The 24 Solar Terms
Symmetrical reflections of mountains and water express the “equal division” of the Spring Equinox, and a family’s spring outing and modern farm work bring seasonal knowledge into a life you can see and touch.
01 / Background
This is the Spring Equinox episode of the NDRC’s 24 Solar Terms series. It continues the open landscapes and bright spring colors of the earlier episodes while adding the themes of “equal division” and “balance.” In 2026, the Spring Equinox fell exactly on the second day of the second lunar month, so the script starts from “the Dragon Raises Its Head,” moves through day and night, cold and warmth, and signs of the season, and ends on spring outings, eating spring greens, flying kites, standing eggs on end and spring farm work.
“Balance” is abstract to talk about, so the film turns it into images anyone can read: golden dunes meet their reflection in a lake, top to bottom, and snow mountains and flowering trees share one frame, one cool, one warm; the family activities are all done by the same family, so the customs don’t become unrelated diagrams. After machines working the fields and traffic on a bridge, the film returns to a bamboo grove and stream, so the line “nurturing new prosperity” carries the feel of natural growth.
02 / Creative Highlights
The film first shows a golden chiwen ornament on a roof ridge under blue sky, followed by a wide shot of a red dragon dance troupe crossing a field of rapeseed flowers. The dragon on the ridge becomes a dragon danced by people, gold, red and green follow one another, and the opening introduces both the Spring Equinox and the Dragon Raises Its Head festival at once.
Dunes, a camel caravan and their reflection in a lake are symmetrical top to bottom, matching “equal day and night”; snow mountains, pink-white flowering trees and green grass share a frame, matching “cold and warmth in balance.” With the two images back to back, the theme isn’t just a line of explanation; you can see it directly.
After a spring camping outing, the family eats spring greens together outdoors, then the father and daughter fly a kite while the mother and son stand an egg on end. Portable lunch boxes and cold dishes keep the outdoor scenes continuous, and parent-child moments link several solar-term customs into one complete spring outing.
Farm machines and drones work the spring wheat fields, and traffic on a bridge matches “the seasons run in good order”; the ending is a bamboo grove and stream, closing on calm water, distant mountains and bamboo. The film covers modern production and daily life, yet still ends on the quiet of a spring in which all things are taking shape.
03 / Scene Breakdown
A glazed chiwen ornament under blue sky opens the frame, then the shot cuts to rapeseed-flower terraces where a long red dragon dances through the sea of flowers. The 2026 Spring Equinox fell right on the “Dragon Raises Its Head” day of the second lunar month, and the opening introduces both at once.
A golden glazed chiwen ornament stands on a roof ridge as white clouds drift behind; the camera slowly pulls back to reveal rows of glazed tiles. Voiceover: Good morning, today is March 20, 2026.
Terraced fields are full of rapeseed flowers, and a dragon dance troupe in black carries a long red dragon with golden scales along the ridges, the dragon’s head lifting toward the camera now and then.
Dunes and their reflection split the frame in half, and snow mountains and apricot blossoms share a frame, one cool, one warm; then swallows return, a canyon river surges, and lightning strikes above Danxia hills.
The shoreline splits the frame exactly in half, with golden dunes and a camel caravan above and an identical reflection below; then a cut to a grassy slope full of apricot blossoms beneath snow mountains, with horses grazing.
White walls and black tiles of a Jiangnan town, willow branches hanging down, and a few swallows flying over distant rapeseed fields, matching “swallows return carrying mud.”
River water in a canyon crashes against rocks in white spray, the sound of water standing in for thunder; then clouds gather over Danxia hills and a bolt of lightning strikes.
Pandas munch bamboo in a grove as a blue magpie perches on a branch; then a family of four comes to a meadow to eat spring greens, fly a kite and stand eggs on end, while people by the lake practice tai chi.
Several pandas are scattered through the bamboo; the one in front slowly munches on a stalk, and a blue magpie on a bamboo branch ruffles its wings, matching “all things find their place in steady calm.”
A family of four pushes a camping wagon toward a meadow; then, in front of their tent, they open portable lunch boxes of cherry tomatoes and cold dishes, and the kids reach in.
A father and daughter run across the meadow flying a colorful kite; in a pavilion, a mother and son watch eggs standing upright on a stone table.
Beneath willow branches, a row of elderly people in white practice tai chi in unison on a stone terrace by the lake, matching “praying for ease and stability.”
Farm machines and drones work the wheat fields together, traffic flows steadily on a sea-crossing bridge, and the film comes to rest on bamboo, distant mountains and a stream before the “Presented by” end card.
In green wheat fields, several tractors spread fertilizer along parallel tracks while drones overhead spray streaks of mist, matching “the wheat shoots up quickly.”
A white cable-stayed bridge stretches out over the sea, with orderly traffic on the interchange below, matching “spring is half gone, the seasons run in good order.”
