China Gift Guide

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province and an important industrial, commercial and financial city in southwestern China.Located in one of the country’s richest agricultural plains, Chengdu has 12,390sq.km. By rail, Chengdu is 2,048 km from Beijing and slightly over 2 hours by air of Beijing. The total population surpasses 10 million people.

Chengdu has a history of over 2000 years. During the Three Kingdom Period, the king of Shu moved his capital to this site. At first Chengdu was only a county center. The second year it turned into a metropolis. It developed so fast that the city received the name: Chengdu, which literally meant “becoming a capital”.

During the Western Han Dynasty（206BC~23AD）, the brocade weaving and trade brought so much prosperity to the local area that the government set up a special office in the Southwest of the city to manage brocade weaving and trade business .The city became Known as Jincheng （the Brocade City） afterwards.

Another name was given to Chengdu during the five Dynasties Period（907-960）when Meng Chang （孟昶）, emperor of the Later Shu State was in power .The emperor loved hibiscus very much ,and he had those flowers planted atop the city wall. The hibiscus in blossom made Chengdu colorful for miles around .So Chengdu had another name called Furong Cheng （the Hibiscus City） .

Dated back to the Qin and Han Dynasties, Chengdu was already one of the five top industrial and commercial cities. In the Tang Dynasty Chengdu was as prosperous as Yangzhou（扬州）,a big city located in the south of China. In the Northern Song developed with several huge markets inside the city. Chengdu even had night markets and particular centers, which had exclusive sales of certain commodities.

Traditionally Chengdu has long been well-known for its many crafts: embroidery, lacquer ware, silver artistry, pottery, bamboo ware, silk weaving, Cade are regarded as one of the top four fine silks in china. Near the Du Fu Cottage is a famous embroidery factory where skilled workers stitch out with their needles silk paintings. The elegant designs are perfect to view from both sides of the fabric. In some other workshops, artisans at work carve intricate and elaborate objects of ivory and jade, design precious silver articles, and weave bamboo into useful and beautiful pieces .these workshops are nowadays a part of the tourist circuit as China opens up to the outside world.

Chengdu is pleasantly laid out with broad streets and many public parks .However; some older parts of the city still have narrow streets and sculptured wooden houses. Chengdu has many places of interests to see .The highlights for visitors are DuFu’s Thatched Cottage, the temple of Marquis wu, Dujiang irrigations Project and Precious Light Monastery. Besides, local restaurants serve Sichuan cuisine, which is as famous as Cantonese food .Not all of the Sichuan food is spicy-hot .Flower pedals and herbs are used in such specialties as “fired lotus flower”,” governor’s chicken” and “smoked duck with tea fragrance”.

Finally, I have to mention that Chendu is the hometown of Giant Panda, the world only saves 1,000 pandas, about 80% distribute in Chengdu and the place close to Chengdu city.

When you come to Chongqing, you will not to be surprised to hear that the Chinese believe in the saying “People make food their Heaven”. It would seem that people in Chongqing are never weary of eating. Thousands of restaurants are scattered throughout every corner of the city, fulfiling customers from home and abroad with their different specialties.

As one branch of Sichuan cuisine, Chongqing cuisine is noted for its distinctive spicy and pungent flavors. Different from Chengdu cuisine, Chongqing dishes are spicier and stronger in taste. Chili pepper, sesame, fermented black beans, scallions, ginger, garlic, wine, soy sauce and an array of flavorings are used in almost 40 different cooking methods. These methods include drying, salting, spicing, pickling, frying and smoking. Color, smell, flavor, shape, and nutrition are all carefully balanced in Chongqing dishes – no wonder people say that Chongqing food is not only attractive but nutritious.

HOT POT

Chongqing is the birth place of the hot pot in China. Once upon a time, it was a seasonal food designed to protect against the low temperatures and frigid winds of the winter. People would sit around a table, eat hot pot, and revel in the instant warmth that would flood their bodies. Hot pot has become more and more popular today, and it is widely enjoyed by people and regardless of seasons and regions.

