Some scenic spot of Shanghai, China

People’s Square

People’s Square has become the political and cultural center in Shanghai since 1994, when it was rebuilt. In and around the square are a massive fountain named the Light of Huangpu River, 10,000 square meters of lawns, six groups of relief carvings that depict the history of Shanghai, the New Shanghai Museum, the offices of the municipal government, an underground shopping plaza, the Shanghai Grand Theater and the Shanghai Exhibition Center

The Yu Garden

The Yu Gardens are a classical landscape in the Southern Chinese style with a history of more than 400 years. Pavilions, halls, rockeries and ponds display the finest in landscaping from the Southern style as seen in the Ming and Qing dynasties. More than 40 landscapes were ingeniously separated by latticed walls, winding corridors, and lattice windows.

The Bund

The well-known Bund is a must for visitors to Shanghai. Fifty-two buildings lining the narrow shoreline of the Huangpu River offer a living exhibition of Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Classic Revival and Renaissance architectural styles, as well as combinations of Chinese and Western styles. They are also a condensation of the recent history of the city. The wide embankment offers ample room for strolling and is used by locals for morning exercises and evening gatherings. In the evening, colorful lights illuminate the area and create a shimmering image deserving of the name Pearl of the Orient.

The Orient Pearl TV Tower

The Orient Pearl TV Tower is 468 meters high, the tallest in Asia and third tallest in the world. It faces the Bund across the Huangpu River. When viewed from the Bund, the tower and the Nanpu and Yangpu bridges create a vivid imagery known as “two dragons playing with a pearl.” The sphere at the top has a diameter of 45 meters and is 263 meters above ground. The observation deck in the sphere offers a sweeping view of the city. The revolving restaurant is set at 267 meters above Pudong New Area. The dance ball, piano bar and 20 karaoke rooms, at 271 meters, are also opened to the public. The penthouse, which sits at 350 meters, has an observation deck, meeting room, and coffee shop. The tower integrates broadcasting technologies with sightseeing, catering, shopping, amusement, and accommodations. It has become the symbol of the city and a major tourist attraction in Shanghai.

China Yungang Caves

Yungang Caves is located about sixteen kilometers west of Datong, Shanxi Province.

Yunggang Caves is one of China’s four most famous “Buddhist Caves Art Treasure Houses”.

There are 53 caves here, and over 51, 000 stone sculptures. most of the caves are made during the Northern Wei Dynasty between 460 and 494 AD.

• Yungang art manifests its best in this group. Cave 5 contains a seated Buddha with a height of 17 meters.
• In Cave 6, a 15-meter-high two storey pagoda pillar stands in the center of chamber and the life of the Buddha from birth to the attainment of nirvana is carved in the pagoda walls and the sides of the cave.
• The Bodhisattva was engraved in Cave 7.
• The rare seen Shiva Statue in Yungang with eight arms and four heads and riding on a bull is illustrated in Cave 8.
• Cave 9 and Cave 10 are notable for front pillars and figures bearing musical instruments.
• Musicians playing instruments also appear in Cave 12. Cave 13 has the Buddha statue with a giant figurine supporting its right arm.
• The rest caves belong to the third group.
• Cave 14 has eroded severely.
• Cave 15 is named as the Cave of Ten Thousand Buddha.
• The caves numbered 16 to Cave 20 are the oldest complex and each one symbolizes an emperor from the Northern Wei Dynasty and the subject of “Emperor is the Buddha” is embodied.
• The caves from No. 21 onward are built in the later times and can not compare to their better preserved counterparts.
• It extends one kilometer from east to west and can be fallen into three major groups.

China Local Opera

There are many Local Operas in China, most of them are especially attractive for the local people . Here are some famous types of China Local Opera.

• Southern Music and Northern Music
• Maestro of Kunqu
• Yongju Opera
• Shaoju Opera
• Huangmei Opera
• Empress of Yuju Opera
• Face Changing
• Sichuna Opera
• Hebei Bangzi
• Yueju Opera
• Experience Pu Opera
• Yu Opera
• Qinqiang
• Huangmei Opera
• Kunqu Opera

For more information about China Local Opera, please come here in the next few days. I’ll give some more introduce and pictures about China Local Opera. ^0^

It seems that there is somthing wrong with my IE. I can’t put the pictures of the China Local Opera tonight. I’m so sorry! But I’m sure that I’ll post them here tomorrow.