Bamboo lines a clear riverbank, mountains in the distance and the water perfectly calm. Bamboo in its growth spurt closes the film, matching “nurturing new prosperity.”
04 / Storyboards & Final Frames
In film order: each shot first notes the voiceover line it matches and what it shows, followed by the final still used in the film.
Shot 1.1
Matches “Good morning, today is March 20, 2026.” The full chiwen ornament on the ridge under blue sky and white clouds, its golden dragon form instantly recognizable, as the camera slowly pulls back to reveal rows of glazed tiles.
Shot 1.2
Matches “The second day of the second lunar month: the Spring Equinox coincides with the Dragon Raises Its Head.” First a wide shot of rapeseed terraces, then the dragon dance troupe, red with golden scales, moves through the sea of flowers, red and yellow colliding.
Shot 2.1
Matches “On this day, day and night are of equal length.” The shoreline splits the frame exactly into top and bottom halves, the golden sand and blue lake mirrored symmetrically; withered reeds from the winter remain on the shore, the real look of the northwest in March.
Shot 2.2
Matches “cold and warmth in balance.” Snow mountains in the background, blooming pink-white apricot blossoms and grazing horses in the foreground: cool and warm colors in one wide shot.
Shot 3.1
Matches “swallows return carrying mud.” White walls and black tiles of a Jiangnan water town in the foreground, willow branches hanging down, swallows flying over distant rapeseed fields.
Shot 3.2
Matches “spring thunder rumbles.” Surging river water crashes against a boulder midstream and throws up white spray, turning thunder you hear into force you can see.
Shot 3.3
Matches “lightning splits the sky.” Colorful hills under a clear sky set the first frame, then a lightning bolt sets the last frame, so the clouds gather first and the lightning follows.
Shot 4.1
Matches “all things find their place in steady calm.” Sunlight filters through bamboo leaves as a panda family eats bamboo on a grassy slope, a blue magpie perched on a branch.
Shot 4.2
Matches “people go out to greet spring.” A family of four pushes a camping wagon toward a meadow; the next few shots are all carried by this same family.
Shot 4.3
Matches “eating spring greens, tasting vitality and freshness.” The family is outdoors, with food packed in portable lunch boxes: fruit and cold dishes.
Shot 4.4
Matches “flying kites.” A father and daughter run across the meadow, a colorful kite trailing behind them.
Shot 4.5
Matches “standing eggs on end.” Several eggs stand on a stone table in a pavilion as a mother and son watch, the movements small and the pace slowed down.
Shot 4.6
Matches “praying for ease and stability.” Under willows, a row of elderly people practice tai chi in unison on a lakeside stone terrace, their movements flowing.
Shot 5.1
Matches “in the balance of sunlight and warmth, the wheat shoots up quickly.” Based on real scenes, tractors with hoppers spread fertilizer while drones spray overhead, each doing its own job.
Shot 5.2
Matches “spring is half gone, the seasons run in good order.” A cable-stayed bridge and interchanges spread out in layers, traffic moving forward in order.
Shot 5.3
Matches “heaven and earth in harmony are nurturing new prosperity.” Bamboo, distant mountains and a calm stream close the film: after the Spring Equinox, bamboo is about to shoot up, which is exactly what “nurturing” means.
05 / Script Excerpts
06 / Results
We completed the vertical Spring Equinox episode of about 45 seconds, along with a matching Spring Equinox poster and banner design.
Case Study
In 2026, the Spring Equinox fell on the second day of the second lunar month, the day the “Dragon Raises Its Head.”
The voiceover has only four lines, yet it has to cover equal day and night, the balance of cold and warmth, spring thunder and lightning, spring outing customs and spring plowing.
This is the Spring Equinox episode of the 24 Solar Terms series that we produced, about 45 seconds and vertical. The standard we set ourselves: every voiceover line gets an image anyone can understand at a glance.
01
The Spring Equinox and the Dragon Raises Its Head fell on the same day, and the first few seconds had to make both clear.
The earliest idea was a macro glide along the glazed dragon scales of the Nine-Dragon Wall, then a sudden pull-out to a wide shot. But seeing only a patch of wall, viewers couldn’t tell at first what it was.
The opening needed to look good and read clearly at first glance. We replaced it with a full chiwen ornament on a roof ridge under blue sky and white clouds: the golden dragon form is instantly recognizable, and the camera slowly pulls back before cutting to the dragon dance troupe on rapeseed terraces.
The still dragon on the ridge becomes a dragon brought to life by dancers in a sea of flowers. Gold, red and the yellow-green covering the hills follow one another, bringing out spring and the festive mood together.
A long red dragon with golden scales moves along the ridges of the terraced fields.
02
“Equal day and night, cold and warmth in balance” is the core meaning of the Spring Equinox, and also the most abstract.
