Chinese pop star Gulnazar sprays sunscreen on the face. [Photo/People’s Daily]
和英文中的“dog days”相对应，在中国，夏至后的20-29天是一年中最热的时间，被称为“伏”。根据中国节气，“伏”出现在小暑和立秋之间，分为三个阶段。2018年的头伏为7月17-26日，中伏为7月27日-8月15日，末伏会再持续10天。这也就是说，不到一周的时间就要“入伏”了。
During the scorching days, Chinese women seek many creative ways to escape the sun so that they will not get tanned, as Chinese always regard white skin as beauty. And another reason is that ultraviolet rays of the sun are very harmful to people, burning and aging the skin, or even causing some diseases, like sun related eye and skin complications.
由于中国人以白为美的缘故，在炎热的天气中，中国女性找到了不少防止晒黑的创意防晒方法。而防晒的另一个原因则是因为太阳所发射的紫外线对人体相当有害，会导致晒伤和衰老，甚至引发某些疾病，如与阳光相关的眼疾和皮肤病。
The most popular ways of sun protection in China are sunscreen, sunshade, sunglasses, sunscreen masks, sunscreen clothes. Sometimes in the beach they even use facekini. Chinese women seldom use only one way to escape the sun. Instead, they use various combinations to intensify the effect.
最受中国人欢迎的防晒方式是防晒霜、遮阳伞、墨镜、防晒面罩、防晒衣等。有时人们在海滩上甚至会用上脸基尼。中国女性很少会只用一种方式来防晒，而是会将多种方式结合起来，加强防晒功效。
Here are some tips for sun protection:
以下是一些防晒妙招：
1. Choose a suitable sunscreen. Use sunscreen with SPF20 to 35 (PA+ to PA++) in the outdoors while use sunscreen with SPF 50 on the beach. Sunscreen below SPF20 is enough for indoors.
1. 选择一款合适的防晒霜。户外活动和海边分别使用SPF20-35（PA+ - PA++）和SPF 50的防晒霜。室内使用SPF低于20的防晒霜就足够了。
2. Smear sunscreen every two hours to make sure it works.
2.每两个小时补涂一次防晒霜，确保其发挥功效。
3. Darker umbrellas have better UV protection.
3. 颜色较暗的伞紫外线防护效果更好。
4. Physical sunblock, like sunscreen clothes and masks, is sometimes more useful than sunscreen.
4. 防晒衣和防晒面罩等物理防晒有时比防晒霜更管用。
Besides sun protection, it is a tradition for Chinese people for more than 1,000 years ago to eat cool and refreshing food, such as balsam pear, mung bean soup and cold noodles, to relieve summer heat during the three phases of "Fu".
除了防晒之外，在三伏天食用苦瓜、绿豆汤和凉面等清凉提神的食物去暑也是中国人一千多年来的传统。