Eating hot pot is a joyful experience. First, you need to choose the pot – spicy, pure or a combination of two – for the soup and dipping sauce. After the spiced soup boils with a hazy steam, fish, meat, bean curds and vegetables can be added. When the soup boils again, you can eat by dipping them in a little bowl of special sauce , be careful of the burning hot soup!

There are three kinds of hot pot. First, the spicy version called ‘Hong tang’or ‘Red soup’. Then, there is basically a bone soup without any spices and tasty, simply asking for ‘Yuan Wei”or telling them ‘Wo Bu Yao La’which means ‘I don’t want the spicy stuff!’ Finally, there is a compromise ‘Yuan Yang Huo Guo’, or called ‘mandarin duck hot pot’ which originally named ‘double taste hot pot’.

In Chongqing, hot pot restaurants can be found everywhere and many have become very popular among the local people. Xiao Tian E (Cygnet Hot-Pot Palace) and Su Da Jie, E Zhang Men are the restaurants most suited for mass consumption. The hot pot restaurants in the Chongqing 5-star Harbour Plaza also serve decent food in a cozy environment.

Sichuan Cuisine (Chuan Cai,Yu Cai)

Of the eight major culinary art of China, Sichuan cuisine is perhaps the most popular at home and abroad. Originating in Sichuan province of the western in china, Chongqing-eastern in Sichuan , Sichuan cuisine, known as chuan cai in Chinese, enjoys deeply the international reputation for being spicy and flavorful. However, the highly distinctive pungency is not its only characteristic, frankly, but also Sichuan cuisine boasts a variety of flavors and different methods of cooking, featuring the taste of hot, and sweet, sour, salty, or tongue-numbing.

Sichuan province, particularly Chongqing , has high humidity and many rainy or overcast days. Hot pepper helps reduce internal dampness, so it was used frequently in dishes, and hot dishes became the norm in Sichuan cuisine. The region’s warm, humid climate also necessitates sophisticated food-preservation techniques which include picking, salting, drying and smoking.

Chongqing, a famous historical and cultural city in China, has a history of more than 3,000 years and a glorious revolutionary tradition. The local culture was originated in the area centered at Chongqing, the place of the ancient Ba.

Human activities can be dated back to the end of the Old Stone Age about 20,000 to 30,000 years ago. In the 11th century B.C. when the Zhou dynasty replaced the Shang dynasty, the Ba people established the State of Ba with present-day Chongqing as its capital. Later the State of Qin, after conquering the State of Ba, divided China into 36 prefectures, and Ba Prefecture, the previous the State of Ba, was one of them.

Chongqing was known as Jiangzhou in ancient times, and later was called Ba Prefecture, Chu Prefecture, Yu Prefecture, and Gong prefecture at different times. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589), Ba Prefecture was named Chu Prefecture, and it was renamed Yu Prefecture in 581 A.D. by Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty (541-604), and since then the area of Chongqing was known as Yu for short. In the Southern Song dynasty (l127–l279) the city’s name was changed to Chongqing–meaning ‘double celebration’–to mark the princedom and en-thronement of Emperor Zhaodun in l l89.

Chongqing had always been an important port, bustling with junks from Sichuan’s hinterlands and neighbouring provinces, and acting as the collection point for the abundant produce of the region, including hides and furs from Tibet, hemp, salt, silk, rhubarb, copper and iron. Under the Qifu Agreement of l890, Chongqing was opened to foreign trade. This marked the beginning of the exciting history of steamboat navigation from Yichang through the treacherous gorges to Chongqing, a development aimed at opening up the riches of Sichuan to trade with the outside world. By the early part of this century, a massive trade in opium grown in southwest China had sprung up, abetted by warlord factionalism and greed.

