The 24 solar terms are a system of time knowledge and practice formed by the Chinese through observing the annual movement of the sun.

The "24 Solar Terms" is a knowledge system and social practice formed by the Chinese people through observing the annual movement of the sun and recognizing the changing laws of seasons, climate, phenology, etc. in a year. The ancient Chinese divided the annual movement trajectory of the sun into 24 equal parts, each of which is a "solar term", collectively known as the "24 Solar Terms". Specifically include: Beginning of Spring, Rain Water, Waking of Insects, Spring Equinox, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Grain Rain, Beginning of Summer, Grain Full, Grain in Ear, Summer Solstice, Minor Heat, Major Heat, Beginning of Autumn, End of Heat, White Dew, Autumnal Equinox, Cold Dew, Frost Descent, Beginning of Winter, Minor Snow, Major Snow, Winter Solstice, Minor Cold, Major Cold. The "24 Solar Terms" guide traditional agricultural production and daily life, and are an important part of the traditional Chinese calendar system and its related practical activities. The "24 Solar Terms" were formed in the Yellow River Basin of China. Based on the observation of the temporal changes of astronomical phenomena, temperature, precipitation and phenology in the region, it was gradually adopted by all parts of the country as a time guide for production and life in agricultural society and shared by multiple ethnic groups. As a unique time knowledge system of the Chinese people, this heritage project has a profound impact on people's way of thinking and behavioral norms, and is an important carrier of the Chinese nation's cultural identity.

China

Seasonal changes

Tsodilo

Tsodilo is known as the "Louvre of the Desert" for its one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world. More than 4,500 rock paintings are preserved in just 10 square kilometres of the Kalahari Desert. The archaeological record in the area chronicles human activity and environmental change over at least 100,000 years. In this harsh environment, local communities consider Tsodilo a place of worship frequented by ancestral spirits.

Botswana

Environmental changes

Landscapes of Dauria

The site, located between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, is an outstanding example of the Daur Steppe ecoregion, which stretches from eastern Mongolia to Russian Siberia and northeastern China. Cyclic climate change, with distinct wet and dry periods, results in a diversity of species and ecosystems of global significance. The steppe ecosystems vary in type, such as steppes and forests, as well as lakes and wetlands, and are home to rare animals such as white-naped cranes, great bustards, relict gulls and swan geese, as well as millions of vulnerable, endangered or threatened migratory birds. It is also a key site on the transboundary migration path of the Mongolian gazelle.

Mongolia

Climate Change

Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch

The extension of the Jungfrau-Aletsch-Bietschhorn Natural World Heritage Site (first inscribed in 2001) has increased the site's area from 53,900 to 82,400 hectares to the east and west. The site is an outstanding example of Alpine mountain formation and includes the most glaciated part of the range and the largest glacier in Eurasia. It hosts a wide variety of ecosystems, including successional stages formed by the retreat of glaciers due to climate change. The site is of Outstanding Universal Value not only for its beauty but also for the rich information it contains on mountain and glacier formation and ongoing climate change. It is also invaluable in illustrating ecological and biological processes, especially through planned succession. Its impressive landscapes have played an important role in European art, literature, mountaineering and Alpine tourism.

Switzerland

Climate Change

The emergence of modern humans: Pleistocene human sites in South Africa

<p>The South African Pleistocene Human Sites Collection helps us understand the origins of behaviorally modern humans, their cognitive abilities, culture, and the climate changes they experienced. The collection consists of three archaeological sites in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa: the Diepkloof Rock Shelter, the Pinnacle Point complex, and the Sibhudu Caves. They provide the most diverse and best-preserved record of the development of modern human behavior, dating back to 162,000 years ago. Ochre processing, engraved patterns, decorated beads, decorated eggshells, advanced projectile weapons and tool-making techniques, and microliths are all examples of symbolic thinking and advanced technology of the time. </p>

South Africa

Climate Change

Tassili n'Ajjer

The site is located in a geologically significant and bizarre lunar landscape and contains the world's most important collection of prehistoric cave art. More than 15,000 drawings and engravings document climate change, animal migrations and the evolution of human life. The rock formations on the edge of the Sahara Desert date from 6000 BC to the first few centuries of the modern era. The geological formations here are spectacular, with eroded sandstone forming a "rock forest".

