Travel To China

jmfitamant asked:


Getting a passport, leave without problem, which permits in China? Don’t tell me any thing about immigration in Canada, just leaving China.

Lawrence

Pat Malcolm asked:


Chinese poets spoke about the wonderful jujube in 600 BC. The fruit of the jujube has been used in ancient Chinese medicine for many nutritional remedies for 2500 years. Jujubes were used by Gerard in Europe as a medicinal herb in the 1600’s to treat ailments of the kidneys, lungs, and liver.

The Chinese jujube was brought to America by Oriental immigrants who built railroads in Arizona in the early 1900’s. Hundreds of grafted jujube cultivars are available in China, and a large number of these trees were imported by the USDA in 1908 and planted at the Experiment Station at Tifton, Georgia, for testing, according to Otis Woodard.

Lowell F. Locke of the USDA in 1924 introduced the improved jujube (Chinese Date) to the western U.S., where it was described as “They have a delicious fruit with a smooth brown skin and ivory fruit. You eat them skin and all. It was not firm as a peach, more like an apple. I made jams and jellies from them and also candied them.” Locke described the jujube as being cold hardy, late flowering, and virtually frost proof. The trees are well adapted to dry and sandy soils and will grow easily without requiring any special attention.

The Chinese jujube is native to China, Japan, and much of Southeast Asia. The deciduous tree grows to 25 feet tall, loaded with sharp spines, until it ages and the spines fall off as the bark is formed. The yellow fragrant flowers are small and they mature into reddish brown oval fruits a little larger than an olive. New cultivars of improved jujubes can grow as large as a plum and can be as a round or oval shaped, ripening to a reddish-brown color. The jujube fruit can be eaten fresh off the tree, even when there is much green color on the fruit with faint reddish marks just developing. In dry locations the fruit will ripen and dry up on the tree, but in the Southeastern United States, where the humidity is high, the fruit must be harvested when the color change happens and dried in a cool room.

Some gardeners describe jujube as tasting like dates flavored with apples and chocolate. The pulp of the jujube fruit is centered around a core that contains two seeds. The pulp is sweet, soft, and yellow in color, with some cultivars being white when ripe.

After being cured-out and dried, the jujube shrivels up into a wrinkled delicacy. The fruit is commonly treated similar to raisin production to preserve for consumption at a later time.

The jujube tree is prized for it’s delicious tasting fruit, the bright-green waxy leaves, and the fascinating silhouette of the tree. The leaves turn bright yellow before they shed after fall frosts.

Jujube trees thrive in sandy, poor grade soils such as those found in the Southeast, and the trees easily flourish in dry conditions; however, a little well-placed fertilizer produces amazing results in a short time. There are many species of jujube that have found use all over the world, including the continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa.

Arab nutritionists use the leaves of the jujube tree to kill worms and other parasites that attack the intestinal tract and cause diarrhea. A jujube tree that is native to Spain, France, Italy, Syria, and Asia Minor is similar to the Asian jujube and has been used medicinally as a food item in Europe, Asia Minor, and Africa. Jujubes were grown in Algeria and eaten mostly by Algerian Jews in the third century to celebrate New Years Eve.

The Chinese believed that eating the fruit from the jujube tree would improve a person’s stamina and strength, as well as an improvement in the function of the liver and the immune system. They believed that consumption of the jujube would mildly tranquilize a person, act to fight allergies, and cause a person to gain weight.

Nutritionists have found that the fruit of the jujube tree contains beneficial concentrations of Vitamins A, B2, and C. The jujube also contains minerals necessary for health, such as phosphorus, calcium, and iron.

In China the fruit is marketed mainly like dried dates and can be found at any food store. The fruit is prized as a health food as well as a tasty treat. Can a market for jujubes be developed for this easy to grow delicacy? Very few fruit trees can be grown that have as many desirable qualities, such as no natural pests, good taste, heavy production, unfailing yearly crops, no fertilizer requires, thrives in poor soil, 4000 years of growing history in China, and no climatic limitations.



Kayla

Brian Welsch asked:


The history of sex in China beginning from the erotic literature of the ancient dynasties to the conservative communist revolution is a fascinating one. Sex was not a taboo subject in ancient China like it is today and there is religious literature that documents the importance of sex to health and vitality. STDs and HIV is a growing problem in modern China and homosexuality is frowned upon. What can the history of sex in China tell us about these beliefs and realities in modern-day China ?