In 1939, during the Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist Guomindang government of China moved the capital from Nanjing to Chongqing, and on the south bank of the Yangtze foreign delegations built substantial quarters, which can be seen from the river. The airstrip used then can still be seen on the Penghu Sandbar as one crosses the Yangtze River Bridge. The Guomindang government headquarters is now the People’s City Government Offices (only the gateway is left of that period), situated just opposite the Renmin Hotel.

During the Sino-Japanese War (l937–45), Chongqing’s notorious foggy weather conditions probably saved the city from complete devastation, for only on clear days could the Japanese bombers, which flew over in 20-minute waves, succeed in accurately dropping their thousands of bombs.

In the early years after the founding of New China, Chongqing served as the seat of Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the seat of the Southwest Military and Administrative Commission, and the political, economic, and cultural centers of Southwest China, and was a municipality directly under the central government.

In 1954, Chongqing became a city under the government of Sichuan province when the Southwest China administration division was removed.

In 1983, Chongqing became China’s first pilot city in comprehensive reform of China’s economic system and became the first city listed in the State budget with the authority in the management of economic affairs of the provincial level.

In 1992, Chongqing became a riparian open city.

On March 14, 1997, Chongqing became China’s fourth municipality directly under the central government, the only one in west China, when a bill was approved at the Fifth Session of the Eighth National People’s Congress, opening a new chapter in the history of Chongqing.

Chongqing is the only municipality directly under the central government in western China. Located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Chongqing is southwest China’s biggest industrial and commercial center, communication hub and inland port.

Chongqing is situated at 105`17′-110`11′ E and 28`10′-32`13′ N, at the transitional area between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the plain on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in the sub-tropical climate zone swept by the moist monsoon. It has a total annual sunshine time of 1,000 to 1,200 hours. It has mild winter, hot summers, long frost-free periods and ample rain, as well as warm, wet and cloudy days, with rain and heat occurring in the same season. It has an annual rainfall of 1,000-1,400 mm. It often rains at night in late spring and early summer, and thus the city is famous for its “night rain in the Ba Mountains”. The land under Chongqing’s jurisdiction is 470 kilometers from east to west, and 450 kilometers from north to south. It borders on Hubei and Hunan provinces in the east, Guizhou in the south, Sichuan in the west and north and Shaanxi Province at its northeast corner.

Since its founding 3,000 years ago, Chongqing has been called Jiangzhou, Yuzhou, and Gongzhou, before getting its present name nearly 800 years ago. Since the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC), many dynasties have set up administrative institutions that have endowed the city with brilliant cultures. Perched beside the Yangtze, the “Golden River,” Chongqing symbolizes Yangtze River civilizations and is the cradle of Bayu culture.

Today, Chongqing is a modern city, China’s fourth municipality after Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. Within its borders Chongqing encompasses a wealth of water reserves, mineral resources, dense forests, and abundant flora and fauna. The focal point of the unique Yangtze Three Gorges Dam, Chongqing is a tourist attraction as well as a commercial city.

The Double Ninth Day is observed, as one of the traditional festivals, by Chinese on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month.

The festival began as early as the Warring States Period (475 – 221 BC). According to the yin/yang dichotomy that forms a basis to the Chinese world view, yin represents the elements of darkness and yang represents life and brightness. The number nine is regarded as yang. The ninth day of the ninth month is a double yang day, hence the name “Chong Yang Festival”. (Chong means “repeat” in Chinese.) The ninth month also heralds the approach of winter. It is a time when the living need warm clothing, and filial Chinese sons and daughters extended this to make the festival a time for providing winter clothes for their ancestors. The Double Ninth Festival, therefore, also became an occasion to visit the graves of dead family members. Clothes made of paper would then be burnt as offerings.

