I recently read a post about Video Karaoke on RT’s Living in the Philippines blog, outlining the history of karaoke, which is very popular in the Philippines. Karaoke is also extremely popular in China, so I felt moved to write about Karaoke in China. (more…)
I’ve spent Christmas in China three times: 2002 in Zhaoqing, Guangdong and 2006 and 2007 in Langfang, Hebei. That doesn’t make me an expert on the topic by any means, but as the festive season arrives, I feel moved to share some of the insights I’ve picked up about Christmas in China.
Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.
AndWat posted the following photo of a Chinese Zodiac horoscope wheel:
It’s an interesting zodiac wheel, probably used for some sort of horoscope function. If anyone knows exactly what it does, please let me know.
What I do know is that the Chinese are quite superstitious in general (and that’s obviously a large generalisation). They place a lot of importance on the zodiac and predictions (ie horoscope).
Certain years are good years to have children in, so there’s a boom in children in those years. Likewise with marriages. Conversely, there are bad years as well. I’ve heard of people waiting a year to get married, just because the current year doesn’t produce favourable omens for weddings.
All of this reminds me of an article I read recently on chinese horoscope love compatibility. It’s quite an interesting concept – and more than that, it’s quite a bit of fun too.
Anyway, for the record, the Chinese zodiac is a 12 year cycle, with each year named after one of 12 animals, each with different characteristics. Whichever animal is your zodiac sign is said to have a big influence on your personal traits and also on your fortune. The 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac are:
Interestingly, the cat doesn’t appear in the Chinese Zodiac and legend has it that this is because the rat tricked the cat and took his place.
Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.
Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.
cogdogblog posted a photo:
What can you say about this! An absolute classic, although the subjects of the photo probably don’t realise just how symbolic it is:
The old generation (loyal comrades holding up Chairman Mao’s little red book), replaced by the younger generation (dressed in jeans and a tee-shirt and holding up a mobile phone).
In a way, that sums up just what modern China is like: racing to become a modern super power, but becoming a little Westernised in the process.
Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.
Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.
unfoldedorigami posted some photos:
These photos seem to be of a Chinese Acrobatic Show. I can’t guess where the show is, but it looks good and these photos go really well together.
They really go all out with this sort of thing. The performers will have rehearsed and rehearsed until they near perfection. The lighting and colouring is mesmerising. The costumes and stage settings are fantastic.
If you ever get the chance to see Chinese Acrobatics, don’t miss it!
Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.
Flickr Picks: My favourite China related finds from Flickr, the photo sharing website. Click on the image to visit the photo's home page on Flickr.
MarinaAvila posted a photo:
This is a most impressive stone lion statue. You’ll see statues like this throughout China (and in Chinatowns throughout the world). In fact, it’s a symbol that most people instantly associate with China.
They are often outside banks and other buildings and they always come in pairs. There’ll be another lion statue just outside of this shot. According to About.com’s Chinese Culture section:
A pair of stone lions, a male and a female, can often be seen in front of the gates of traditional buildings. The male lion is on the left with his right paw resting on a ball, and the female on the right with her left paw fondling a cub.
For more information on stone lion statues, check out the article on About.com.
Disclaimer: This photo was not taken by me. It was shared by a third-party on Flickr, under a Creative Commons license. For details on the license, see the photo's home page on the Flickr website.
I’ve never been a big fan of Valentine’s Day and not just because I couldn’t find anyone to share it with! I’ve always seen it as a fabricated ‘commercial’ celebration – more about making money than about lovers.
Living here in China, I should be able to escape such Western customs, right? Wrong! Valentine’s Day is big here in China, especially amongst the youngsters, who seem to soak up anything Western. (more…)
Image Source: Blackpool Fireworks 2006 (China)License
Spring Festival, or Chunjie as it is called here, has begun! Tonight is Chinese New Year’s Eve. I thought I’d write a little bit about what happens in China during the Spring Festival. (more…)
Image Source: Match smokeLicense
This is follow up to my previous post on smoking in China. I just want to highlight a related experience we just had.
Two days after my previous post, a stranger visited our house to look at something we were selling. No sooner than he’d walked in, did he produce a cigarette packet and offer me one. I refused automatically, using wo bu chou this time. He nodded and said something like “oh, bu chou, bu chou, okay” and proceeded to light up. (more…)
Image Source: A smoke after..License
There have been lots of news stories about smoking in China lately. That’s not surprising because smoking plays a very large part in Chinese life. (more…)
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