All posts by Cassidy Tse

Famous Tang Poets, Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei, Bai Juyi

By inChina History, Culture Tag , , ,

Poetry in the Tang Dynasty is an unparalleled system and reaches the pinnacle in the development of the poem. It really deserves its fame as a rarity of Chinese culture. Its dazzling value consists of an ideal combination of thoughts and art. The era endowed poets with broad horizons, positive and unrestrained emotion, and innovative inspiration.

Li Bai

Li Bai was a talented man expert in literature, prose, essay and martial arts of swordsman. Besides, many people adored his vast and free character. Also, Li Bai was an alcoholic drinker, and he could drink a lot at a time, so many people also regarded him to be The Immortal of Alcoholics. Li Bai was historically considered to be a great poet of romanticism, this is the widely-accepted comment of the modern people when the western literary theory popularized in China. But this comment is acceptable to a most degree.

Li Bai enjoys the title of the ‘Supernatural Being of Poem’. Even now his ‘Jing Ye Si’ (Thoughts on the Silent Night) is quite popular and nearly everyone knows it even children as young as two years of age. His other verses, exceeding nine hundred in all, are also notable.

Du Fu

Born into a scholarly family, Du Fu received a traditional Confucian education but failed in the imperial examinations of 735. As a result, he spent much of his youth traveling. During his travels he won renown as a poet and met other poets of the period, including the great Li Bai. After a brief flirtation with Daoism while traveling with Li Bai, Du Fu returned to the capital and to the conventional Confucianism of his youth. He never again met Li Bai, despite his strong admiration for his older, freewheeling contemporary.

Du Fu’s early poetry celebrated the beauty of the natural world and bemoaned the passage of time. He soon began to write bitingly of war—as in “Bingqu xing” (“The Ballad of the Army Carts”), a poem about conscription—and with hidden satire—as in “Liren xing” (“The Beautiful Woman”), which speaks of the conspicuous luxury of the court. As he matured, and especially during the tumultuous period of 755 to 759, his verse began to sound a note of profound compassion for humanity caught in the grip of senseless war.

Wang Wei

Wang Wei was a famous Chinese poet and artist. Many of his poems are preserved, and twenty-nine were included in the highly influential 18th century anthology Three Hundred Tang Poems. He was posthumously referred to as the “Poet Buddha”. Wang Wei was a great master of the jueju. Many of his quatrains depict quiet scenes of water and mist, with few details and little human presence.

The tranquil feeling he gave through his poetry is utterly wonderful.

Wang Wei’s delicate landscapes, famed for their depiction of water and mist, were drawn in black ink. He is considered the first master of atmosphere and the founder of Southern Chinese landscape art.

Bai Juyi

Bai Juyi was a Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty , with the style name Letian. His ancestral home is the modern-day city of Taiyuan, Shanxi province and he once lived in what is the modern-day Weinan, then stayed on Xiangshan Mountain, near the city of Luoyang, Henan province and referred to himself as the “Hermit of Xiangshan”. His poems are succinct and easy to understand, with many of them dealing with ordinary people’s lives, which were hard at that time, and the corruption and brutality of the ruling class.

Two of his most famous works are the long narrative “Song of Everlasting Regret” and “Song of the Pipa Player”.

Bai was the informal leader of a group of poets who rejected the courtly style of the time and emphasized the didactic function of literature, believing that every literary work should contain a fitting moral and a well-defined social purpose. He considered his most important contributions to be his satirical and allegorical ballads and his “new yuefu,” which usually took the form of free verse based on old folk ballads. The most prolific of the Tang poets, Bai aimed for simplicity in his writing, and—like Du Fu, a great Tang poet of the preceding generation whom Bai greatly admired—he was deeply concerned with the social problems of the time; he deplored the dissolute and decadent lifestyles of corrupt officials and sympathized with the sufferings of the poor.

Major Religions in China, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity

By inTravel News Tag , , , ,

China has been a multi-religion country since the ancient times. The rich and unique civilization of China owes much of its cohesion to the widespread influence of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, which are generally regarded as the three roots of Chinese culture.Nowadays, more and more Chinese adopt beliefs in their lifetimes; not only traditional ones such as Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, but also religions originating from other countries, principal among them being Christianity and Islam. Then, of course there are the diverse religions of many of China’s minority ethnic groups. So although China is officially a non-secular nation, it has millions of devotees following a variety of philosophies and religious beliefs.