People like to climb heights (mountains) on this festival, so Double Ninth Festival is also called “Mountain-climbing Festival “. The 9th lunar month, with clear autumn sky and bracing air, is a good time for sightseeing. An outing lover, who stands on a height looking afar in the month, will have a panoramic view of a blue sky with pale clouds and dark green mountains, which makes him feel carefree and joyful. So people, both ancient and present, love to go sightseeing this month. People in the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AC) liked to ascend a height in the suburbs of Chang’an (the then national capital and present Xi’an) on the 9th day of the month to enjoy sceneries, the activity being known as height ascending; people, in the Three Kingdoms period (220-265) and the Jin Dynasty (265-420), even more liked the activity to feast their eyes on the autumn country view; sightseers in the Chang’an on the day, a man-made tourist attraction with the Qu’jiang Pool, the Ci’en Temple and the Wild Goose Pagoda to its southwest; the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) emperors liked to ascend the Wanshou Hill in Beijing to mark the day; and the Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) emperors chose to ascend, on the day, the man-built hills in the imperial garden in Beijing.

It is really refreshing to climb mountains and enjoy the beauty of nature at this bright and clear time in autumn. Climbing mountains on Double Ninth Festival was already prevailing in the Tang Dynasty, and a lot of poems were devoted to this custom, such as “On the Ninth Day of the Ninth Lunar Festival: Thinking of My Brothers In Shandong” written by the great poet Wang Wei (701-761) in the Tang Dynasty:

All alone in a foreign land.
I am twice as homesick on this day.
When brothers carry dogwood up the mountain,
Each of them a branch, and my branch missing.

Apart from expelling bad luck and disasters, climbing mounting also indicates “climbing to a higher position”, and it is also an important reason why ancient people pay much attention about this custom. Another reason that climbing mountains are valued by people, especially by the elderly is that is has a meaning of “climb to a longevous life”. Also for this reason people believe that climbing mountains can make people live a more longevous life.

The Double Ninth Festival is also a time when chrysanthemum blooms. China boasts diversified species of chrysanthemum and people have loved them since ancient times. So enjoying the flourishing chrysanthemum also becomes a key activity on this festival.

Chrysanthemum originated in China and was recorded in some Chinese books as early as the 5th century B.C. The flower was introduced, as imperial flower, into Japan in the Tang Dynasty. Then it was introduced into Britain in the 12th century, into the continent of Europe in the 17th century, and into the USA in the 19th century. Also known as “yellow flower”, chrysanthemum is of varied species in the composite family. Though its florescence lasts long, this perennial herb usually begins to bloom in the 9th lunar month, lending much festive flavor to the Double Ninth Day. That’s why the month is also referred to as “the month of chrysanthemum”. The flower was favored by poets through the ages. It is said that Tao Yuanming, a famous poet of the Jin Dynasty, grew many species of chrysanthemum while he lived as hermit and the flower, when in full bloom, drew many of Tao’s relatives and friends. Huang Cao, leader of the peasant uprising in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a lot of poems about chrysanthemum, which were compiled into an anthology of Chrysanthemum and, even now, are oft-quoted. Du Fu, a great Tang Dynasty poet, wrote more than ten poems singing the praises of the flower.

Chinese folks were fond of enjoying chrysanthemum on the Double Ninth Day long before. Chrysanthemum blossom in the ninth lunar month have a beautiful name of “flower of longevity”. The custom of wearing chrysanthemum appeared in the Tang Dynasty already and was always very popular throughout the time afterwards. The entrances of some taverns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) were decorated with the flowers on the day, which was supposed to incite customers’ desire for wine. Chrysanthemum displays were usually held immediately after the day in some regions of China in the Qing Dynasty. People in Beijing began to stick the chrysanthemums on doors and windows to “get rid of the bad luck and bring in the good ones” which is an alteration of the custom of wearing Chrysanthemum on head. At these displays people might enjoy chrysanthemum flowers, take part in poem-composing competitions or watch painters drawing paintings of chrysanthemum flowers. The display was often lively with a sea of visitors.

