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China, a country with varieties of geographical environment and climates
People work from day to night
As spring planting
autumn harvesting
summer cultivating
and winter storing
There is a tight schedule
existed in the cycle of season
and has maintained over thousand years
Compare to the agrarian age
people have gradually estranged from the nature
Nevertheless, by following the footsteps of their ancestors
and cooking their own foods
have become the unique cooking way of Chinese
This is the story of time
and is the secret of how Chinese get along with nature
Zhang Guang Cai Mountain?s broad ridge
is covered by snows which more than one meter deep
Deep into the spruce forests
logging team is finishing their last task
before the mountain closure
Li Shu Guo is their captain with 25 years of experience
This tree is falling
Let?s lay down that Ying door tree after this
Its falling downwards
Spring is coming
but the weather in here is still freezing
After the stored foods have exausted
His wife Qin Hong Zhi decided to purchase more at the foot of the mountain
At northeast of China, fish is a must for a hearty dinner
Corn tortillas can be put around
while stewing the fish
and when the delicious smell of fish came out
the corn tortillas are prepared for enjoying
At March?s night, temperature is 15 degrees below zero
This is the most appropriate temperature for making the frozen tofu
Low temperature helps the proteins and water contents
to keep separating from each other
Frozen water helps the tofu
become softer and more delicious
This is Li Shu Guo?s favourite food
7 to 8 kilometers away
there is a creek that never be frozen and can be used to stewing fishes
which is called Running water by locals
When hot water is poured into dried foods
its original characters are re-appearing
This is not only the side dish of stewing fish
but also is the major source of vitamin in winter
Your claws please
I?m back
Everything is good
Not bad
Fishes are seared rapidly with hot oil
Now they add stream water in
Half an hour later, is the time to put tofu in
Forzen tofu looks like a honeycomb
It has a plump look with enough soup
Let?s have dinner together
Cheers
Fantastic
After the stewing fish season
Winter is coming to an end
To the south of 2000 kilometers
Within the same season
The weather is unpredictable
At Tian Mu mountain, Spring thunder symbolise the growth of plants
Gao Bao Liang has noticed
the message sent by the nature
I wake up at 5 am, for 1 month long
I?ll dig bamboo shoots even during thunders
As it will grow rapidly to the bamboo
The first bamboo shoots right after the spring thunder
is called thunder shoots
They can be ate within 10 days
and after that, they will be bamboos
Thunder shoots have an extremely short guarantee period
They even show different taste after half a day
and on next day, its even not enjoyable
The couple works from day to night
They will collect 750 kg at the busiest period
Get ready, I?ll drop the shoots now
Deep in the mountains
Bamboo shoots have become the centre of a family?s daily life
From Cutting the stump
to removing the peel
and sheels
They will be prepared rapidly
from women?s work
Thunder shoots have a crisp taste
Regardless of how to cook it
It will becomes a tasty dish
Bamboo is originally from China
At Lin An, over 150 thousand people eat bamboo
The couple use tea heats
to cook another delicious food
Bamboo shoots is boiling with spices
and tear into finger wide
The fire leads to evaporations
This is the most popular tea snacks of Jiang Nan
and also is the most important incomes of the couple
A month after the thunder shoot season
The delicious story belongs to the mountain people
has just begun
Under the withered leaves
Bamboo shoots is growing
It roots are dug up
from the clay
Yellow arch is grew from
the deepest places
If we dug the yellow arch
We?ll only cook for our self
Its very tasty
This is the very rare yellow arch
They may only be found three or four in a mountain
But it taste more crisp
than any other shoots
It even has pear?s taste
Also, after the yellow arch is dug up
its qualities will degraded rapidly
From harvest to the processing, it must be measured in minutes
Bacon with yellow arch
This is the most common style of Gao?s family
They have a very different taste
between each other
Only need to steam for 7 minutes
the different taste between meat and shoots
start combining
This delicious dish of bamboo farmers
Is a lofty realm
of the Chinese diet
The ultimate food is
only prepared for the most hard working people
Shen Dun Shu a farmer of Shang Bao Village
He applied another way to know seasonal variations
Chinese Almanac, formed in 2000 years ago
it arranged 24 solar terms to guide the farmer
which according to the time change
and meteorological change
In March, Weather becomes warmer
People go seeding pumpkin and gourd
and waiting for its growth
April is the time of butterfly
People cut branches and used as a support of yam
In May, swallows start nesting