Buddhism

Buddhism was introduced to China around the first century A.D. Since the fourth century A.D, it was widely spread and gradually became the most influential religion in China. Buddhism in China is divided into three branches according to varied language families, namely, Chinese Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism and Pail Buddhism and there are about 200 thousand Buddhist monks and nuns under these three branches. At present, there are more than 13 thousand Buddhist temples that are open to the public, 33 Buddhist colleges and nearly 50 types of Buddhist publications in China.

As one branch of Buddhism in China, Tibetan Buddhism is mainly spread in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province with some 7 million believers from Tibetan, Mongolian, Yugo, Monbat, and Luba and to nationalities. Pail Buddhism is popular in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Delong Dai and Jingo Autonomous Prefecture and Samoa region in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province with over one million believers from Dai, Bulling, Aching and VA nationalities. The believers of Chinese Buddhism are mainly Han people, who live all over China.

Taoism

Taoism is a typically traditional religion in China with a history of more than 18 hundred years since the second century A.D. It advocates the worship of natural objects and ancestors as was practiced since time immemorial and had various factions in the history; later, it evolved into two major factions, namely, Quinzhee and Zhengyi Taoism, and was fairly influential among Han people. It is difficult to calculate the exact number of Taoist believers because there are no formal ceremonies or specific regulations concerning the admission to Taoism. At present, there are more than 15 hundred Taoist temples in China with over 25 hundred male and female Taoists there.

Islam

Islam was introduced to China in the seventh century A.D with nearly 18 million believers from Hui, Uygur, Tartar, Kirgiz, Kazakh, Uzbek, Dongxiang, Sala and Baan nationalities. Most of the Muslims in China live in compact communities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Gansu, Qinghai and Yunnan Provinces; besides, some Muslims in small groups live in other provinces or cities in China. At present, there are more than 30 thousand mosques in China with over 40 thousand imams or hangs. Sunni Islam was the main branch worshipped by almost all the Muslims in the country.

Catholicism

Catholicism was first introduced to China in the seventh century and widely spread across the country after the Opium War in 1840. At present, Chinese Catholic Church boasts one hundred parishes, some five million believers, nearly five thousand cathedrals and places for religious activities and twelve theological seminaries. Over the past two decades, the Catholic Church in China have cultivated more than 15 hundred young bishops who are able to hold consecration and among them over one hundred have been sent abroad for further study. In addition, three thousands young girls have been crowned the nun hood after their admission and two hundred nuns have decided to dedicate all their lives to the church. Every year, more than 50 thousand clerics from the Chinese Catholic Church preside over baptism and the church prints over three million copies of Bible.

Christianity

Christianity was introduced to China in early 19th century and widely spread after 1840s. In 1950, the church called on its believers to shake off the vestige of foreign imperialist influence and uphold patriotism in order to achieve self-administration, self-supporting and self-propagation, which are the cardinal principle of Chinese Christianity. At present, there are about ten million Christian believers, 18 thousand priests and 12 churches or religious sites in China.

Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, Lunar New Year

By inChina Festivals Tag , , ,

The Spring Festival is a traditional Chinese festival and the most important one of the whole year. In 2020 Chinese New Year festival falls on Jan. 25. It is the Year of the Rat according to the Chinese zodiac, which features a 12-year cycle with each year represented by a specific animal.

History

Chinese New Year has a far-reaching history of over 3,800 years. The origin of the festival can be traced back to the worshiping activities in China’s ancient agrarian society. The date for the ceremony wasn’t fixed till the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wudi commanded to use the lunar calendar.

The historical reason for beginning the new year in such a time is that it is the time between autumn harvest and spring plowing and planning. In other words, it is the time for rest, relaxation and celebration after a year’s toil.

Except this practical reason for celebrating the Spring Festival, a popular Chinese legend offers another explanation, which is affectedly known in China.

In ancient time, a mythological demon called” Nian” that lived under the sea would plague people once a year on the even of the new year. It jumped out from the sea, attacked villages, devouring people, animals and plants.  Could no longer bear Nian’s brutal persecution, the villagers gathered to discuss how to deal with” Nian” and some people suggested that the demon was afraid of loud noises, red color and flame.

So people lighted firecrackers, put on red couplets on their gates, lit firework and beat gongs and drums to drive Nian away. The idea worked and Nian ran away.  Since ever, the custom and tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival born and the practice of putting red couplets on gates, setting off firecrackers, etc have been passed down.

Custom

1.Sweeping the dust

“Dust” is homophonic with “chen” in Chinese， which is means old and past . In this way, “sweeping the dust” before the Spring Festival means a thorough cleaning of houses to sweep away bad luck in the past year. This custom shows a good wish of putting away old things to welcome a new life.