Basic China Pu’er Tea and Heicha Shopping Vocabulary

Pu’er is a famous type of tea in Yunnan, China. Here are some basic Pu’er and Heicha shopping vocabulary.

Pu’er Genres Shopping Vocabulary:

pu’er cha [the generic term]

sheng pu’er cha [raw/green pu'er tea]

jin ya cha [compressed tea]

san cha ['loose tea,' i.e. uncompressed pu'er or hei cha]

tai di cha ['table land tea,' i.e. flat-land or plantation tea as opposed to mountain-grown or tall-tree tea]

shu pu’er cha [ripe/cooked/black pu'er tea]

Various Pu’er Shapes Shopping Vocabulary:

bing cha [flat cake-shaped compressed pu'er]

gu cha ['old tea,' as e.g. of aged pu'er, or tea from an ancient tree]

jin cha ['tight tea,' mushroom-shaped compressed pu'er (or lu cha)]

jin gua cha ['golden melon' pu'er]

fang cha [square brick-shaped compressed pu'er]

lao cha tou ['old tea head(s),' i.e. the nuggets left over at the bottom of a wo dui pile of pu'er]

tuo cha [bowl-shaped compressed pu'er; note: there are several characters pronounced 'tuo2'; the original meaning of 'tuo cha' is disputed]

xiao tuo cha [mini tuo cha]

tuan cha ['round tea,' i.e. ball-shaped compressed pu'er]

zhuan cha [oblong brick-shaped compressed pu'er]

Some Hei Cha Types:

guang xi liu bao cha [basket-compressed hei cha produced in Liu Bao, Guangxi province]

liu an cha [hei cha produced in Liu An county, Anhui province]

qian lang cha ['thousand tael tea,' a hei cha produced in Hunan province, compressed into a 40-kg cylindrical shape]

xiang liu an cha ['fragrant Liu An' tea]

zhu qiao cha [= zhu ke cha, 'bamboo shell/crust tea,' a hei cha produced in Guangdong province]

Other Useful Terms:

da ye ['big leaf,' a type of pu'er processed from large-leaf tea plants]

chen nian pu’er cha [lit. 'old year pu'er tea,' i.e. aged pu'er tea]

gan cang ['dry storage']

ji zhi qing ['machine dried,' lit. 'machine-made blue/green,' said of mao cha that is mechanically dried rather than sun-dried]

mian zhi ['cotton paper,' the paper wrapper for pu'er cakes]

nei fei [lit 'inside quick,' the identifying label embedded in a pu'er cake]

nei piao [an 'inner ticket,' wrapped with but not embedded in the cake]

mao cha ['rough/unprocessed tea,' the loose dried leaf ready to be compressed into pu'er]

shai qing ['sun dried,' lit. 'sun blue/green,' said e.g. of mao cha that has first undergone sha qing, and is then spread out to dry in the sun]

shi cang ['wet storage']

tong ['tube,' a qi zi stack of seven bing cha]

wo dui ['wet pile,' a storage process for making shu pu'er]

qi zi ['seven sons,' i.e. a stack of seven bing cha]

sha qing ['kill green,' the heating process whereby oxidation is halted]

Chinese Red Tea

Today let’s see the common Chinese Red Teas. Red Teas is one type of the Chinese Teas, which is also very popular with the Chinese people. Here are some famous Chinese Red Tea.

bi luo chun hong cha [a Yunnan hong cha made tightly rolled, like bi luo chun green tea]

dian hong cha ['Yunnan hong cha'; 'dian1' is an old name for part of Yunnan province]

jin si ['golden thread,' the highest grade of dian hong: pure golden tips]

jin zhen ['golden needle,' a variant of 'jin si']

huang zhen cha ['golden needle' hong cha from Fujian province]

jin hou hong cha ['golden monkey red tea,' high-grade hong cha from Fujian province]

long jing huang pao hong cha ['dragon well yellow robe  hong cha -- long jing cha processed as hong cha; said to have been favored by the emperor Qianlong]

qi men hong cha [Keemun hong cha]

hao ya [lit. 'fine/small sprout,' the highest quality of Keemun -- hao ya 'A'  being even better than hao ya 'B']

hao ya ‘A’ [top-grade Keemun]

hao ya ‘B’ [next-to-top-grade Keemun]

mao feng [lit 'downy tip,' a grade of Keemun hong cha composed of small buds]

yang xian hong cha [a hong cha produced in Jiangsu province; the favorite tea of the potters of Yixing, for which 'Yang Xian' is an old name]

ying de hong cha [a hong cha produced in Yingde county, Guangdong province]

zheng he hong cha [a hong cha made from a cultivar usually used for bai cha, 'white' tea]

zheng shan xiao zhong cha [= Lapsang Souchong, a heavily-flavored smoky red tea from Wu Yi Shan in Fujian province]

Teas of Taiwan Oolongs

Let’s go on with the types of tea yesterday. Here are some teas of Taiwan Oolongs.