The History of Sex in China - From Sacred to Taboo

The Taoists believed that sex was the way to achieve good health and immortality. Yang referred to the male gender while yin referred to the female gender. In order for men and women to give each other their yin and yang essences, sex was very important and the different sexual positions had different purposes. The taoists believed that men should ejaculate as little as possible to maintain a high level of jing, or sexual energy, as semen was believed to be rich in jing.

Homosexuality was considered unhealthy because it was believed that a man would receive too much yang essence if he engaged in sex with another man but it was not forbidden. Lesbianism was more common because women were said to have an unlimited amount of yin essence. Women also played an important role in sexual relations and sex was not seen as beneficial unless the woman also received pleasure. Ancient texts like the Book of Changes, or I Ching, are full of sexual imagery. The I Ching is an important work in the history of sex in China and it contains detailed descriptions of sexual organs and behaviors. The hexagrams it contains are said to symbolize the genitals and its message is that sexual union is harmonious and life-giving.

In the early history of sex in China , when Taoism was the common doctrine, women were on equal footing with men. That began to change when Confucianism took over and women became inferior to men. Confucianism is inherently sexist and men were seen as the gender in control. Sex was seen only as a means of procreating and frowned upon if engaged in for the sake of pleasure. Husbands and wives only had physical contact behind closed doors. The Taoist philosophy later made a comeback but eventually intertwined with Confucianism and Buddhism.

Issues Surrounding Sex in Modern-Day China

In the history of sex in China homosexuality wasn’t encouraged but it wasn’t prohibited either. After the People’s Republic of China was formed, homosexuals had to go underground because they were persecuted. In modern-day China , homosexuality is slowly becoming accepted and recently, sodomy was decriminalized. Furthermore, the government no longer classifies homosexuality as a mental illness.

The rapidly rising rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are alarming. People are surprisingly ignorant about how STDs are transmitted and the government’s initial stance was that HIV was a Western disease. By 2000 an unsafe blood supply led to a boom in HIV so the government had to stop being in denial and start taking action. Because there is a stigma attached to homosexuality, there is not much information out there about safe sex and condoms are not accepted in mainstream Chinese culture.

In conclusion, the history of sex in China is fascinating because of all of the ancient philosophies and ideas surrounding sex. It is interesting to chronicle China ’s transformation from a non-sexist society that embraced sex to one that banned any deviation from the norm and took on sexist ideologies.

Slowly things are starting to change and the acceptance of homosexuality and openness about sex is growing. With those changes, hopefully China ’s people can receive better sex education to prevent the spread of disease and work towards a more just and equal society.  

Original article : History Of Sex In China



Parker

truckee_dark asked:


If you order a glass of water with your meal in China, they serve it to you hot. There is already hot tea on the table so its not to make tea. Its usually too hot to drink right away. What is the reason for serving it hot?

Jacqueline

Mr. Pham asked:


About 2700 B.C, there was a emperor named Shen Nung in CHINA. He loved plants and flowers. He had the most complete and beautiful garden in the whole country.

Every afternoon, emperor Shen Nung would sit in his garden and enjoy his drink.

One day, while his water was boiling on the table, a wind was blowing through the garden. The leaves were flying everywhere.

However, there was one tiny green leaf flew right into the emperor’s boiling water. The leaves made the water turn green. Curious to what kind of taste it would give, Shen Nung took a sip. The sweetness and bitterness of the green drink refreshed him.So the discover of tea was marked in China about 3000 years ago.

CHINA:THE BIRTH OF TEA DRINK.

Although the tea drink is discovered, it’s still uncommon to the Chinese for a long time. By 780 A.D., Lu Yu wrote the Cha’Ching or “The book of tea”. This book turned the history of tea to new direction.

Lu Yu was a follower of Zen Buddhism. Lu Yu wrote this book based on his memories and observations of tea plantation and processing. Amazing memory. Until the Sung dynasty in 1100 AD, this wonderful drink began to become popular in the elite society. Some of tea’s popularity is due to the discoveries of its health benefits.

As the Chinese elites enjoyed this excellent drink, they increased the growing of tea plant (or Camellia Sinensis). The production of tea skyrocketed. This wonderful drink began to reach every households in China.

By the Ming dynasty (~ 1300 AD), China began to export this newly discovered drink to neighboring countries. The history of tea turned to the world outside of China. Tea became an important commodity and had high exchange value in China. Tea trading gained popularity and yielded very high profit.

