“Summer Solstice” comes on June 21 to June 22 each year when the sun altitude arrive the highest in north. This day has the longest day time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the sunshine in many cities in south China may last fourteen hours per day.After this day, the spot of the direct sunlight gradually moves southward.
Although, this day has the longest daylight, it’s not the hottest. As traditional Chinese books described, there are three periods of the hot season. It starts around “Summer Solstice” and ends around “Autumn Begins”. The temperature rises day by day and the hottest days come around mid-July to mid-August, where temperatures of some cities in China reach 40 degree Celsius.
There is a traditional saying like this: "eat dumplings on the Winter Solstice and eat noodles on the Summer Solstice." “冬至饺子夏至面”，这是中国民间自古以来的一种说法。 在山东、北京等北方地区，每年一到夏至节气就可以大啖凉面、生菜了，因为这个时候气候炎热，吃些生冷之物可以降火开胃，又不至于因寒凉而损害健康。南方的面条品种多，如阳春面、干汤面、肉丝面、三鲜面、过桥面及麻油凉拌面等。
② “立竿无影” 的游戏 👬 On the Summer Solstice, the sun shines almost directly on the Tropic of Cancer. 在夏至日，太阳几乎直射在北回归线上。 每年在夏至这天，人们会玩一种游戏 “立竿无影”。 Set up a pole but can’t see its shadow 在夏至这一天，太阳几乎直射北回归线，正午时分呈绝对（接近）直射状，北回归线地区就会出现短暂的“立竿无影”现象。 生活在北回归线上及其以南附近区域的人们，可以在夏至日的中午在太阳下立根竿子，观察一下“立竿见影”如何变成“立竿无影”！