Gardens are waiting for fertilisation
After the summer, corns are ready to eat
Towel gourd and pumpkin can be harvested
Until September and October,
It is the time to sowing scallions
and waiting for its growth
Seasons
to seeding and harvesting seasonal
Chinese farmers get rich returns
with the experience of ancestors
Rice grows to five or six leaves
and they are ramets
There are several planting masters
living here
Seeding here, and here
His son is in Beijing
Thus Shen has called his daughter
to help the family
Shen Dun Shu believes that regardless of how far the children left from home
They should not forget their family and hometown
In spring, Plants are growing
Although it is still not the time for seeding
but nature has prepared a variety of wild herbs
At the waterfront of the Poyang Lake
There are full of wild celery and artemisia selengensis
Make it to Artemisia cake
Its not only tasty, but also is the taste of nature
At north hill
The habit to make pot magnolia has never changed
Steamed elm seeds meal is the first delicious food
over generations
Yanshan
An De Wen is waiting for
a cold spell in early spring
Toona sinensis should bloom at Guyu season
But in here they still not sprouting
Almost just over a night
an unusual fantastic smell come out
They need to be processed from morning
to afternoon
and continued for a week
Toons only need to grow for two or three days
It will be taste bad for just grow one more day
The thickness of the wild herbs are similar to chopsticks
they only grows at the back shade of this mountain
Toon elements emit an
unusual and full-bodied fragrance
Some people cannot stand it
But in the view of who love it
this is the taste of spring
China, is the only country in the world
that its people eat toons
The one that fried with wrapped egg
is called toona sinensis fish
It can also be chopped and fried with egg
or to make a tofu salad
All of them are the unique spring foods
Just one week
two toons
The leaves are still growing
But is no longer good to eat
For Ann
Spring has passed
Shang Bao, Seeds has grow new roots
Shen Dun Shu is waiting for a spring rain
Shen?s family decide to bring their most sincere expectation
to a kind of food
Rich of first year, added to chives
Fretted to green rice soup
Brewing the dried gardenia fruit
makes it look like clay yellow
The third layer is rice white
The last is the festive tomato red
cooked layers by layers
and repeated 9 times
The rice pudding made is called Jiu Ceng Pi
Green spring
Golden autumn
White rice
and prosperous days
For all the farmers on earth
This might be their most common aspiration
and the colour of it
Heading to the north
It is already summer
at the lower reached of Yangtze River
Qian Dao Hu, in the clean water
There is a delicious brewing
1 month ago, is the season of pine pollination
Dry pollen falling from male ball
and nourished the best fish in China
But for now, it is not the best time
to cook fish
Fishermen has their own targets
Seasonťin Chinese characters
Means to do the right things at right time
As the weather gets warmer
Snails migrated from deep water to shallow water
This kind of gastropod software animal
is the delicious food of waterfront residents since ancient times
Jiang Nan people is the master to eat snails
A gently suck between the lips and teeth
is enough
They will use toothpicks if necessary
Have another one
Snail does not taste good originally
People eat snail is for its feeling
and to enjoy the ?suck? process to eat it
However, the best snail
is hidden in the deep mountains
Kai Hua, located in Qian Tang Jiang
Between valleys
is the working place for Yu Yun Shan
Self made waterproof mask
clear the world under the water
Since become a snail catcher
Yu is the best person who knows seasonal variations
in here
This water snail captured by Yu Yun Shan
Is very tasty and contains a little bitter taste
His wife goes to trade snails at 5 am everyday
This snail with green shell
Can sell to a very good price
due to its quality and growth from clean water
Here, have a look
Some basil can raise fresh tastes
and usually served with snails
I will normally pick snails
until 3-4 am
Sometimes if my phone is ringing
at night
I will be very upset
Every time my daughter is coming back
I?ll cook this for her
As the different working time
Lunch is the only gathering time for this family
In daughter?s view
His father is sleeping over the whole summer
But what she doesn?t know
is that green snail is sleeping over daytime as well
Yu Yun Shan needs to catch his time
before the water temperature drops
This is his best harvest season
Dangerous work needs to be continued throughout the summer
Sunshine and the temperature are not only brings delicious
but also made a colorful world
With the ice melting
Plants are start growing
again
Plants keep growth and benefit from
photosynthesis
Different temperature
nourished variety kind of crops
Sugar accumulated under sunshine
Food dried to be stored
Lan islands
is a volcano island with 45 square kilometers
and is the place of Tao clans
From March to June is the flying fish season