JAPAN: ALL THANKS TO A MONK

The history of tea is filled with myth and fantasies. No one knows how much of its is true. But the myths add new excitement into the origin of tea. There is a myth that stated: a Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma that lived around 6 A.D. He used to meditate for months at one time.

Something unexpected happened. Bodhidharma fell asleep during one of his meditation. Feeling rather angry and disappointed, he cut off his eye lids and threw them on the side of the road. He vowed to never sleep again.

Bodhidharma came back to this road and saw something amazing. There was a tiny plant with tiny leaves grew on the place where his eye lids were. He picked up the small leave and chewed. Surprisingly, he was able to meditate for hours and hours without falling asleep.

About 1200 AD, the founder of Zen Buddhism, Eisai, was passionate about the health benefits of tea. Eisai wrote a famous book “Tea drinking is good for health”. Eisai claimed that tea cured diseases such as loss of appetite and B-deficiency

Tea has spread its charms to Japan. In Japan, this wonderful and natural drink is a way of life. Japanese tea ceremony reflects purity and serenity.

The famous Japanese tea ceremony is Chanoyu–tea in hot water. This ceremony was Murata Shuko– father of tea ceremony. The special tea that is served in Japanese tea ceremony is Matcha. Matcha is green powered tea.

EAST AND MIDDLE ASIA: TEA HISTORY AND SPICE TRADE

Trading between Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, and China a long time ago. They mostly traded spices like herbs, sugar, salt…

Once China began to export tea, this commodity gradually reached Middle and East Asia through spice- trading route. By 18th century, people in Sri Lanka and Iran started to enjoy this wonderful drink. Overtime, they grew their own tea plants and also export their products.

RUSSIA: LARGEST IMPORTER OF TEA

Through many trading routes, this natural drink is introduced to Russian. Gradually, this wonderful drink was so popular. The government began to import tea in large quantities. Initially, Russia imported this red and green tea from China. Now, it mostly imported from India and Sri Lanka.

BRITISH: THE ROYAL FAMILY, HERE TEA COMES

When Dutch established a trading route to China via Africa. Tea then were introduced to Europe. Tea was mostly transported by the Dutch East India Company to Europe. Tea was introduced to British elites in 15th century. They prefer Black tea (Chinese called it Red tea). Black tea is processed in a way that it’s fully oxidized. Black tea gives a strong and bold taste.

The British people’s tongue were not so sensitive on bitterness. This seems to be the reason they prefer Black tea. The tea was for the elites, then the common people. Tea became a social drink in England. Ale lost its place as the most popular drink to Tea.

The first tea house was opened. The first tea house is Tom’s tea house. The owner was Thomas Twinning. Thomas Twinning tea company still successful today. Britain people also loves High tea. It’s an ordinary tea for working class.

AMERICA: OPEN DOOR WELCOMING THE NEW DRINK

When America was still a colony under the control of England. Tea drink was introduced to Americans. At one time, when tea was scarce and the price was high. England increased the tax for tea. Americans loved tea, but angry with the high tax. The famous BOSTON tea party took place.

Another form of tea drink that made this wonderful drink even more popular. Ice tea. It was invented in summer 1904, by Richard Blechynden. It was hot and Richard’s tea house did not have any customer. He added ice to make his hot tea cool.

Then came the idea of tea bag, created by Thomas Sulliva. He had a tea business in New York. He tried to promote his tea.

Thomas crushed the whole leaf into tiny bits. Put into a tiny bag. Distribute them around like taste sample.

However, whole tea leaves have higher quality. It preserves the taste and all of the essence of tea. Crushed tea leaves have lower quality. But it’s still great for a taste sample.

AFRICA: TEA OR NOT TEA?

The history of tea lead us to Africa. Specially, Kenya and South Africa. The British brought tea to Africa after the World War II.However, Africa has its own “tea plant”. It’s called Rooisbos (or Red diamond or Red bush).This is not exactly tea, but infused like tea.

Rooisbos is harvested in the summer. Real tea leaves are harvested in the Spring.

Well! this is not exactly about “authentic” tea. But tea did visit Africa and spread its

You see now that tea travels all over the world. Now it’s the 2nd most consumed drink in the world, only after water.



Jeremy

Chris Chew asked:


When you said that you have been to China as a sight seeing tourist, invariably people will ask you whether you have you visited The Great Wall Of China.

Why are people so obsessed with this ancient fortress monument? Well, as someone who have taken a sightseeing tour of the Great Wall, I can sum it up in one word. The Great Wall of China is awesome!