2.Pasting spring couplets

“The spring couplet is a special from of literature in China. the spring couplet is composed of two antithetical sentences on both sides of the door and an inscription, usually an fortunately phrase, above the gate. The sentences pasting on the right side of door is called the first line of the couplet and the one on the left is the second line. On the eve of the spring festival, every household will paste on doors a spring couplet written on red paper to give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the festival.

3.Pasting paper-cuts and “up-sided Fu ”

Paper-cuts, usually with lucky patterns, give a happy and prosperous atmosphere of the festival and express the good wishes of Chinese people looking forward to a good life. In addition to pasting paper-cuts on windows, it is common for Chinese to paste the character “fu”， big and small, on walls, doors, and doorposts around the houses. “Fu” shows yearning toward a good life. Some people even invert the character “fu” to signify that blessing has arrived because “inverted” is a homonym for “arrive” in Chinese

4.Stay up late on New Year’s Eve

The tradition of staying up late to see New Year is originated from an interesting folk tale. In ancient China there lived a monster named Year, who was very terrible. Year always went out from its burrow on New Year’s Eve to eat people. Therefore, on every New Year’s Eve, every household would have supper together. After dinner, no one dared go to sleep and all the family members would sit together, chatting and emboldening each other. Gradually the habit of staying up late on New Year’s Eve is forward. Thus in China, “Cerebrating the Spring Festival” is also called “passing over the year”.

5.The CCTV New Year’s Gala

The New Year’s Gala is a variety show held by China Central Television since 1983. For every year at the turn of the Lunar New Year, the program begins at 8:00PM and lasts five or six hours. For over twenty years, its value has gone far beyond a variety.

6.Giving Red Envelopes

From newborn babies to teenagers, luck money will be given by seniors, wrapped in red packets in the hope of dispelling evil spirits from the kids. CNY 100 to 500 notes are commonly sealed in a red envelope, while there are big ones with up to CNY 5,000 especially in the rich southeast regions. Besides a small disposable amount, most of the money is used to buy the kids toys, snacks, clothes, stationery, or saved for their future educational expenditure. Read more about Red Envelope.

Food

Dumpling

For people from northern China, the dumpling is a must-have on the dinner table on Chinese New Year’s Eve. The shape of the dumpling resembles the gold ingot from ancient China. So eating dumplings means a wish for treasure and good fortune.

Rice Cake

Made of glutinous rice flour, rice cake has been in Chinese cuisine since the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). Gold and white rice cakes become the symbols of gold and silver. And the Chinese character for cake is gao whose homophonic means growth, improvement or greater accomplishment.

Whole Fish, whole Chicken

On Lunar New Year’s Eve, all family members get together to have a big meal. The way of cooking fish and chicken may vary across China, but the symbolic meaning of these two dishes is always brimful happiness and good fortune.

Xiamen in Winter, My Travels to Xiamen

By inTravel Logs Tag , , ,

If choose the most suitable for your baby, the family harmony, eat and drink in the leisure tourism city, Sanya, Xiamen, Qingdao, Chengdu, is definitely on the list of the top four, supporting complete, rich attractions, tourism practitioners, but also because of this, led to the tourism market of all kinds of pit, accidentally fell into the trap of profiteers, will destroy the family have been waiting for a trip.

The parent-child travel notes of Sanya, Qingdao and Chengdu have been written, and I want to provide the most detailed and practical reference for the majority of office workers. I want to visit the most worthwhile attractions in Xiamen, eat the most authentic time-renowned brands in Xiamen, stay in the most cost-effective hotels in Xiamen, and make a trip perfect.

Xiamen is divided into two parts of the island and the island (see the figure below), a total of 6 districts, the island is tongan district, xiang ‘an district, jimei district, haicang district, the old city in the south is siming district, the new city in the north is huli district.

Important scenic spots and transportation stations are concentrated in siming district, huli district and jimei district

Of gulangyu, Xiamen science and technology museum, Xiamen university, zhongshan road, adjacent An, eight city, huandao road, south putuo, railway stations, ferry terminal, all painted painted in the Amoy area, the Amoy area concentrated to ninety percent of Xiamen scenic spots and food, as the top priority, so the price of housing is more expensive than other area.

Xiamen gaoqi airport is located in ★ huli district. It takes about 30 minutes to get to siming district from huli district after getting off the plane

Jimei university is located in jimei district. Mr. Chen jiageng, a returned overseas Chinese, has integrated the scenery of nanyang into the campus.

