Archive for the year 2011
Gobi Desert (戈壁沙漠) Posted by Stephen on Dec 7, 2011
The photos below are taken from a 1,500 km trek across the greater Gobi Desert or (戈比) area. The trip spanned from the most western reaches of Xinjiang province (新疆), through Inner Mongolia (内蒙古) and concluding in Gansu Province (甘肃). Check out the diverse climates, altitudes, and scenery as we retrace the steps of thousands…
Qingdao (Part Three) Posted by sasha on Dec 5, 2011
So far in our video tour of Qingdao, we’ve seen the famous pier, the Yellow Sea, a couple of churches, the governor’s mansion, and an incredibly crowded stretch of beach. Now it’s time for the main event – the Qingdao International Beer Festival! In its 21st year, this celebration of the nectar of the gods…
Buddhist Longmen Grottos (龙门石窟) Posted by Stephen on Dec 3, 2011
To understand the vast Buddhist influence upon Chinese culture, one must travel to the Longmen Grottos (龙门石窟－Lóng mén shí kū) located just outside of Luoyang (洛阳－Luò yáng), Henan province. Nestled around the Yi River (伊河－yīhé), these Longmen Grottos are home to some of China’s most famous stone and rock sculptures, depicting, among other things, images…
What’s in a Chinese Character? (Vol. 1) Posted by sasha on Dec 2, 2011
For foreigners studying Chinese, one of the most difficult aspects can be reading and writing Chinese characters (汉字 – hàn zì), which number in the tens of thousands. Functional literacy in the language requires a knowledge of about 3-4,000 characters. If you know this many, you should be able to read a newspaper (报纸 –…
Kashgar (喀什) Posted by Stephen on Nov 29, 2011
Located roughly 250 km from the borders of Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan, Kashgar or 喀什 (Kāshí) is a border city of approximately million people located in western Xinjiang Province. The surrounding countryside is almost all desert, with average temperatures sea-sawing between extremely frigid colds and scorching heat (sometimes both happening within 24 hours). It is…
Qingdao (Part Two) Posted by sasha on Nov 29, 2011
After a fun day getting settled in Qingdao, we headed out to hit some of the major attractions of the city. We visited St. Michael’s Cathedral, the Protestant Church, the Governor’s mansion, and another beach, before we headed out to the main reason for our visit to the coastal city – the Qingado Beer Festival…
Chinese Love – Part Six Posted by sasha on Nov 28, 2011
After the Three Letters and Six Etiquettes, the bride’s dowry, the installing of the bridal bed, the hair combing, and the groom’s struggle to fetch his own bride, it’s finally time for an actual wedding ceremony. The physical movement to the home of the groom’s family symbolizes the transfer of the bride from her family…