Chinese people embraced the first day of sanfu, the hottest and dampest period of the year, or China's "dog days of summer" on July 16. The aerial photo, taken on July 16, shows people having fun in the Zishui River to escape the summer heat in Baiyashi Town, Dong'an County, Yongzhou City. (Photo/Chen Zhenhai, Xinhua News Agency)

"San" means "three" in Chinese with Sanfu covering the three periods of fu days. In Chinese, fu means to lurk or hide.

Chinese people embraced the first day of sanfu, the hottest and dampest period of the year, on July 16. The aerial photo, taken on July 16, shows people having fun in the Zishui River to escape the summer heat in Baiyashi Town, Dong'an County, Yongzhou City. (Photo/Yan Jie, Xinhua News Agency)

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: Xinhua