Ancient Chinese ways to stay cool｜Bronze bingjian wine cooler

Over two thousand years ago, during the Warring States period, how did nobles stay cool in the summer?

They used this bronze bingjian, a type of wine cooler, to store ice and chill wine – essentially, it was an ancient Chinese refrigerator.

Dating back to the Warring States period, the bingjian is composed of two parts: The fangjian, a square bronze chest for holding ice, and the zunfou, a wine vessel placed inside. When fitted together, they created an effective cooling system.

Inside the bingjian, a carefully designed structure allowed the wine vessel to be suspended securely above the ice, avoiding direct contact. This design helped to cool the wine while keeping it clean – an elegant and practical method of refrigeration long before electricity.