects of Chinese living. We will cover festivals, food, traditions, customs and much, much more. I’m your host Jocelyn … and I’m Mat, just an English guy with lots of questions.

So, Mat, what’s your big question today?

(Mat)

Hello and welcome once again to another episode. Today we are talking about summer … or summer days. Now of course I’m English, I think that everyone knows that English summers are, well, let’s say ‘fairly mild’.  It’s quite common to have cool, grey and rainy days in the middle of summer. Now, I can remember many years ago, my first trip to China, it was in the month of August and I arrived in Shanghai. One of the things that shocked me most, wasn’t really ‘culture shock’ – it was weather shock, I couldn’t believe how hot it was. So Jocelyn, I know you spent a few years in the UK studying and living, did you have the same feeling in your first English summer? Did you experience weather shock?

(Jocelyn)

Well absolutely. I can vividly remember my first summer in England. I remember thinking, when is summer going to arrive. I kept waiting for the hot, sunny weather, but it never came. You know, I grew up in Wuhan, one of the hottest cities in summer in China, so my idea of summer is, how can I say it, … quite ‘extreme’ and my experience of summer in the UK was … well … extremely ‘mild’!

(Mat)

So I think we’ve both experienced ‘weather shock’ – but in quite different ways. There’s one thing I remember, after arriving in Shanghai in August and then travelling to Wuhan in the same month, I remember people seemed to be good at keeping cool in such hot temperatures.

(Jocelyn)

Yes, that's true. Over the years, Chinese people have developed many different ways to keep cool during hot summers. One of the simplest ways is to wear light cotton clothes, something like pyjamas. You probably saw people sleeping on bamboo mats to keep cool during hot summer nights. And for some people, especially in rural areas, sleeping outside is quite common.

(Mat)

Sleeping outside? Do people really do that? In England I can’t imagine anyone ever sleeping outside. It would, even in summer it would be too cold.

(Jocelyn)

Yeah, in China we did, sometimes, especially in some parts of China where the nights can be really hot and humid. And some people find it cooler and more comfortable to sleep outside, especially if there is a cool breeze. In fact, when I was growing up in Wuhan, I remember seeing people sleeping outside during the summer. They had a special bamboo bed that was set up under the trees and they would sleep there every night. Some people even slept on the Yangzi River bridges, because you get the cool breeze from the river – it’s like nature’s air-conditioner – and it’s free.

(Mat) 

Now there’s something else I remember about my first summer in Wuhan, and that’s the special summer snack food. I remember certain food items that were popular in summer. There was one that I love, still to this day, cold noodles, I love the flavours, the sesame sauce, the vinegar and chilli flavour – it’s amazing. But there’s another one that I really don’t like, cold green bean soup. Do people really like that?

(Jocelyn)

Green bean soup is actually a really popular summer food in many regions of China. And you have to understand that we don’t just have it because of the ‘flavour’ – it’s got a specific function. It's believed to have cooling properties, which can help to reduce body heat and prevent heat stroke during the hot summer months. Well in traditional Chinese medicine, green beans are considered to have a special "cooling" effect on the body and are often used in the treatment of fever, thirst, and other symptoms of heat-related illnesses. So we have this cold green bean soup as a remedy for the intense summer heat. I guess you don’t need things like that in England where the weather is so mild.

(Mat)

No, we don’t need any kind of remedy for summer weather, because it’s never really hot. I mean, we do like ice cream in summer, it’s kind of a tradition for us, when it’s sunny, which is not every day, go out for a walk and enjoy an ice cream. And I remember actually in China, I think I saw it in different cities, there’s a weird ice snack that I think I tried in Wuhan for the first time, it’s not ice cream. It’s actually made from ice and you kind of use a knife to cut the ice. Do you know the one I mean?

(Jocelyn)

Of course I know what you mean, you’re talking about shaved ice, which is a popular summer dessert in many parts of Asia, especially in China. It's made by shaving a block of ice into a fine, fluffy texture, and then adding various toppings like fresh fruit, and milk, or flavoured syrup, or sometimes even ice cream. And the dessert is very refreshing and is perfect for hot summer days. In China, there are many different varieties of shaved ice desserts, depending on the region and local ingredients. For example, in some areas, the shaved ice is topped with sweet red bean paste, while in others, it might be topped with fresh mango, strawberries, or other fruits. It's a typical summer treat for many people in China. So I think today we’ve really discovered that our summer habits are quite different, but that’s mainly because our summer weather is so different.

Well, that’s it for today. We hope you enjoyed this episode, thanks for listening. We hope to see you again next time. Until then, goodbye. Stay wise.

夏日炎炎的夏季马上就要来临。提到英国的夏天，你的第一反应是什么呢？因为气候的关系，英国夏天很短，气温也不高。英国是个空调基本卖不出去的国家，英国夏天的平均温度不过23摄氏度左右，全年日照时间少。所以到了夏天，英国人喜欢去有阳光的热带岛屿和海边度假。中国的太阳很毒，人们躲之不及。每到夏天，很多中国人都会自然地在阳光下打起了伞，其实在英国的夏天，人们连帽子都不戴，脑袋仰得高高的。英国的太阳很少见，就算有，也总是暖暖的，热不起来，夏天的英国，只要太阳一出来，全国上下就立马变成度假区，人人脸上带着笑意，马路上敞篷车突然多起来，雪糕车也大街小巷地开始串门了，孩子们一听到那熟悉的音乐，就吵着要去买雪糕。

中国人的消暑也离不开食物，从南到北都有明显地域代表性的消暑品，从北京的酸梅汤、两广人夏天都有的糖水，四川人的冰粉、闽南人的烧仙草，甘肃敦煌的杏皮水......这还不是全部，这些来自民间的降暑清凉饮品，土味十足，却是中国民间特有的熬过一个又一个酷夏的清凉“神器”。

阳光是英国的奢侈品，它意味着度假般的快乐心情，意味着可以晒出性感古铜色皮肤，意味着雪糕车来了，还意味着可以烧烤……总之阳光能够引发出一连串的快乐生活方式。这样的符号连接，可能无法引起每一个中国人的共鸣，而中国人吃冰、席地而睡的消暑办法，在英国人看来也很新奇。

摘自《英国人夏天追着太阳跑》等