Also, people will drink chrysanthemum wine. Women used to stick such a flower into their hair or hang its branches on windows or doors to avoid evilness. It was originally a day for farmers to celebrate bumper harvests of crops. The festival was born in the Warring States period (475-221 BC), became popular in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AC), At that time, Queen Lu was so jealous of Concubine QI, who is one of the favorite of Liu Bang (the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, 256 or 247-195 BC), that she ill-treated the latter and drove her maid out of the imperial palace to marry a common people. This maid, who is known as Miss Jia, told people that in the imperial palace, every ninth day of the ninth lunar month, they wear in hair small cornel twigs (dogwoods) and drink chrysanthemum wine, otherwise there would be disasters. Later many common people followed the custom and it gradually prevailed all over the country.

The chrysanthemum flower wine is unique in brewing. In ancient time’s people, some say, usually picked fresh chrysanthemum flowers and leaves on the 9th of the 9th lunar month, and brewed the mixture of them and grains into the wine, which would not be drunk until the same day next year. The wine is said to have wholesome effects on sharpness of the eye, alleviation of headache, drop of hypertension, reduction of weight and removal of stomach trouble, thus contributing to longevity. It is said that the drinkers of the chrysanthemum wine would be free from evil and have strong physique against cold weather.

The chrysanthemum wine, infused with cornel twigs (dogwood) fruit, has wholesome effects on assuagement of pain and regulation of the flow of vital energy. While climbing mountains on the Double Ninth Day, ancient Chinese liked to wear cornel twigs (dogwood) in their hair and drank the wine.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important festivities in China, According to Chinese lunar calendar, the 15th day of the 8th month is the exact midst of autumn, so it’s called the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is an evening celebration when families gather together to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate the round moon. On that night, the moon appears to be at its roundest and brightest. The full moon is a symbol for family reunion, which is why that day is also known as the Festival of Reunion.

The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations date back to more than 2,000 years ago. In feudal times, Chinese emperors prayed to Heaven for a prosperous year. They chose the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month to worship the sun and the night of the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to hold a ceremony in praise of the moon. In the western district of Beijing is the Yuetan Park, which originally was the Temple of Moon, and every year the emperor would go there to offer a sacrifice to the moon.

This ancient custom became prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) that people enjoyed and worshipped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. When it turned dark, they gazed up at the full silver moon or went sightseeing by lakes, to celebrate the festival.

Since the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties (1644-1911), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration has become unprecedentedly popular. Together with the celebration appeared some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances, etc. Whenever the festival sets in, people would look up at the full silver moon, drinking wine to celebrate their happy life, or thinking of their relatives and friends far from home and extending all of their best wishes to them.

This day was also considered a harvest festival since fruits, vegetables and grain had been harvested by this time and food was abundant. With delinquent accounts settled prior to the festival , it was a time for relaxation and celebration. Food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Apples, pears, peaches, grapes, pomegranates , melons, oranges and pomelos might be seen. Special foods for the festival included moon cakes, cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight. Of all these foods, it could not be omitted from the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The round moon cakes, measuring about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. Traditionally, thirteen moon cakes were piled in a pyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a “complete year,” that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon.

There is this story about the moon-cake. during the Yuan dynasty (A.D. 1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D. 960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to the foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Backed into each moon caked was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attached and overthrew the government. Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend and was called the Moon Cake.

For generations, moon cakes have been made with sweet fillings of nuts, mashed red beans, lotus-seed paste or Chinese dates, wrapped in a pastry. Sometimes a cooked egg yolk can be found in the middle of the rich tasting dessert. People compare moon cakes to the plum pudding and fruit cakes which are served in the English holiday seasons.Nowadays, there are hundreds varieties of moon cakes on sale a month before the arrival of Moon Festival.

There are many beautiful legends about the moon in China. the most popular one tells how a goddess named Chang’e ascended to the moon.

A long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth. Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes. The trees and grass were scorched. The land was cracked and parched, and rivers ran dry. Many people died of hunger and thirst.

The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help. When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.

One day, a charming young woman, Chang’e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo contaiver, A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang’e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi. Inviting him to drink, Chang’e plucks a beautiful flower and gives it to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.