The ocean will motivate
the heartbeat of men
In order to avoid predators
Flying fish has evolved a unique skill
They can glide above water
from fast swing their tail and
to get a great driving force
Swim hard, and close the mouth of nets
Relying on their co-operation skills
they will have a significant income
But in Ba Bu?s grandfather?s view
Their action is a disrespect to the sea
Flying fish is not only the Tao people?s food
but also is their belief
Excessive industrial fishing
used to have some bad effects on the environment
and is slightly alleviated until a few years ago
For planked boat, Tao people selected 13 kinds of wood
to elaborate unique boats
for their fishing flying fishes
Just 5 to 6 fishes
are enough for a family
for one day
They will only fishing more than that
at the end of each season
to make dried fish
They can be ate
off the fishing season
The process of dried fish is not complicated
After simple marinated and tied
they can be put under sun exposure for 3 days and are prepared to serve
Simple food with authentic life
Grandfather deeply understand the
best way to communicate with nature
Once again after the fishing
Sunshine and flying fish makes
a wonderful picture
This is the convention between the Tao people and the sea
Nature does not always have positive effects to the mankind
Hu Nan, wild sun
At Guan *** town, fishponds are drying
He Lian Rong?s family
Faced with the dilemma of crop failure
This year?s drought has last for 40 days
Near 50 days now
They stop grouting as short of water
and that leaves only the wizened husk
In order to save 30 acres of paddy fields
He?s family has tried every method
to save their crops
Although the overall situations in China is still good
and have last for 10 years
but extreme weather in locals
still have a huge impact
for local farmers
Dried rice are burned
They have prepared to plant some dryland crops
But
the miracle appeared
Finally it is raining
We are so pleased
That can save some rice as well
In addition to the sunshine, plant is inseparable from water
Precipitation in China
Shows a decrease trend from southeast to northwest
Tu Lu Fan
Extreme drought
Is the hottest area in China
But the gravel Gobi does not destroy life
Melted water from Tian Shan brings life to there
Here is the sweetest place of China
Under the grape
Hari Dan ?s family is enjoying the harvest
We have 7 people
Our whole life is relying on these grape
Turpan, a place where always have less cloud
Enough sunshine
Let the grapes accumulate abundant sugar
As at night, heat is well dissipated
and that makes the sugar well preserved within grapes
The secret of sweetest grapes in China
is in this kind of huge temperature difference between day and night
Picked during daytime, hanged at night
Square holes
are not only prevent direct sunlight to grapes
but also make air flows easier
Every year in March
They will work in grape fields
We will keep checking the grapes
Several times
Just like our children
And now, they can have a rest
and to wait for temperature and time doing their jobs
1 month later
Sweeter grapes are prepared
Their Sugar content reached 30%
Iraq Bibra will use grape juice
to fabricate a food with high energy
Xinjiang nut cake
Boiled at 115 degrees for 4 hours
90 kg of grape juice concentrated to 30 kg syrup
Roasted walnut has a crispy taste
Well baked Xinjiang nut cake will be cut to smaller pieces
In other area of China
This food is called Qie Gao
This is not only the western style dessert
but also is the most important source of calories for locals
Xinjiang nut cake is finished
Turpan grapes
have reached another levels
Only have 20% of water content
and 60% of sugar content
this is the most famous
currant that can go through four seasons
A pot of hand pilaf
Is the best treatment for a busy year
This is Xinjiang?s unique yellow turnip strip
Mutton fat can help carotene to dissolve in the
intestines
under the assistance of the enzyme
and transform to the absorbable vitamin A
Tomatoes bring orange colour to the rice
With a small fire until the sauce is dried
The sweet and sour grapes can be served with lambs
It will not only making the lamb less oily
but also make the meal more tasty
As long as to have the most respectful attitude
to the nature and time
Every family
will have their sweetest rewards
Lets back to the story of summer
Only at mid summer
with water temperature exceeds 18 degrees
a kind of delicious food will breed under the water
The Yangtze River and Qing Ge Jiang intersect at Wuhu
Master Xu makes the flour into snowflakes
Pressing
Rolling
and cutting
Noodles are tasty and slippery
It is the most representative snacks of Wuhu
However, the best season
to have some Xiao Dao noodles
is on the very mid of summer
Under the warm water, Shrimp start breeding
4 to 6 cm in size of the parent shrimp
wrapped with thousands of grains
At slower flows
T-shaped tubular shrimp baskets from last night
is full of shrimps now
To get the shrimp reo by shifting with a bamboo basket
and 1kg of shrimp could collect 50g shrimp reo.
