Travel To China

Abhishek Agarwal asked:


The Chinese have a very rich traditional and cultural heritage, which goes back to faraway times. It is recorded in the annals of history that the Chinese ethos has its origins in the most ancient and the most multifaceted civilizations ever seen by humanity.

During the Chinese festivities associated with their New Year, a countless number of things exist, which the Chinese avail of, to bring fortune and joy for the coming year. With regard to the gala surrounding the spring festival, an extensive variety of foods are available that are recognized as happiness symbols.

It is widely acknowledged that this New Year of the Chinese people denotes merriment and is a festivity where all the family comes together and share some good times. To the Chinese, this occasion brings with it joy, fortune and well-being to each family member.

Obviously, the food, which is cooked, should be in harmony with the intention or goal, which the family is directed towards. Following is the list of mandatory food items at the time of the New Year festivity, which symbolize happiness:

1) The Hot Pot

This steaming hot pot, also called Chinese fondue, filled with vegetables, meat, and seafood is compulsory. The hot pot is considered to usher in fortune and growth.

2) The Fish

Especially the fish known as yu is a popular dish, which is regularly served at Chinese New Year festivities. The fish is supposed to represent profusion or excess. Generally, the fish is steamed and served on Chinese New Year eve for the get-together dinner. A further belief that is associated with the fish states that the bones, tail, and head should be retained in one piece when it is served.

3) The Shrimp

Now the shrimp is associated with welfare and joy for the beginning of the New Year of the Chinese people.

4) The Boiled Dumplings

Fashioned like gold bars, boiled dumplings are an essential item of Chinese New Year festivities. The dumplings signify the hour at which the New Year changes over. In the extreme north of China, these dumplings are stuffed with meat and consumed so as to fetch riches and good fortune during the coming year.

Occasionally a coin is inserted into a few dumplings and there is this belief that the individual who sinks his teeth into it will receive riches in the coming New Year. In addition, dumplings and yellow noodles when prepared in combination represent “golden filaments through gold bars”. In Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, egg dumplings are attractively served and consumed, as they appear very similar to gold bars.

5) The Oyster

Wonderful tidings are what the oyster signifies. It is a common custom in the southern China, to serve oysters with rice noodles, which are very fine.

6) The Green Vegetables

These green vegetables signify strengthening of intimate family bonds because they denote closeness or intimacy.

7) Sticky Rice Cake

Made from rice flour and topped with red dates, the steamed cake is a sign of getting additional wealth and status for the forthcoming New Year of the Chinese.

The Noodles

Chinese noodles are forever linked with prolonged existence.

Is it not true that the Chinese lifestyle revolves around good luck? While some of us are not Chinese by faith or birth, there is no harm in pursuing the custom of serving these eatables as symbols of happiness for New Year. Now happiness cannot be wholly ascribed to fortune. It is just coming up with successful ways to attain happiness. However, you should in no way rely on these foods for finding happiness. They are simply but enrichments.



Ryan

John Abbot asked:


The Chinese do not take vacations in the same way that we do in the West. We each slot our own time away from work, carefully scheduling that time to not conflict with the holidays of our co-workers or colleagues. Due to school holidays of our children there are busier seasons and slower seasons, but with the exception of a few days around Christmas and New Year, overall life and business goes on as usual with little interruption. Not so in China.

In China there are 3 major holidays, and on those 3 occasions the country basically shuts down and everyone goes home (literally). Vacation time in China is family time, and the 3 holidays are:

Chinese New Year

This holiday lasts for an official period of 9 days, but in fact everything seems to come to a standstill businesswise for more like 16 days. The holiday is scheduled to begin on the first day of spring in the lunar calendar, which can fall anywhere from the middle of January to the middle of February. Don’t ask me how the first day of spring can possibly fall in the heart of the two coldest moths of the year - I don’t know and no Chinese person has been able to explain it to me. But that’s when it happens and that’s when everyone in China goes home for 2 weeks to be with their family. And that’s when most expats in China, unless they have a Chinese family by marriage, hunker down for a long, boring period of forced rest.

Labor Day (May 1st)

This holiday lasts for 1 week (although many Chinese seem to stretch it out a few days longer), and once again everyone travels home, with few exceptions.

National Day (October 1st)

This vacation recognizes the founding of the People’s Republic of China by the Communists in 1949. Again, for 1 week everyone in China goes home for the holidays.

Remember those dates, because if you accidentally find yourself traveling in China on one of these occasions you’re in for one of the most trying times of your life. It will take you days to get a train ticket and when you do you’ll be packed in so tightly with so many Chinese travelers that hell will quickly take on a whole new meaning for you. Forget plane tickets, and don’t even think about taking a bus.