I was awestruck by the spectacular scenery and its courageous history. This gigantic monument is considered by many people as one of the wonders of the world. Any tourist traveling to China must definitely make visit the Chinese tourist attraction.

The Great Wall of China is over 2,000 years old and it is a monument rich in history. It was first conceived and constructed by Qin Shi Huang or also known as Shi Huang Ti, who was the first emperor of China. The wall is called “Wan-Li Qang-Qeng” in Chinese when translated literally means 10,000 li long wall which is equivalent to about 5,000 km or 2,272 miles long.

The Great Wall Of China was constructed as a military fortification against intrusion by invading normadic ancient tribes. The Chinese people at that time called these tribes barbarians since the Chinese royalties were living in sprawling palaces and these tribes were living in tents.

After the emperor Qin unified China in 214 BC, he ordered the construction of the wall. It took more than a decade to construct and the great wall stretched from Lintao in the eastern part of Gansu province in the west to Liaodong in Jilin province in the east. The wall not only served as a defensive bastien against invaders in the northern parts of China, it is also a symbol of power for the proud emperor.

From the Qin Dynasty onwards, Xiongnu (translated from Chinese as fierce anger), which was an ancient tribe that roamed Northern China, frequently make incursions and plunder towns and villages along the northern border.

During the Han Dynasty in and around 121 BC, emperor Han Wu Di, ordered three military expeditions to repel and quash the Xiongnu tribe. The military expeditions successfully pushed the Xiongnu tribe into the far north of the Gobi desert, which is a tundra.

In order to secure the safety of the Hexi Corridor (now Gansu province), the emperor also ordered the construction of the extension of the Great Wall westward into the Hexi Corridor and Xinjiang region. The ruins of the tower beacons and debris of the Han Wall are still preserved in Dunhuang, Yumen and Yangguan districts and provinces. There is also a report that more ruins of the Han Wall have recently been discovered near Lopnur in Xinjiang province.

The present day Great Wall Of China in Beijing is mainly the remains from the Ming Dynasty era. During this golden era of Chinese culture, bricks and granite were used when the workers laid the foundation of the wall. Sophisticated designs and passes were also constructed in places of strategic military importance.

To further empower the military’s control of China’s northern frontiers, the Ming Dynasty government divided the Great Wall into nine zones and placed each zone under the command and control of a Zhen, which is a military garrison headquarter.

The Ming Wall begins at Yalujiang River in what is now in Heilongjiang province, through Liaoning, Hebei, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia provinces, to Gansu reaching a length of about 12,700 li (about 5,200 km or 2,400 miles).

Although The Great Wall served succeeding dynasties very well for a few hundred years as a defence bastion against invading forces, the invaders from the north in the end were able to advance and conquer China in succeeding dynasties such as Mongolians (Yuan Dynasty, 1271-1368) and the Manchus (Qing Dynasty, 1644-1911) did.

With such splendidly rich history and panoramic views, is it any wonder why the Great Wall Of China is one of the most visited tourist attraction in the world?



Anastasia

Shane Lee asked:


This article is about the Peking roast duck and you can find some useful information in it if you are planning your China vacations now.

The history of the Peking roast duck can be traced back to as early as the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) when it was listed among the imperial dishes in the Complete Recipes for Dishes and Beverages, written in 1330 by Hu Sihui, an inspector of the imperial kitchen. Details regarding the cooking process were also described in this early cookbook.

In the early 15th century, when the Ming Dynasty capital was shifted from Nanjing to Beijing, roast duck remained one of the famous dishes on imperial court menus. According to the local history, the earliest roast duck restaurant in Beijing was the old Bianyifang Restaurant, which opened during the Jiajing reign (1522-1566). ( info for your China travel and vacations ) Distinct from the method in which the duck is hung from a hook in the ceiling of the oven and roasted over and roasted over burning wood, the Old Bianyifang Restaurant roasted its ducks with radiant heat. The walls of the oven were first heated with sorghum stalks whereupon the duck was placed inside and cooked by the heat given off by the walls. A duck roasted in this manner is crisp to the touch and golden brown in appearance; its flesh is both tender and tasty.

There are literally dozens of restaurants that serve roast duck, but perhaps the best known are Quanjude and Bianyifang. Each of the two has a different method of preparation, but each produces a delicious result. Quanjude roasts their ducks over burning wood while Bianyifang roasts its ducks using radiant heat from the oven walls.