If in Xiamen travel time is longer, also recommend to rent car, went to Xiamen with my family around to see, and Xiamen, two recommendations, a distance of 1.5 hours of zhangzhou volcanic natural scenic spot, here has now become the most popular in Xiamen web celebrity clock, like the mother don’t miss the photo, by the way, can also take children to see the volcano remains;

Another is the world heritage site of zhangzhou soil buildings, this reputation is relatively big, we introduce in detail.

If it is the age of 30, bring the old and young travel Xiamen, the most economical and most comfortable way preferred to rent a car. Airport car, car, several mainstream car rental platform, daily rent economic car price is in 150 yuan, plus oil fee and parking fee, per capita is 50 to 60 yuan, not only convenient and comfortable, also can increase the radius of travel, can even drive to two hours’ drive from Xiamen heritage – fujian earth buildings in the world. Visit will give a detailed strategy (behind).

There are a lot of home stay hotels in Xiamen, and there are many good-looking ones on the website. In order to screen them, we chose three hotels between 200 and 350 yuan to stay in the downtown area of Xiamen.

In yellow is adjacent to eat in the food court a lot of choice, we asked the receptionist to be afraid of stepping on ray we recommend, told us this called seafood restaurant, the scene has a discount package is recommended, but we still chose their order, for half a ginger duck, a spicy crab, a scrambled 16 and a vegetable, the flavor of ginger duck is amazing, but spicy crab, 16 is more general, especially spicy crab, feel small crabs are good, eat no meat completely, if you come here, will taste the ginger duck is good, what seafood will try not to choose.

Yellow orange skin, take a breath of steam with meat ginger flavor, swallow swallow saliva, clip a piece of mouth, duck is very delicious, with the aroma of ginger, very delicious. This dish must have been extremely temperature-sensitive, so it was slowly baked in a casserole over hot sand, waiting for the skin to seep into the duck.

Xiamen science and technology museum is the designated base of popular science education for primary and secondary schools in Xiamen. When we came here, we met groups of primary school students. From 2020 to 2040, a new era of explosive growth of science and technology is bound to usher in. The way of life in the future will also be greatly changed, and we parents should do for their children, is to cultivate their interest in science and knowledge, and Xiamen science and technology museum is the best carrier.

My Trip to Chime-Long Paradise with My Children

By inTravel Logs Tag , , ,

Where will the family go during the Spring Festival holiday? I believe many friends have this problem.

If you haven’t taken your kids to Chime-Long yet, Guangzhou Chime-Long resort must be on your list.

This Spring Festival, take the children in Guangzhou Chime-Long tourist resort to start the most exciting Spring Festival trip!

Chime-Long wildlife world is a large ecological animal world, there are many rare animals in the park. It has been heard that Guangzhou Chime-Long wildlife world is very interesting, today we will go to see the Spring Festival Chime-Long what is the highlight? After getting off the subway, we entered the park through the south gate of animal world. Qr code to get tickets, into the park very fast speed.

The New Year is coming, you can feel the festive atmosphere when you enter the park. We decided to take a small train to get close to the wildlife! The train at Chime-Long wildlife world is a great way to get a closer look at the wildlife New Year show MOE, look cool, and be cool.

Waiting in line at the waiting point, the seats on the train are one-to-one, each row of four people, sitting on the side to better appreciate the animals along the way.

Take a small train across the five continents, you can see different auspicious baonafu set good luck, wild tigers, lions, wolves; Lovely kangaroos, malayan tapirs; High-cold stegosaurus and rhinoceros; Gentle Asian elephants, giraffes…

Small train slowly through the animal world, in the way, the whole process of the commentator on the animals we see to carry out a detailed science. In order to protect the safety of tourists and animals, the whole journey is not allowed to get off, but in the seat can also be a good way to observe the animals along the way, with the introduction of the commentator, you can have a simple understanding of the animals.

You’ll find them living in nature, very relaxed.

Visitors can drive through it, close to the animals, feel the wild like the prairie.

Chime-Long wildlife world is giving visitors a special New Year experience by launching a night tour during the Spring Festival. When the night falls, follow the little stars to walk forward, a beautiful and bright picture gradually spread out at the foot, the real and unreal alternating wonderful, witnessing the gorgeous light and shadow and beautiful night sky set against each other into an interesting dream. The mysterious night sky created by fantasy lighting and virtual projection presents a world of both real animals and virtual light and shadow, creating a colorful visual feast for you and immersing you in a dreamland. Children who love adventure should not miss it.

