A well-known Taoism saying goes like this, "mind in peace gives you coolness".

As temperature rise each day, it's time to create some coolness apart from keeping calm.

Chinese people have some traditional ways to reduce the summer heat without air-conditioners. The methods include healthy food and tools that can also help people experience the beauty of summer.

Here are some choices which will bring you surprisingly cool experience.

Plum juice

Plum juice is a traditional healthy beverage for summer in Beijing. As the recipe to make the drink has hawthorn fruit and Chinese medicine herbs, it can reduce the harm from summer heat to human body.

Additionally, it helps digestion. Due to the development of storage technology, people can have the juice all year round, yet summer is the best time.

Wormwood incense

Burning incense made from herbs has a long history in China. As wormwood is a magical herb that can be made into both food and medicine, it is also made into incense to burn.

Such incense can reduce the moisture that may become a hotbed of illnesses in hot summer days, and protect you from being annoyed by insects.

Wormwood noodle

With a special green shade that can be found in painter Giorgio Morandi's palette, the noodle is made from flour blended with wormwood juice.

One way is to cool the noodle in cold water after boiling it in hot water until it becomes soft. Then add some sesame oil, chili and salt. If you don't like such spicy taste, stir some eggs and tomatoes (remember to add enough water to make the tomatoes juicy) and blend them with the noodle.

Bamboo mat

Bamboo mat is a lovely must-have that can cool your summer with a naturally nice smell. There are many sizes for bed, chair and pillow. The ones with pale green colors can bring visual comfort in summer heat.

Fan

Available in various shapes and materials, Chinese fans are unique for the water-ink paintings and calligraphy they carry. Some are dazzled with exquisite embroideries, such as tough silk fans.

The silk fans were often used by women, especially young unmarried ladies, in ancient China. They used the fan to hide their mouth or face when they needed to show some feminine shyness. If you want to lead a low carbon style of living, a fan is necessary in summer.

Traditional Chinese indigo-dyed cloth

Natural indigo-dye has a long history in China, dating back to the Qin and Han dynasties (BC 221-220), and indigo-dyed cloth had been used as a main material for clothes for at least 1,000 years. In Chinese, any plant that can be used to extract indigo is generally called lan cao (literally, "blue plants").

The cloth dyed by these plants always retains a faint fragrant smell and is naturally mothproof. It can be made into clothes that are most suitable for summer.