Instead of explaining it with charts or captions, we found two scenes that are naturally “split in half.”
The first is a lake in the northwestern desert. The shoreline cuts the frame exactly into top and bottom halves: golden sand, a camel caravan and blue sky above, an identical reflection below. Withered yellow reeds from the winter were deliberately left on the shore; in the northwest in March, spring comes late.
The second is Apricot Blossom Valley in Ili, Xinjiang. The snow mountains behind stand for cold; the apricot blossoms in full bloom in front stand for warmth. Cold and warmth share one frame, neither overpowering the other.
The later “spring thunder rumbles” follows the same idea: thunder can’t be drawn, so we used river water in a canyon crashing into boulders; for “lightning splits the sky,” we first set a first frame of Danxia hills on a clear day, then a last frame of lightning striking, so the clouds gather first and the lightning comes after.
After the canyon rapids, a bolt of lightning strikes above the Danxia hills.
03
Spring outings, eating spring greens, flying kites, standing eggs: the voiceover names four customs in one breath.
If each custom were acted out by different people, the images would become four unrelated diagrams. We had the same family of four carry it from start to finish: pushing a camping wagon to the meadow, eating lunch in front of the tent, the father flying a kite with his daughter, and the mother standing eggs with her son in the pavilion.
The details followed the setting too. The family is outdoors, so bowls, chopsticks and freshly stir-fried dishes didn’t make sense; we swapped them for portable lunch boxes filled with fruit and cold dishes. The shot before is pandas in a bamboo grove, so the family outing is set on a countryside greenway around Sichuan.
For the line “praying for ease and stability,” the first idea was a crowd drinking tea and sunbathing on a city terrace. With so many people, it was hard to get every face right, so it became a row of elderly people practicing tai chi in unison under willows: flowing movements that fit the line better.
The same family, from walking onto the meadow to sitting down together for a meal.
04
The last voiceover line is: heaven and earth in harmony are nurturing new prosperity.
The early plan put the Tiangong space station and the Earth in one frame; it was later changed to the artificial island of a sea-crossing link, with “half bridge, half undersea tunnel” standing for “spring is half gone.” But looking back, the artificial island spoke of “order” and still fell a little short of the word “nurturing.”
We looked up when bamboo grows: bamboo shoots up between Pure Brightness and Grain Rain, starting with the very next solar term after the Spring Equinox. Spring is half gone and the bamboo is gathering strength to grow upward: that’s “nurturing.”
So we made two complete versions, one ending on the sea-crossing project and one on the bamboo grove and stream, and compared them side by side. The bamboo version fit “nurturing” better, and that’s the one we used.
The film comes to rest on calm water and rows of bamboo.
05
The Spring Equinox episode keeps the series’ consistent approach: bright images, and every shot checked for season and location before asking whether it looks good. For the tractors and drones in the fields, for example, we found real photos and confirmed that fertilizing and spraying are two different jobs before putting them on screen.
What this episode added was turning abstract words into composition: a reflection split top and bottom is “equal division,” snow mountains with apricot blossoms are “balance,” and one family going through four customs is the “calm” of everyday life.
Viewers don’t need to catch every voiceover line; the images alone tell them: spring is half over, heaven and earth are in balance, and everything is growing.
FAQ
The Spring Equinox episode tells it through composition: the reflection on a desert lake splits the frame top and bottom, matching “equal day and night”; snow mountains and apricot blossoms share a frame, matching “cold and warmth in balance.” Without reading captions, viewers can see “halves” and “balance” in the images.
We finalize a still for every shot first, unifying the characters’ faces, clothing and lighting, then generate the motion shot by shot. Stills with off expressions or eye lines are fixed locally before going to motion, and all four custom shots are carried by the same family of four.
Every shot is checked against references or real photos. For example, tractors fertilizing and drones spraying in the wheat fields were arranged according to real scenes; the spring greens follow how they’re eaten around Sichuan; and the timing of bamboo shooting up was verified before it was used in the ending.
Yes. For the Spring Equinox episode, we made two complete versions, one ending on the sea-crossing project and one on the bamboo grove and stream, compared them side by side and chose the bamboo version: bamboo about to shoot up fits “nurturing new prosperity” better.
Approach
The storyboard set out the composition and movement for each line of the script, listing what to keep and what to adjust in every shot. The swallow sequence layers white walls and black tiles, willow branches, a nest and distant flower fields from front to back; the lightning sequence uses first and last frames so the clouds over the Danxia hills gather first and the lightning follows.
Before finalizing, we checked tableware, farm machinery and voiceover cut points item by item: the outdoor picnic uses portable lunch boxes and food suited to eating outdoors, the farming section was checked against real scenes for how the machinery looks, and the “eating spring greens” line was aligned with its image. With the bamboo grove ending, the film moves from natural scenery to family and farm work and back to nature, a complete arc.
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