Days and months passed
Only about 8kg shrimp reo could be collected after working for a whole summer
They usually pour the onion-ginger sauce on those shrimp reo and steam them with
yellow wine. In order to get the shrimp reo dried, firstly dry them under the sun for
half an hour, and then cook them with a gentle heat
Eventually, sealed them
with some peeled garlic
in a hermetic bag
In the summer of the cities along river
after finished boiling sliced noodle
they pouring out the noodle in the bone soup
with Chinese onion and soy sauce on the top
100g noodles and 10g dried shrimp reo
The perfect mixture with shrimp reo and bone soup
in white color and tasty soup
makes a best reward for locals
in this hot and humid summer in Wuhu
which is called Sliced Noodles with shrimp roe
Your Sliced Noodles with shrimp roe is ready
For the means of time
Chinese people always have a unique expression
The process of breaking the cocoon into a butterfly
the cycle of a flower bloom and fade
the trees and grass grow and perish
they are all presenting the pace of the time
However, in the transforming of 4 seasons
Chinese people are still searching the secret of the food
The bladefish is the freshest in the spring in the warm water condition
it would be better to eat stewed chicken with bamboo in summer to avoid sickness
you should not miss the wonderful fish head in the autumn
In the winter, you must try the hot-pot with boiling stream
Even though, our lifestyles are more and more modern
but we can still feel the time is passing and the weather is transforming
through the food culture
on the top of the table
After spring and summer
the richest fish season of Qingdao lake is coming
Fishes are jumping up and down
in the wide eyes nets pulled by
dozen of
fishers
That?s the beginning of the enormous harvest
Chinese people believes that
if they abide by the agreement with the season
they will get the richest rewards from nature in the autumn
There are full of wonderful sweet tastes in the air
Wu jiang people harvest the sweet olive early
in order to get
the best taste of them
The acidity of the root keeps the flower?s color and smells fresh
They make sweet olive with salty sauce and sweet olive jam
in order to extend the fragrance of the flower from the end of the spring
until the winter
After a pouring in autumn
the birds? flying on the sky
remind yang fu xing
that it is the season
to harvest the most delicious food ever
This is lactarius
Each year, at the August of lunar calendar,
The wild goose fly from north to our place,
Those brown and umbrella-shaped lactarius
grow under
both pine tree and chestnut trees
They are delicious even they don?t look like one
Although lactarius are not as famous as before
but each year as soon as the season is arrived
Yang Fu Xing would climbing up to mountains
to gather these treasures
After stewed with chestnut shells and fried with dried chills
followed by put few slices of tender ginger in
That will give out a totally fresh and wonderful taste of the luctarius
and it smells similar to pine needles
Cook them until luctarius is drying
pour in a small amount of light soy sauce to make it salty and dark soy sauce to
make it colored, followed by stew them with a gentle heat for about 10 mins
and wait for the soup become thick
Finally, the luctarius jam is ready to be served
Although it doesn?t looks pure
but it does tastes wonderful
However, only half finished
until now
the sweet olive is ready to be used after a flurry of rain
no matter cook it as sauce or ingredients
it would be tasty
The best partner with chicken breast
is the fresh chestnut
tied lean meat, fried tofu and pork liver together
by chitling and put sauce to boiling it
That is the most delicious food in this season
In China, people normally eat thicker food in autumn
in order to compensate the losses of hot summer
and fighting for the upcoming winter
which is called ?tie qiu biao?
that?s a tradition in an agricultural society
The best food partner of luctarius
is the adult duck meat from more than 3 years layer ducks
who lives from hundreds miles away, at changdang lake
They makes the perfect
meat and mushroom combinations
by stewing luctarius and duck meat together
The sparkles made by same season?s ingredients
fire up the autumn
Chinese chef found lots of wonderful ingredients and combined them together
in the season transforms
by their richest experiences
and passed from generation to generation
Autumn is the season to harvest paddy rice
They need to be dried
on the ground for 2 weeks
The unique climate and soil condition
make the paddy rice
grows in rich-nutrition conditions
After rice shell has been peeled off
the grain is wonderful and hard
the color is bright and clean
This is the best grain in China
It has experienced 138 days long on growth period
Harvest is continuing
The temperature is below zero
3000 km away
After the harvest, shangbao
The wind in autumn is stronger
The third generation of Shen family
starts a new life journey
The new born baby is going to be a month old
It?s the time to host a party to celebrate
the full moon wine
According to the lunar calendar
in order to pick up a most fortune day
they need to prepare 5 bowls and 4 plates follows the traditional
The owner?s faith is showed on the amount of the meat they are given
This is the time to account for their incomes
They sowed seed in spring and waiting a whole summer
until the autumn
to get harvest
happily enjoy this season with their families
this is the harvest season for Chinese
Dongbei is the earliest place where enter winter
the snow is falling
land began to freeze
Li Shuguo Couple prepared their food
to get through the long winter
In winter
not only the land and crops are in sleeping times
but also is the time for busy people to come home and enjoy the joy of
reunion with their family to reward themselves
Before the Spring festival, more than hundreds of millions people
start their journey to home
They will bring simple luggage
and take the transport whatever they can take
to meet their family
for a reunion dinner on New Year?s Eve
This is the agricultural civilisation
left to modern China
Also
is the end of our story
Cheers
In xiangxi shangbao
the paddy field is ready for a new rowing seed cycle
In hunan hengyang
He Lian Rong?s family is looking forward to a new year
Flying fish season is arriving at Lan Yu
Ba Bu has took his grandfather?s work
Nowadays
everyone experiences
too much pains and joys
but they will always hid the pains
and get their happiness from their food
and deliver that attitude to the table over four seasons