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Today’s rain reminds me that the Plum Rains are almost upon us. So go buy a good umbrella! Or two! You will need it/them!
For the uninitiated, the Plum Rains are seasonal, and usually arrive in the middle of June (I believe), so this should still be a bit early. I believe that this applies to the entire Jiang Nan area, but I am not absolutely positive about that.
In good years, you will have one or two days of heavy rains, and then a bit of a respite, a day or more, before the rains return. In bad years, its more like 5-6 days of straight, pouring rain. Not a lot of fun.
In really bad years, you won’t have much rain at all. That sounds like a good thing, except its not good for the farmers around Shanghai, and also the rains help cool things off in the city. So no rain means a very early, hot summer. Not a good thing in Shanghai, where the summers are already so hot.
While you are stuck inside, you can eat the seasonal yang mei, 杨梅 , pictured above, and also the well-known Lychee. The yang mei, notably, can be soaked in strong alcohol (baijiu, of course) and then eaten, as an alcoholic snack.
Both these fruits have short seasonal availability! Check em out while you can!!