(1). Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant ( Since 1864 ) :

Nowadays, if you talk about the Peking roast duck, everyone will mention the Quanjude roast duck. It is like the representative of the Peking roast duck. Quanjude has several stores in Beijing and the most famous one is the Qianmen (Qian gate) Quanjude. The Qianmen Quanjude is not only a restaurant to eat roast ducks, but also a place of tourist attraction now. The furnitures here are very “Traditional Chinese” and you can feel the charm of the Chinese culture here. There are 30 VIP rooms and 1 president room in this restaurant. ( info for your China tours and vacations ) The president room is the place where the Chinese leaders accommodate the foreign leaders. Many famous people have been here. One interesting thing I found is that you can write some Chinese charaters in the body of the duck with a Chinese writing brush before it is roasted. These charaters will then appear in your finished roast duck. Pretty funny! :-)  There is an old shop in this Quanjude restaurant and you can find the look of the Quanjuede in 1930 there. Lots of people think this is the best place for the travellers to find the “Old Beijing feeling”. You can even find the map of the old Beijing Hutongs here. The roast ducks are very delicious in Quanjude for sure, but what attracts so many people here is the history and traditional Chinese culture of this old restaurant. Here is the address: 32 Qianmendajie Street, Beijing. Tel: 010 - 67011379.( Cost is about 110 rmb for one person ) To get here, you can take the Line 1 subway to the “Qianmen” station.

(2).  Bianyifang ( Since 1416) :

The history of Bianyifang is even longer than Quanjude ( more useful China vacations info at Travel2ChinaInfo Dot COM ) . The Chinese characters for Bianyifang has two meanings: one is “cheap restaurant” and the other is “convinient restaurant”. At first, I thought the name means cheap. :-)  Lots of people made the same mistake. Actually the “Bianyi” here means “convinient”, not “cheap”. The cost of Bianyifang restaurant is about 70 - 80 rmb for one person. Address: 87 Tiantanlu Street, Chongwen District, Beijing. Tel: 010 - 67014281.

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Summer

Naveen Marasinghe asked:


 

Established in 1990, Macau Maritime Museum is located in Mage Street in Macau region pretty close to the Mage Temple. This museum covers 800 square meters of the harbor in the southwest of Macau peninsula where the Portuguese landed for the first time in 1553 and it is an enclosed structure of three levels.

 

The museum is based on typical museum layouts of Europe and the exhibits of its collection of about 2000 pieces are placed according to the major themes relevant to the history of the maritime industry of china and Portugal. Mostly it exhibits traditional ships and marine equipments of China and a variety of boats by which the Portuguese arrived to Macau. The main structure of the museum has been designed in the shape of a marine boat in full sail which make the impression of a giant boat in the Macau port.

 

The museum is composed with five main sections such as Fishing industry, Technology, Transport, and Chinese and Portuguese discoveries. The first floor of the museum is dedicated for the traditional fish-cultivation technology of fishery industry of Macau. More over not only models of fishing boats and nets but also some tactics of catching fish are also demonstrated by some scenes. The explorations and geographical discoveries of China and Portuguese are illustrated in the second stage of the establishment. Thus this section is basically focused on the important historical episodes of Macau region. The top floor of the museum houses the display of technology in fish cultivation and navigation and dredging the sea world. Apart from that, a three-dimensional model of Macau region has been put on display in this section. Also the very first light house of China “Guia light house” can also been observed in this segment.

 

Furthermore, the museums aquarium consists of four containers which are devoted for different themes of marine life. The first tank exhibits a fresh water riverbed and the second one features the Macau harbor. Amazing coral reef can be seen in the third container while forth one displays the scene of a sunken boat in the sea water. The out side of the museum is the square from which the guests have the occasion to please their eyes with scenery of the harbor and the seashore and also the guests have the opportunity to even set sail on the sea with the wide range of sailing boats offered by the museum.

 

Macau is truly a paradise for tourists and a heaven for comfort and luxury, the large number of Macau luxury hotels such as Venetian Macau is an obvious testament to this fact.



Chance

stephanie s asked:


We live in the philippines so we don’t have winter. I have experienced snow when i was in europe BUT my brothers still haven’t. We are planning to go to China next month which i believe is winter time. Which part of china gets thick thick snow? I don’t wanna disappoint my brothers. Although part of our itinerary is to see the great wall which is already “great” enough BUT of course it would be really nice if they can see some snow too.

Wyatt