In addition to web celebrity flamingos, there are giraffe square’s “tall and handsome” giraffes, long necks and long legs, slender limbs and a leisurely pace to keep them always elegant posture. Because they’re so tall, they don’t usually lower their heads to feed. On the east African savannah, giraffes basically stick out their long tongues to lick the leaves off the trees. At Chime-Long wildlife world, their food is also hung high on the branches of trees for easy feeding.

The aerial cable car experience has a great view

The aerial cable car is the right way to get a panoramic view of Chime-Long’s wildlife world and experience the magic of the animal kingdom. Take the cable car, go deep into the east African savannah, enjoy the original ecological life with the rare animals.

There are two ways to get into the cable car, ordinary channel and VIP express channel. There were two or three lines in the orange aisle, but only a short wait to enter the green aisle. Side of the service of the little brother is very carefully and patiently to remind the cable car on some notes.

On the cable car there are voice navigation broadcast, will tell you where to go now, what animals, very intimate, will not miss any place

During the tour, we also saw the fierce tiger. Besides the giant panda, which is the treasure of Chime-Long’s wildlife world, the white tiger is also the big star here. The Bengal white tiger is a first-class protected animal in the world and a national treasure of India. There are only about 210 white tigers left in the world, and Chime-Long wildlife world is home to the largest number of white tigers in the world.

At four months old, tigers have become aggressive and can no longer have direct contact with humans. They must leave their keepers and live with their cubs in a kindergarten. The main food is chicken and beef, occasionally need to eat vegetables to help digestion.

Baby tigers need to be kept at 28 degrees in an incubator. After the full moon, you can get out of the incubator and play with other friends.

Chime-Long has also made great efforts to provide a comfortable environment for these Australian babies. The eucalyptus leaf ecological garden highly restored to the original ecological eucalyptus forest in Australia, the independent villa pavilion and science hall with constant temperature all year round, as well as the koala health care room and eucalyptus leaf preservation room, make koalas live comfortably.

It is said that Chime-Long wildlife world in the domestic few can see the koala zoo, a tree tree koala, it is a cute storm! In addition to looking at koalas up close, children can act as small nurseries and interact with koalas up close!

Look for the Hidden Delicacies in the Watery Region

By inFood & Drinks Tag , , ,

Entering the winter, the cold north has withered everywhere, but we are still in Lingnan Shunde cool and pleasant.

Located in the hinterland of the pearl river delta, Shunde has a warm climate and abundant rainfall all year round. It is densely populated with rivers, lakes and abundant resources.

The ancient water town in Shunde has strong folk customs and folk customs. When you visit here, you can feel that the buildings in the ancient village are very different from those in the water town in the south of the Yangtze river. The villagers’ life style of fishing and farming is very lingnan. Over the weekend, I took my family on a road trip to Shunde to sample some of the hidden delicacies of lingnan.

Lingnan water township river products are quite rich, water people living by the water: fishing and planting; Sunrise and work, sunset and rest; Come to the water town to play is a leisurely, you can experience the life of the village in guangdong, eat a peasant meal, this elegant and unique lingnan rural charm, is the city people do not experience.

In 2014, the United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) awarded Shunde the title of “world’s capital of cuisine”, making it the most dazzling city card. The travel notes also take the food experience as the main line, leading you to explore some authentic local food.

Hidden in the bijiang water country cuisine, biyun ju

The first stop is hidden in the bijiang water village with the most traditional facade, do the most traditional Shunde food deyunju restaurant.

Bijiang water township was founded in the early years of the southern song dynasty. It is one of the four big wei towns in the ancient Shunde countryside.

Blue river so far has nearly one thousand years of development history, once the green river is very prosperous, according to “the Shunde county annals” records, a blue river out of the 106 juren, 17 “jinshi”, which also has the qing yongzheng, qianlong who was slain was cozbi such wit, who lingnan famous scholars and calligraphers also feeding Su Kui, Liang Reheng famous scholars and famous palace.

In the early years of the southern song dynasty, the immigrants from the south worked with the local aborigines to mine fields and develop agriculture, changing the appearance of “wild land, vast land and sparsely populated”. In the middle of the qing dynasty, bijiang developed into a large scale handicraft papermaking base, forming three xu and six cities. By the end of the qing dynasty, steam engines were introduced to process grain in the wake of the westernization movement, and it became an important “valley port” in the pearl river delta — the center of grain processing, storage and transportation. The sprouting and prosperity of commercial economy made bijiang rich.

Small Bridges running water, surrounded by green plants, towering ancient trees hung with festive red lanterns, stone statues these are very artistic characteristics.

