The traditional timekeeping system in China is called "Stem-and-Branch" or "Ganzhi," developed by the observers of Jupiter thousands of years ago and also underlying the Chinese zodiac. The system divides a day into 12 even parts each one of which is called a "shichen" and represented by a Chinese character. If you will ever run into an old Chinese sundial, instead of ancient Roman numbers, you will find the 12 characters carved on its surface around the rim. In the Chinese coastal province of Hainan, every shichen of a day is characterized by a unique kind of aura. Accompanied by the ocean's ebb and flow, the blaze of modernity and flashes of yesteryear glitter in turn along south China's coastal line, like sunshine that blankets the sea at dawn and retreats at dusk. CGTN's photographers captured a few moments as the sun marched around the sundial. Check them out.
#1子时，矗立在海南万宁神州半岛灯塔，想带你看星空万里。Standing on Hainan Wanning Shenzhou Peninsula lighthouse, we invite you to appreciate the infinite starry sky at the shichen of Zi. (23:00 p.m. -01:00 a.m.)#2丑时，渔民在三亚崖州中心渔港卸货。Fishermen busily unloading their cargos at the shichen of Chou, the second one of the day and between 1 a.m.-3 a.m., in Sanya, Hainan Province, March 2021. Qu Bo/CGTN #3寅时，崖州中心渔港鱼市。A seafood fair in Sanya, Hainan Province. Its most busy time of the day is at the shichen of Yin, from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. Chen Yuyang /CGTN #4卯时，海南文昌木兰头灯塔海岸日出，海天一色。Sun starts revealing itself from the outset of the shichen of Mou that begins at 5 a.m. and ends two hours later. Photo was taken at Wenchang, Hainan Province, March, 2021. Qu Bo / CGTN#5辰时，三亚桥游艇码头。The last shred of darkness is gone by the shichen of Chen that refers to the two hours between 7 and 9 in the morning. Sanya, Hainan Province. March, 2021. Qu Bo / CGTN #6已时，三亚太阳湾盘山路。The shichen of Si, between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., is about sunshine rolling along the roads in Sanya, Hainan Province, barring rainy days of course. March, 2021. Qu Bo /CGTN#7午时，海口博爱北路。The design may be Renaissance Italian, but the characteristics of this hotel along Boai North Road, Haikou City in Hainan Province, are definitely traditional Chinese. The sunshine is at its most powerful at the shichen of Wu from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., baring every detail of the enchanted old constructions, March 19, 2021. Qu Bo /CGTN #8未时，海口中山路。 Despite the nostalgic tone hidden in the mellowness, the throbs of modernity rush to the fore with the shiny blue of the instrument as a man passes by along Zhongshan Road, Haikou, Hainan Province at the shichen of Wei from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., a few hours before the open-air night club starts receiving customers, March 19, 2021. Qu Bo / CGTN #9申时，亚龙湾森林公园。The Yalong Bay Tropical Paradise forest park in Sanya of Hainan Province, one of China's most prestigious tourist cities, is thus named for a reason. The lively colors melting in the glittering gold of the retreating sun toward the end of the shichen of Shen, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., serves as a splendid backdrop for the newly wedded, March 17, 2021. Qu Bo / CGTN#10酉时，海口世纪公园。An antique boat is anchored in an urban part in Haikou, Hainan Province, bathed in the sunset glow at the shichen of You, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. March 18, 2021. Chen Yuyang/CGTN #11戌时，海口世纪大桥。The Centennial Bridge of Haikou, Hainan Province lights up by the shichen of Xu, or 7 p.m., and will continue to shine through the night above the sea until the shichen of sunrise the next day, signifying one of humankind's signature victories over nature: subjugating darkness, March 19, 2021. Chen Yuyang/ CGTN #12亥时，三亚解放路夜市。
A night fair buzzes with stalls selling local snacks along Jiefang Road against a line of fancy buildings that accommodate the local branches of the hospitality industry's best-known names in Sanya, Hainan Province at the shichen of Hai, the shichen that ends the day at 11 p.m., after which a new loop of 12 shichen begins, March 16, 2021. Chen Yuyang/ CGTN