• bai hao wu long cha [lit. 'white down,' also known as 'oriental beauty' oolong, grown esp. in Hsinchu (Xinzhu) county; cf. 'dong fang mei ren']
• bao zhong cha [Wade-Giles 'pouchong' = pinyin 'baozhong,' lit. '(paper-)wrapped type' oolong, grown esp. on Wen Shan in Taipei (Taibei) county]
• a li shan wu long cha ['Ali Mountain oolong tea,' grown in Chiayi (Jiayi) county]
• cui yu wu long cha ['emerald jade oolong tea']
• da yu ling wu long cha ['Great Yu Mountain' oolong]
• dong fang mei ren wu long cha ['beautiful eastern woman' oolong, from Hsinchu (Xinzhu) county; cf. 'bai hao']
• dong ding wu long cha ['Frozen Summit Mountain oolong tea,' grown on Dong Ding Shan in Nantou county]
• fo shou wu long cha ['Buddha hand' oolong,  a long-leaf cultivar]
• li shan wu long cha ['Pear Mountain oolong tea,' grown on Li Shan in Taichung (Taizhong) county]
• shan lin xi wu long cha ['Pine Forest Creek oolong tea,' grown in Nantou county]
• gao shan wu long cha ['high mountain' oolong]
• si ji chun wu long cha ['four seasons springtime oolong tea']
• tie guan yin wu long cha ['iron goddess of mercy' oolong tea, grown in Nantou county]
• wen shan bao zhong cha [Wade-Giles 'pouchong' = pinyin 'baozhong,' lit. '(paper-)wrapped type' oolong, grown on Wen Shan in Taipei (Taibei) county]
• jin xuan wu long cha ['golden day lily' oolong]

And here are some pictures of Taiwan Oolongs.

Chinese Wu Long Teas

As we mentioned yesterday, there are countless types of teas in China today. We have known some famous teas in the category of green, yellow and white. Now let’s see what’s Chinese Wu Long Teas.

• bei dou yi hao wu long cha ['big dipper first-of-the-month' oolong, from Fujian province]
• da hong pao yan cha ['big red robe' oolong, a Wu Yi yan cha from Fujian province]
• dong fang mei ren wu long cha ['beautiful eastern woman' oolong, grown in Fujian province]
• bai ji guan yan cha ['white cockscomb' oolong, a Wu Yi yan cha from Fujian province]
• bai ye dan cong cha ['white leaf' single bush]
• feng huang dan cong cha ['single bush' oolong from Feng Huang Shan, i.e. 'Phoenix Mountain,' in Chaozhou, Guangdong province]
• fo shou wu long cha ['Buddha hand' oolong]
• huang jin gui wu long cha ['golden cinnamon' oolong, from Fujian province]
• huang zhi xiang dan cong cha ['yellow twig fragrance' single bush]
• mao xie wu long cha ['hairy crab' oolong, from Anxi county in Fujian province]
• rou gui yan cha ['cinnamon' oolong, a Wu Yi yancha from Fujian province]
• shui xian wu long cha ['water spirit' oolong, grown esp. in Fujian province]
• shui jin gui yan cha ['golden turtle' oolong, a Wu Yi yan cha from Fujian province]
• tie luo han yan cha ['iron warrior monk' oolong, a Wu Yi yan cha from Fujian province]
• wu yi yan cha ['rock' or 'cliff' oolong from Wu Yi Shan in Fujian province]
• xing ren xiang dan cong cha ['almond fragrance' single bush]
• tie guan yin cha ['iron goddess of mercy' oolong, originally from Anxi county in Fujian province, now produced in numerous regions]
• ling tou dan cong cha ['Ridge Top' single bush]

Also, we’ve many, many types of Chinese teas to share with you. Due to the hard work, I can’t show you all of them in just one article. So, if you really want to know some more about Chinese tea, please add Chinese Culture to you favourite folder. I’ll share them with you in the coming days.