Walk to the river side, still can see in this life of the aborigines, their life leisurely and complacent, quiet and simple, “look out the window to see the fish jump, frogs sing into a dream to come” and the old man in the countryside together to play a game of chess or mahjong, or together to “tea as wine”; From their plain life of fun to experience a satisfied people’s mood, reflect on their busy life is really happy.

The boxes in the dining hall of deyunju are very special, which are reconstructed from old dwellings. The buildings in the courtyard are kept as they were, which are in perfect harmony with the flowers, plants and trees arranged in the back, which are full of the flavor of lingnan architecture.

After visiting the ancient village, you can sit down and enjoy the delicious food of the water town. All kinds of lingnan snacks, snacks and porridge are mostly popular among the people.

The characteristic staple food of shuixiang of Fried intestine powder, rice is fragrant and mellow, which is made by grinding rice milk with traditional hand-made stone mill.

Double skin milk is the most famous dessert in Shunde. Originated in the qing dynasty, Shunde people use water milk as raw material; Its appearance is like a paste, its color is white, texture is delicate and smooth, taste sweet and fragrant light.

Shunde Fried milk was selected in the CCTV documentary “taste Shunde”. This dish requires a high skill of the chef. It USES fresh milk, stir-fries quickly at high temperature and solidification.

Since it is a water town, aquatic resources are of course very rich, the locals are good at cooking Shunde boneless fish, a fish to eat.

Bijiang roast goose bright color, sweet and crisp skin, fat but not greasy, meat and bone crisp, bite, subcutaneous fat is very sweet, side also with some Chen village powder as a side dish, sausage and roast goose juice mix is very delicious, let a person aftertaste endless.

Shunde head soy sauce chicken, in guangdong without chicken not feast, guangdong each region to eat chicken have a special way to eat. To fengcheng Shunde, is to feel here’s special soy sauce chicken.

Chicken in soy sauce is simple, but it requires a lot of food. The chicken must be free range chicken raised by local farmers, and then soaked in brine. In the process of soaking, the chicken is naturally delicious, with crisp skin and smooth meat.

I Came to Zhouzhuang Again, with a Relaxed Mood

By inTravel Logs Tag , , ,

Water is the cradle of Zhouzhuang and the lifeblood of Zhouzhuang. The ever-growing water nurtures and nourishes everything in Zhouzhuang. On the land of 0.47 square kilometers, most families live and sleep by the water. Morning dusk, the ancient town in the dawn light singing. The stone Bridges are united, the brick carvings are decorated, the residential houses are passable by the river port, the streets are criss-crossing, the ancient town is Zhouzhuang, alive and fragrant, and retains the appearance like this.

In the heart of a thousand men there are a thousand hamlets. In the eyes of a thousand people, there are a thousand Zhouzhuang. I can’t remember how many times I stepped into the water town in the south of the Yangtze river, but it was the first time I met Zhouzhuang in the rain.

For a photographer, there is no morning to be missed, not even in the drizzly winter. People say Zhouzhuang is too commercial because they haven’t walked into it in the morning. Early in the morning, it is a truly full of life in the south of the Yangtze river.

Zhou zhuang in the rain, holding an umbrella to take photos is indeed some inconvenience, but the scenery is really different from ordinary days. Long blue SLATE has been washed by the rain rub bright, street lights illuminate on both sides of the stone road, orange light like ink painting dizzy, cold SLATE and warm light in this moment of integration, this is the charm of rain.

On the way, I met very few tourists, I don’t know whether it was the rain or the cold in winter. Once in a while, I saw a curl of smoke floating on the white walls and black tiles. It was probably the old man who got up early who was lighting the stove.

The residents of Zhouzhuang get up much earlier than you think. When I set foot on the main street, someone was already walking home with the fresh food. The breakfast shops along the street are already smoke-filled, after all, they have to rely on these delicacies to earn the first bucket of gold of the day. Although the town has been well developed, it is still home to more than 600 indigenous people. Although most of them are old people who do not want to leave, they are still the most primitive and beautiful scenery in Zhouzhuang.

In a short while, we came to the most famous sign of Zhouzhuang — shuangqiao. It is the starting point of Zhouzhuang famous in the world, and it is also the place where people must take photos and punch in when they come to Zhouzhuang. A stone arch bridge, a stone beam bridge, they are like a pair of twins, located on the water, communication between the two sides of the three. The hsu brothers who built them probably never imagined that the whole town would become known to the world because of these two Bridges.

