It rains all day today. Not today, it rains all the time in the last few weeks, and we expect it to rain every day in the next few weeks too.

It is called the Meiyu Season (or Rainy Season). It is a two-month long period of time around the Yangtz River that it rains almost everyday without significant pause in between. This is maybe the toughest time for many new visitors to this region – it is even more terrible than hot summer or cold winter. I call it wet world.

The Meiyu, or Rainy Season

The season typically last from June to late July in Shanghai. The rainy season is called Meiyu because “Yu” means rain, and Mei means “ume plum”. Since the rain arrives exactly as the season of havest of ume plums, it is called Ume Plum Rain in Chinese.

I have 5 big ume plums tree before my garden, and I can see the ume on the tree. When it turned red, I know the rain is coming.

More Rain to Come

During the rainy season in Shanghai, don’t panic. It won’t be heavy rain at all – just those tiny small rain drops coming down all the time. It is annoying though, but what we can do?

The other day, when I went to my car, I just realized there are many mushrooms growing out of the grassland on the way… A sign of arrival of very wet season, isn’t it?

There is one thing we should be happy about – you can enjoy wonderful Ume fruits although it is raining outside!