Archive for 'Culture'
Chinese Public Holidays Posted by sasha on Dec 7, 2012
As an American living and working in China, now is the time of the year that I get the most homesick. On Thanksgiving, I miss Grandma’s cooking, the big family dinner, and of course, American football. While Christmas in Beijing isn’t so bad – thanks mostly in part to the drunken shenanigans of the annual…
Exploring Ping Le Ancient Town Posted by sasha on Dec 6, 2012
Cruise around the streets of Ping Le Ancient Town, drop by the river, and then head out to the Chinese countryside in this video tour. A stop at the Li Family Courtyard reveals farm life in a traditional Qing Dynasty era home, and a night in a guesthouse in the middle of the bamboo sea…
Golden Flower Mountain (金华山) Posted by sasha on Nov 27, 2012
Located just outside of Ping Le Ancient Town in Sichuan province is a quiet, peaceful, spiritual mountain. With elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, this scenic spot makes for a great morning hike. Unlike many tourism spots in China, which are overrun by people and vendors, this place doesn’t even have a ticket office and…
Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains Posted by sasha on Nov 24, 2012
A while back, we introduced China’s Five Great Mountains. Well, there’s more to China’s mountains than just those five, so today we’ll take a look at the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains (四大佛教名山 – sì dà fó jiào míng shān) as well. After all, a big part of Chinese culture is making a pilgrimage (朝圣 – cháo…
Crosstalk Posted by sasha on Nov 21, 2012
In America, we have a thing called stand-up comedy. This popular form of entertainment consists of a comedian literally standing up at the front of a club, grabbing a microphone, and telling jokes for a while. Stand-up shows vary from the tiny hole-in-the-wall club where amateurs try to catch a break, to huge shows in…
Ping Le Ancient Town Posted by sasha on Nov 17, 2012
Just 90 km west of Chengdu in Sichuan province, you’ll find Ping Le Ancient Town (平乐古镇 – píng lè gǔ zhèn). Many years ago, this little town was an important stop on the Tea Horse Road (茶马道 – chá mǎ dào). Along this road, mules would take tea and other goods from southwest China to…
Better Know A… Province (Part Two) Posted by sasha on Nov 14, 2012
For those of you who are just joining this ongoing series, so far we’ve covered two municipalities (Beijing and Shanghai) and one province (Sichuan). Today, we’re going to make a big leap from the land of pandas and hot pot in southwest China to the complete opposite corner of the country as we explore Heilongjiang…