I have been to many ancient towns and seen many ancient Bridges. Why shuangqiao and Zhouzhuang? Perhaps, everything has its own destiny. The clear yinjiang river and the north and south city river meet in the northeast of the town and form a cross. The stone arch bridge crosses the north and south city river. At the east end of the bridge, there is a stone step approach bridge that extends into the streets. The bridge deck is horizontal and vertical, and the bridge tunnel is round.

Double Bridges are also known as key Bridges. Many people say that the connection between the two Bridges resembles an ancient key, but in my opinion, it is a complete combination of key and lock. The round stone arch bridge is the key, and the square stone beam bridge is the lock. At this time, the half of the key has been inserted into the lock, waiting for someone to open it.

Standing on the bridge, you can see the scenery on both sides. White walls, green and black tiles, curved Bridges, leisurely OARS, street shop fog, time seems to stop at this moment… At this point, without too many words, quietly stand, taste the air filled with simplicity and quiet is good.

A shen hall, a legend of the richest man in jiangnan

In my memory, the first to know the name of Zhouzhuang, is zhang weijian played the “cornet”. It not only tells the story of Zhouzhuang and shen wansan, but also takes place in Zhouzhuang. Shen hall, located on the east bank of fuan bridge, is not the former residence of shen wansan, but built by his descendants. But because zhou zhuang is the establishment of shen wansan, shen hall also became shen wansan legend naturally sustenance.

Seven into the five gate of shen hall, in fact, not only from the gate, the gate of the dock is also the exclusive shen. “Sedan from the door, the ship in their own”, this is a large family only have a way of life. The third into the parlor is the legendary bench. Such honored guest, tea but 3 cups please enter the VIP hall to meet with host, if not nearby take a reason of person, 3 cups of tea serve, can see off a guest. Acacia table, qianshan hundred life chart, cover table…… All of them show that the shen family’s financial resources and ideas keep pace with The Times.

How to Decorate Your House for Chinese New Year

By inArts & Crafts, Culture Tag , , ,

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Chinese people always decorate the week before the New Year. These include traditional decorations such as spring couplets and fu calligraphy paintings, which will be completed on New Year’s eve. As time goes on, more and more modern decorations appear in people’s houses. However, red is still the dominant color for the New Year. Here are 10 of the most common Chinese New Year decorations, 5 old and 5 modern. How much do you know about it?

Spring Festival couplets, also known as door couplets, are used to stick on both sides of doors to express good wishes for the New Year. They were always written in black ink on red paper, bright and elegant. Couplets should be symmetrical and neat. As for the content, most people choose to express good luck and good wishes for the coming year. So it’s interesting to observe some families’ spring couplets, which sometimes reflect their views on happiness. This tradition originated in the song dynasty (960-1279), but was popularized in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Fu characters and New Year pictures are also indispensable Chinese New Year decorations. “Fu” means “blessing” and “good luck” in Chinese, so it often appears in the New Year. Interestingly, people always choose to stick it upside down on their doors or Windows, because the Chinese word for “da” is pronounced the same as the Chinese word for “lai”. An inverted word for “fu” means good luck. The images of the New Year paintings are colorful, including auspicious legends and some mythological gods. The god of door and the god of wealth are the most popular paintings because Chinese people believe that the god of door can protect houses and the god of wealth can help make money.

As a traditional folk handicraft, Chinese red lanterns have now become one of the symbols of Chinese culture and a necessary decoration for various festivals, especially during the Chinese New Year, Lantern Festival and Mid-Autumn festival. Red lanterns will be hung on streets, shops, parks and private homes across the country as the New Year approaches. In Chinese eyes, red lanterns symbolize family reunion, prosperity, happiness and vitality. On New Year’s eve, a big red lantern is hung in front of the door. It not only lights up the night, but also lights up the hope of the coming year.

Chinese knot is a handicraft with a long history. In ancient times, knots were simply records that later evolved into ornaments and ornaments. So far, they have mostly been used for interior decoration and as gifts for friends or relatives. It is also one of the most popular Chinese New Year decorations. A Chinese knot is usually made by tying a knot with a piece of string. Knots of various shapes have different meanings, and their names are always associated with “safety” and “auspiciousness”. So people like to decorate rooms with it during Chinese New Year because of its good meaning and beautiful design.

Another traditional Chinese New Year decoration is paper-cutting, which is a folk art, using scissors or cutting knives to cut paper. Paper-cuts are usually pasted on Windows, doors or walls. They represent people’s good wishes for the future life. Most of the paper-cut designs are based on the Chinese zodiac for the New Year and some lucky characters such as “fu”, “lu”, “shou” and “xi”, which represent luck, wealth, longevity and happiness. In addition, some auspicious plants and interesting legends can also be part of the New Year paper-cut theme.