Algeria

Climate Change

Ilulissat Icefjord

Located on the west coast of Greenland, 250 km north of the Arctic Circle, Ilulissat Icefjord is the mouth of the Selmaq Kujallek glacier, one of the few glaciers from the Greenland ice sheet that flows into the sea. Selmaq Kujallek is one of the fastest-flowing and most active glaciers in the world. It calves more than 35 cubic kilometers of ice each year, accounting for 10% of all ice calving in Greenland and more than any other glacier outside Antarctica. It has been studied for more than 250 years, helping us to deepen our understanding of climate change and ice sheet glaciology. The massiveness of the ice sheet and the loud sounds of fast-flowing glacial ice streams calving into the iceberg-covered fjords combine to create this exciting and awe-inspiring natural phenomenon.

Denmark

Climate Change

Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda

The Lope-Okanda Ecosystem and Cultural Site demonstrates an unusual interface between dense and well-preserved tropical rainforest and remnant savannah environments, rich in species, including endangered large mammals and habitats. The site demonstrates ecological and biological processes by which species and habitats adapted to post-glacial climate change. It contains evidence of successive migrations of different peoples who left behind a wealth of well-preserved remains of habitation on mountaintops, in caves and around shelters, evidence of iron working, and some 1,800 remarkable petroglyphs (rock engravings). The property's Neolithic and Iron Age sites and the rock art found there reflect a major migration route of Bantu and other peoples from West Africa along the Ogowe River Valley to the north in the dense evergreen Congo forests and east-central and southern Africa, a route that shaped the development of all of sub-Saharan Africa.

Gabon

Climate Change

Trang An Landscape Complex

Located on the southern edge of the Red River Delta, the Trang An Group of Landforms is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks interspersed with valleys, many of which are partially flooded and surrounded by steep, near-vertical cliffs. Explorations of caves at different altitudes have revealed archaeological traces of continuous human activity for more than 30,000 years. They show the occupation of these mountains by seasonal hunter-gatherers and how they adapted to major climatic and environmental changes, especially the repeated inundation of the land by seawater after the last Ice Age. The history of human occupation extends from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages to historical times. The ancient Vietnamese capital of Hoa Lu was strategically established here in the 10th and 11th centuries AD. The site also includes temples, pagodas, rice fields and small villages.

Vietnam

Climate and environmental changes

Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus

This rocky massif on the border of Tassiriy 'Ajjer in Algeria is also a World Heritage Site and contains thousands of cave paintings in a variety of styles dating from 12,000 BC to 100 AD. These paintings reflect the remarkable changes in flora and fauna, as well as the lifestyles of the different peoples who emerged in the Sahara.

Libya

Changes in plants and animals

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

It is home to two of the world's most active volcanoes: Mauna Loa (4,170 meters) and Kilauea (1,250 meters), both towering over the Pacific Ocean. Eruptions have created an ever-changing landscape, with lava flows revealing surprising geological formations. Rare birds and endemic species can be found here, as well as giant fern forests.

USA

Landform changes

Badaling Ancient Great Wall

The Badaling Ancient Great Wall Natural Scenic Area is located in Badaling Town, Yanqing District, 10 kilometers southwest of the Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area. It is the second scenic area of the Badaling Great Wall. There are four beacon towers and a gap. Starting from the beacon tower at the gap, the two sections of the wall are in a "V" shape to the southwest and northwest, extending upward along the mountain, about 2,000 meters long. Although the wall is incomplete, its magnificent scale in the past can still be seen. "Yesterday and today in this mountain, the helmet tassels on the ancient Great Wall are red. The battlefields are no longer seen, and nature still smiles at the east wind." The ancient Great Wall is the western gate of the Badaling Great Wall defense. Not only does it have the beauty of the incompleteness of the ancient Great Wall, its natural landscape environment is equally charming. In spring, the scenic area is full of apricot flowers like butterflies and bees flying in the sea; in summer, the mountains are covered with lilac, and the fragrance is overwhelming; in autumn, the red leaves are more colorful, shining on the ancient city; in winter, it is covered with silver and the scenery is magnificent. Although there is no stream in the valley, the fragrance of flowers is everywhere, the birds are singing and the flowers are fragrant. The breeze blows gently by your ears. The luxuriant trees and shrubs are lush and green, and the vitex is blooming with purple flowers. The unique fragrance is refreshing and refreshing. In 2002, the scenic spot was awarded the Beijing Patriotic Education Base, Yanqing District Safe Tourism Scenic Spot, and Yanqing District Minors' Ideological and Moral Education Base. In 2011, it was rated as a national AAA-level scenic spot. The ancient Great Wall is like an unborn beauty and an unpolished jade, waiting for your visit and appreciation.

Beijing and surrounding areas

Seasonal changes

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