Photos reveal beauty of four seasons at Palace Museum (part 1)

Awakening of Insects (Chinese: 惊蛰), the 3rd solar term of the year, began this year on Mar 6 and ends on Mar 20. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345°and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. Traditional Chinese folklore says that during the Awakening of Insects, thunderstorms will wake up the hibernating insects, which implies that the weather is getting warmer. [Photo by Wang Jin/Palace Museum]

"Phenology of Forbidden City" is a well-received column on Palace Museum's official microblog, which captures the transition of four seasons inside the museum.

As the traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms, it shows beautiful photos of flowers, trees, birds, and cats inside the museum according to each solar term.

"The photos enable people to see the transition of four seasons in a year, which makes it feel like the Palace Museum is alive," the museum's photographer Wang Jin told Beijing Daily.

According to Wang, the idea of uploading the column struck him after his photos on the first snow on Forbidden City on Feb 7 became a great hit on the museum's official Weibo.

Thereafter, on each solar term, Wang would take some photos of animals and plants to reflect the change of seasons during the year.

"We can experience the beauty of the Forbidden City only with our souls. We should slow down our steps to observe carefully, rather than glance at things in a hurry, and then we can see a more beautiful Palace Museum," Wang said.