Archive for 'Culture'
Ballin’ – China Style Posted by sasha on Nov 18, 2011
While the billionaire suits and the millionaire players can’t seem to reach an agreement on the other side of the world in the NBA, there will still be basketball this season in China. With an eminent NBA lockout this season, hordes of players have jumped ship to join the CBA (中国男子篮球职业联赛 – zhōng guó nán…
Modern Kung Fu and Commercialization (现代功夫） Posted by Stephen on Nov 13, 2011
On the surface (在表面上), modern Shaolin Kung fu seems little altered from its ancient and austere roots. Monks still dress the same way, perform the same dazzling feats and train at the same place. The Shaolin temple has been rebuilt in keeping with traditional architecture and the “Shaolin Way” has been exported throughout the globe…
Chinese Love – Part Five Posted by sasha on Nov 7, 2011
In the last post, we looked at some of the ancient wedding customs of China. For Part Five, we’ll take a look at a few more pre-wedding customs, as well as the big day in Chinese culture – the wedding day. A lot of these customs are very traditional, but many are still practiced today…
Chinese Love – Part Four Posted by sasha on Nov 3, 2011
While Part Three of our Chinese love story was all about sex, the fourth installment of this series is all about marriage. Although the Chinese “Sexual Revolution” is only a few years old, Chinese wedding customs (婚礼习俗 – hūn lǐ xí sú) date back thousands of years. Traditional wedding customs were quite elaborate, and the…
Dunhuang (敦煌) Posted by Stephen on Oct 31, 2011
In the high desert plains of northern China, water dictates development. Nowhere can this be better illustrated than in Dunhuang or 敦煌 (Dūn huáng), one of the largest oasis-cities in Gansu Province or 甘肃 (Gān sù). Dunhuang roughly translates as “blazing beacon” in Chinese, a moniker it bestowed upon it as the terminus of the…
Yangshuo (阳朔) – Part Three – Li River (漓江) Posted by sasha on Oct 26, 2011
After a fun couple of days enjoying Yangshuo, we headed out of the town for a day trip. Starting from the town of Yangdi, we cruised along the beautiful Li River on a bamboo raft for a few hours, admiring the scenery. Check out some of the highlights in this short video. 一日游 – yí…
Everything But the Table: Lā Miàn Noodles (拉面) Posted by Stephen on Oct 25, 2011
As temperatures continue to plummet, the prospect of finding something hot and spicy to warm your belly becomes all the more appealing. If it wasn’t for today’s elegant yet simplistic dish, 拉面 (lā miàn) or pulled noodles, I don’t know how I could weather the frigid Beijing winter as it approaches. So if you want to…