Some Famous China Teas

For many Chinese, it’s an great thing for tasting teas. As a result of the Chinese ancient Tea Culture, there are countless types of teas in China today. Here are some famous China teas in the category of green, yellow and white teas.

huang shan mao feng ['yellow mountain downy tip,' lu cha from Anhui province]

jun shan yin zhen cha ['sovereign mountain silver needle,' a huang cha from Jun Shan Island in Hunan province]

liu an gua pian ['Liu An melon slice,' lu cha from Liu An county in Anhui province]

long jing cha ['dragon well' lu cha]

bai hao yin zhen cha ['white hair silver needles,' a bai cha, huang cha, or lu cha]

bai mu dan cha ['white peony' tea]

bi luo chun cha ['green snail spring' lu cha from Dong Ting Shan in Jiangsu province]

gu lao cha ['old work tea,' lu cha from Guangdong province]

hua cha [(flower-)scented tea: may be green, red, or oolong]

ming qian ['pre-qingming,' i.e. first plucking]

yu qian ['pre-rain,' i.e. second plucking]

lu shan yun wu cha ['hut mountain clouds-and-mist,' a pure-bud lu cha from Jiu Jiang in Jiangxi province]

mei jia wu long jing cha ['dragon well' lu cha made from the mei jia wu cultivar]

meng ding huang ya cha ['misty peak yellow sprout' tea, a pure-bud huang cha usually from Meng Ding Shan in Sichuan province]

mo li hua cha [jasmine-scented tea; cf. hua cha]

qi jing bian zhen cha ['Seven-Views (Mountain) flat needle' lu cha]

shi feng long jing cha ['Lion Peak (Mountain)' long jing cha, i.e. lu cha made from tea grown on Shi Feng Shan]

shou mei cha ['longevity eyebrow,' a bai cha]

xi hu long jing cha ['dragon well' lu cha from Xi Hu or 'West Lake,' reputedly the best source for long jing cha]

zhen mei cha ['precious eyebrow,' a lu cha produced in Jiangxi province]

zheng he yin zhen cha ['Zheng He silver needles,' a bai cha]

tai ping hou kui cha ['monkey king' lu cha from Tai Ping in Anhui province]

xin yang mao jian cha ['downy tip' lu cha from Xin Yang in Henan province]

For many Chinese people, it’s nothing that having nothing to eat, but it’ll be unimaginable that they have no tea to taste. There are many stress when tasting the tea. Once you come to China and make friends with some of them, you will be shocked by the complex details.

Do you believe that all? Maybe not. But you’ll know that these are all true once you come to China!

Chinese new year painting

Chinese new year painting is the pictures which was painned up on doors, room walls and windows. The Chinese painned the pictures on the Chinese New Year to invite heavenly blessings and ward off disasters and evil spirits.

These can dates back to the Qin and Han dynasties. Thanks to the invention of block printing, folk painting became popular in the Song Dynasty and reached its zenith of sophistication in the Qing.

Woodcuts have become increasingly diverse in style, variety, theme and artistic form since the early 1980s.

New Year paintings belong to the Chinese folk paintings created for the traditional Spring Festival.

Drawn by folk artists,the paintings are made in special studios and sold on rural fairs before the Spring Festival ,which generally falls in January or February.

Types of Facial Make-up in Beijing Opera

Beijing Opera is one of the oldest culture of China. Today more and more people in the world are interested in the Beijing Opera, and most of them have a great interest in the facial make-up in Beijing Opera.

Usually in Beijing Opera, specific types of facial make-up are put on the actors’ faces to symbolize the personalities, characteristics, and fates of the roles what the actors are.

Generally, the red faces in Beijing Opera have the positive meanings, which is the symboliz of brave, faithful, and wise men. Another positive color in Beijing Opera is purple, which signifies wisdom and bravery.

Black faces usually have neutral meanings, symbolizing just brave men; however, black faces can also represent uprightness.

Blue and green faces also have neutral meanings that symbolize the hero of the bush, with the former also hinting at strength and intrepidity.

Meanwhile, yellow and white faces have negative meanings that symbolize ferocious, treacherous, and crafty men.

Gold and silver faces symbolize mysteriousness, and stand for monsters or gods.

So, at the time when you are enjoying a Beijing Opera, you can identify the fates of the roles what the actors are just through the types of Facial Make-up. Isn’t that interesing?

Here are some pictures of the types of Facial Make-up in Beijing Opera.

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