Chinese Cooking Wine, “Liaojiu” in Chinese

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Chinese cooking wine is made from rice wine and many other spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Contains less than 15% alcohol and is rich in amino acids. Cooking wine is used to remove or mask the smell and grease of meat, fish and seafood. Cooking wine can also add flavor to food. This is a condiment, not a drink. Cooking wines are produced all over China, but the most famous is shaoxing cooking wine, made from shaoxing rice wine.

In theory, beer, liquor and whiskey can also be used to make cooking wine. However, after a long time of practice and taste, people found that the food cooked with different cooking wine taste is very different. Food flavored with Chinese rice wine tastes best.

Chinese cooking wine is rich in 8 amino acids, such as leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine and threonine. Among them, lysine and tryptophan can produce neurotransmitters in the brain, improve sleep quality, and also benefit children’s physical development.

The main function of Chinese cooking wine is to remove the smell and grease of meat, fish and other food. The fishy substance dissolves in hot alcohol, which evaporates.

Cooking wine also contains a variety of amino acids, so that the dishes have a strong flavor.

Before cooking, fish, seafood and other meat can be soaked in cooking wine, promote the dissolution of fish flavor substances, cooking with ethanol evaporation. This is usually used for steaming and cooking.

In the cooking process, the time to add cooking wine depends on the cooking method and ingredients. The substances with fishy smell can be dissolved by the ethanol in cooking wine, which volatilizes together at high temperature. Fried meat, should be added after the meat color; If the dish is stir-fried and then stewed, it should be added before stewing; When cooking soup, first add the broth, then turn the heat; When you fry the shrimp, pour in the cooking wine and remove.

Don’t use too much cooking wine, or the taste of the wine will mask the taste of the food.

Chime-Long Paradise, King of Roller Coasters

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Chime-Long happy world is located in Yingbin road, Panyu, Guangzhou, covering an area of more than 2,000 mu, with nearly 70 amusement facilities. Joy world has introduced equipment from leading amusement equipment companies in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United States.

Among them: the “global king of roller coasters” vertical roller coaster, the guinness world record ten-ring roller coaster, the golden motorcycle roller coaster, the super pendulum, the only u-shaped skateboard in the old world and other world-class peak rides.

Cheilong happy world is located in guangzhou panyu yingbin road, the first phase covers an area of more than 1000 mu, nearly 70 amusement facilities. Joy world has introduced the equipment of the world’s leading amusement equipment companies in Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United States, including: vertical roller coaster, ten-ring roller coaster, motorcycle roller coaster, u-shaped ferris skateboard and super water wheel battle.

With more than 70 sets of amusement facilities, Chime-Long joy world is the largest amusement park in the world that has been invested and introduced into China. Most amusement equipment are imported from Europe, its design and technology to keep the international leading level, its particular eight most of Asia and the world, including: vertical roller coaster, ten ring roller coaster, motorized roller coaster, pegasus family a roller coaster, U skateboarding, super war, stunt, super large pendulum as well as to vertical roller coaster in the world at present, ten ring roller coaster for only the second set, while vertical roller coaster single investment alone more than 200 million yuan.

In addition to the attractions, the park also invites the American cowboy strength of the north American logging performance team to join. In addition, by the world’s top stunt director supervision of the entire production, Hollywood famous performance director led by a number of American Hollywood actors, in shock, wonderful stunt “crisis”, its spectacular scenes as Hollywood film reproduction. In addition, there are more than 200 elite performers from more than 20 countries composed of entertainment parade.

Since its opening, the happy world of Chime-Long has undergone great changes — from the 1.0 era of hardware amusement to the 3.0 era centered on satisfying tourists’ theme experience. Since 2012, when the new open the only Asian indoor scene exploration project “forest temple” to the world’s top global initiative, “” star, long lung happy world theme amusement to the world market to hand over a satisfied answer -” star battle “after the opening of the project, long lung happy world tourists increase of 50%, whereby long lung happy world new phantom of heaven and earth synchronization is complete.

This is only the first step in the long lung happy world new transformation, in the future, long lung happy world strong will introduce more new district, a new generation of the peak work in world theme park will emerge in endlessly, the emphasis on family common experience growing new amusement 3.0 era, different ages, different cultural backgrounds of the different needs of tourists here will be fully satisfied.