Summer Solstice · FFET10329
Eating noodles at the summer solstice
Noodles are eaten at the summer solstice, with chilled noodles in parts of Shandong and yangchun and guoqiao noodles in Jiangnan.
Shortest noon shadow, longest day: high summer approaches
At the summer solstice, people in Beijing, Shandong and Jiangnan eat noodles: parts of Shandong have chilled noodles, while Jiangnan has yangchun noodles, guoqiao noodles and sesame-oil tossed cold noodles. The winter solstice chapter of Yanjing Suishiji by Fucha Dunchong (1900) records the Beijing saying pairing winter solstice wontons with summer solstice noodles, documenting its use rather than the custom's origin. Beijing households eating cold noodles that day also appears in Dijing Suishi Jisheng; its Qianlong-era date comes from a 2020 account and has not been checked against the original.
What
Eating noodles is a summer solstice custom. A saying pairs them with wontons at the winter solstice.1,3
When
At the summer solstice. The winter solstice chapter of Yanjing Suishiji (Fucha Dunchong, 1900) records the Beijing saying pairing winter solstice wontons with summer solstice noodles, documenting its use rather than its origin. Beijing households eating cold noodles that day also appears in Dijing Suishi Jisheng; its Qianlong-era date comes from a 2020 account and has not been checked against the original.1,2
Where
Summer solstice noodles are customary in Beijing and the north. Shandong pairs winter solstice dumplings with summer solstice noodles in a saying, and some places eat chilled noodles (in Shanghai's government English-language section, 2025). Jiangnan also eats noodles, with yangchun, guoqiao and sesame-oil tossed cold noodles documented in 2020. The available accounts identify no single place of origin.2,4
How
Beijing households ate cold noodles at the summer solstice, as documented in a 2020 account citing Dijing Suishi Jisheng. Parts of Shandong have chilled noodles; Jiangnan has yangchun noodles, guoqiao noodles and sesame-oil tossed cold noodles.2,4
Why
New wheat is available at the summer solstice, so noodles also mean tasting the new grain. In 2026, the saying persists that after summer solstice noodles, each day is a thread shorter.3,5
Impact and influence
In 2026, noodles and sour plum soup remain listed as summer solstice foods, and the saying about the day growing a thread shorter is still repeated.5
No tale about this food has been found.