Archive for 'Culture'
Stackin’ that Kuai! Posted by sasha on Jun 16, 2011
In China, the official name for currency is RMB (人民币 – rén mín bì), meaning “the people’s currency.” However, in daily dealings it is often referred to as yuan (元 – yuán) or the slang term kuai (块 – kuài), kind of like how we say “bucks” in the US sometimes. While American dollars…
History of the PRC – Part Twenty Posted by sasha on Jun 8, 2011
With the surrender of the Japanese, a full-throttle Civil War once again raged in China. This final stage of the long, seemingly never ending war is known in Maindland China as the War of Liberation. On the side of Mao and the Communists was the Soviet Union under Stalin; on the side of Chiang and…
Duanwu Festival (端午节) Posted by sasha on Jun 3, 2011
The traditional Duanwu Festival (端午节 – duān wǔ jié) falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, which is June 6 this year. Also commonly known as the Dragon Boat Festival (龙船节 – lóng chuán jié), this is one of the oldest Chinese holidays, dating back to 278 BC. Before we get into…
Photo Gallery: Forbidden Palace (故宫画廊) Posted by Stephen on Jun 2, 2011
Youtube slideshow of the Forbidden Palace (故宫): 360 degree view inside the the Forbidden Palace: Thumbnail Gallery: All photographs are courtesy of Stephen M. Fiedler, twitter: @seeitbelieveit Please contact for any use of these images.
Table Manners (桌子礼节） Posted by Stephen on May 29, 2011
While most people that first visit China are shocked at the lack of proper etiquette when sitting down for a meal–don’t fool yourself–China has very particular table manner rules or 桌子礼节 (zhuōzi lǐjié). Unlike western eating culture, which espouses notions of individual servings, and stoic propriety, Chinese eating culture is all about the mixing and…
History of the PRC – Part Nineteen Posted by sasha on May 20, 2011
After many years of a brutle civil war between the CCP and the KMT, compounded with the invasion of the Japanese, things were not looking very good for China in the early 1940’s. However, everything changed on August 6, 1945, when the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Another bomb was used on…
Photo Gallery: Simatai Great Wall（司马台长城画廊) Posted by Stephen on May 16, 2011
Video Slideshow: Thumbnail Gallery: All photographs are courtesy of Stephen M. Fiedler, twitter: @seeitbelieveit Please contact for any use of these images.