If you should find yourself in China during any of these holiday periods here’s a list of things you can do to fill your time:

1. Read those 4 novels you brought with you, from cover to cover, for the 6th time since arriving in China 2 years ago.

2. Rewrite your will for the 6th time since arriving in China 2 years ago.

3. Write that long explanatory letter to your ex-wife (Father, Mother, etc.) as to why you came to China 2 years ago to escape from her and then tear it up for the 6th time since arriving.

4. Try to learn to cook on a Chinese gas burner with a Chinese wok for the 6th time since coming to China 2 years ago.

5. Become a practising Bhuddist.

6. Go sit and drink by yourself (or with the other Gui Lao losers) in the local watering hole, where even the usual Chinese ladies who work there for commissions on the drinks they persuade you to buy them while they pretend to find you handsome and entertaining are absent, having gone home for the holidays.

7. Practise your karaoke routine so you can really wow your Chinese friends when they return from their holidays.

8. Take up calligraphy as a hobby.

9. Fall into a deep 7 to 14 day trance.

10. Plan ahead and hit the beaches of Thailand 3 days before the holiday begins and don’t come back til 3 days after it’s over, for the best holiday of your life.

I’ve tried most of the above and number 10 is the one I most highly recommend.

If, on the other hand, you have acquired a regular Chinese lady companion and you’re invited to go home to meet her family, subject to the caveat below, don’t hesitate, because you’re in for a surprisingly fun and entertaining time, especially if she’s patient enough to translate for you endlessly and even more so of you’re willing to learn to play mahjong. But be sure to take lots of warm clothes if you are visiting anywhere even slightly north of the South China Sea, because the first day of spring can be damned nasty cold in most parts of China, and many Chinese folk have no heating in their homes.

CAVEAT: BE WARNED, when she takes you home to meet her family she is tacitly announcing to them that the two of you intend to marry, and your failure to later do so will be seen as a massive betrayal by all concerned.



Brenden

Jason Huang asked:


The guqin, or seven-stringed zither, is China’s oldest stringed instrument, and as legend has it, its sweet sounds once helped defeat an army. Now this ancient instrument experiences a modern-day renaissance. Every year, NTDTV’s Chinese New Year Spectacular brings a unique opportunity to experience the magic of traditional Chinese culture, using traditional and ancient instruments. The magnificence of the backdrops, the abundant imagination, the marvelous music, the splendor of the costumes, and the actors’ great skill–altogether make for outstanding entertainment reflecting China’s 5,000 years of civilization and traditional culture–a culture full of myths and legends.

The first guqins were made about 3,000 years ago. They were very simple, with just one or two strings. As aesthetic concepts flowered and playing skills improved, the instrument changed. By the 3rd century the guqin had seven strings, and was very similar to the instrument played today.

Historically, the guqin has been viewed as a symbol of high culture, as well as the instrument most able to express the essence of Chinese music. There is consequently a great deal of symbolism surrounding the guqin.

In ancient China, the guqin was an instrument played mainly by those of noble birth. Among the 3,000 or so guqin tunes that have been handed down, the majority are works by the then ruling class, expressing their aspirations.

In Chinese history, there is a famous story called the “Empty City Trick” (Kong Cheng Ji) in which the guqin played the key role in defeating an army of thousands. The story of Kong Cheng Ji can be found in the famous 15th century novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

During the “Three Kingdoms” period (220-280 AD), the Kingdom of Shu underwent a series of defeats by the Kingdom of Wei. On one occasion the Wei general, Sima Yi, advanced with his armies to the gate of a Shu city, unaware that there were no Shu soldiers within the city to protect it.

On seeing the Wei army advance, rather than capitulating, the Shu military advisor Zhuge Liang went to the gate tower and played a beautiful melody on his guqin.

As he listened, Sima Yi, the general of the invading army, found himself in a quandary. He tried to tell from the nuance of the music whether the city was truly empty, or if Shu soldiers hid within it. Judging by the tranquil tones, he decided this was a trick of Zhuge Liang’s to tempt his army into an ambush, and so he ordered a retreat.

The ruse helped the Kingdom of Shu to avoid another defeat and ultimate destruction.

You may wonder what melody Zhuge Liang played. Nobody knows. This will probably forever remain a secret shrouded in the mists of history.

In the beginning of every year, NTDTV brings to live the divine beauty of the ancient East with its now-legendary Chinese New Year Spectacular. This year the “Spectacular” is grander than ever, touring 26 mayor cities worldwide with more than 1,000 performers between January and March 2007. The NYC (New York City) flagship show returns to Radio City Music Hall for seven performances. http://shows.ntdtv.com



Aaliyah