Daxue

Daxue (大雪) is a weather phenomenon, indicating that it is already in deep winter when the temperature is much lower.

Weather:

Often it snows more heavily and could accumulate on the ground without immediately melting. This is the typical weather of north China during the period of Daxue.

However, the winter of south China is mild with less rain and snow. The average temperature there is normally 8℃ (46.4oF) to 9℃ (48.2oF), occasionally below 0℃ (32oF). It is now rare to have snow in south China since the weather has been getting warmer in the past decades, so people are happy to see even a little bit of snow.

During the period of Daxue, south China enters a "dry season," with precipitation below 15mm and even less than 5mm in the western part. Fog often appears in the morning, but in most cases fog disappears before noon and warm sunshine comes out in the afternoon.

Farming:

"A snowy year, a harvest year," is a common old saying in north China. Snow can supply water for crops when melted and kill plant diseases and pests. Farmers expect heavy snows while city people hate snows that always cause traffic problems.