A mortal’s life is limited, of course. So in order to enjoy his happy life with Chang’e forever, Hou Yi decides to look for an elixir of life.He goes to the Kunlun Mountains where the Western Queen Mother lives.

Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, a fine powder made from kerndls of fruit which grows on the tree of eternity. At the same time, she tells him:If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal.

Hou Yi returns home and tells his wife all that has happened and they decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.

A wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng secretly hears about their plan.He wishes Hou Yi an early death so that he can drink the elixir himeslf and become immortal.His opportunity finally arrives. One day,when the full moon is rising, Hou Yi is on his way home from hunting. Feng Meng kills him. The murderer then runs to Hou Yi’s home and forces Chang’e to give him the elixir, Without hesitating, Chang’e picks up the elixir and drinks it all.

Overcome with grief, Chang’e rushes to her dead husband’s sied, weeping bitterly.Soon the elixir begins to have its effect and Chang’e feels herself being lifted towards Heaven.

Chang’e decides to live on the moon because it is nearest to the earth. There she lives a simple and contented life. Even though she is in Heaven, her heart remains in the world of mortals. Never does she forget the deep love she has for Hou Yi and the love she feels for the people who have shared their sadness and happiness.

Another legend explained the role of the Old Man on the Moon, the Divine Match-maker. The Chinese believed that marriages were made in Heaven but prepared on the moon. The Old Man on the Moon tied the feet of young men and women with red cords for marriage. Thus a maiden made offerings and prayed to him during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping that some day she would ride in the red bridal sedan chair.

On the 14 of lunar August, one day before the moon festival evening, we call this evening the “Moon Welcoming”. The moon has almost reached it’s roundest and fullest shape. You may start to walk about on the streets with your lantern.

On the 15 of lunar August, the moon festival, the moon is in the best shape this night. Families will get together to have dinner for a reunion. Problem arise if you are married. Which parents should the couple have dinner with on this night? Maybe it depends whether the husband or wife is more subservient or easy-going. Or one can simply have dinner with one parents-in-law on the Saturday before the festival and Sunday for another parents-in-law and not to see them on the festival day. In this case, no one will be upset.

ok.. after we have sorted out the gifts and dinner arrangement, we can enjoy the festival at last. You can either stay at home sitting by the balcony or you can go on to the streets with your lanterns. It’s also an excuse for children to play with candles. “Wax-boiling” in an empty moon-cake tin is one favourite activity though it leaves a big mess on the street and the beach!

On the 16 of lunar August, the day after moon festival, people still go on the street or beaches to admire the moon. We called it “Moon chasing”.

After the festival,

1. the cleaning crew have to clean the streets and beaches.

2. Moon cakes are much cheaper now and one may start their new moon-cake installment plan

3. go on diet if you have put on too much weight after eating all those moon cakes!

Falling on the seventh day of seventh lunar month, double seventh festival, also known as Qiqiao Festival or Girls’ Festival, is the most romantic festival among all Chinese traditional festivals. This festival is in mid-summer when the weather is warm and the grass and trees reveal their luxurious greens. At night when the sky is dotted with stars, and people can see the Milky Way spanning from the north to the south. On each bank of it is a bright star, which see each other from afar. They are the Cowherd and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a beautiful love story passed down from generation to generation.

Long time ago, there was a poor cowherd, Niulang. His parents died and he lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law, who were both mean and treat Niulang badly. They kicked Niulang out of the house and left him old clothes and an old ox.

Niulang built a cottage at the foot of mountain and took good care of that old ox. One day the ox spoke to him and told that it used to be Taurus, a proud star in the night sky but was published due to his violation to law of the Heavenly Palace. The old ox told Niulang some goodness would come to the pond not far away from his cottage for having a bath; Zhinu was among them, who is daughter of king in Heaven, the kind and the most beautiful; If he could take her clothes away, she would left and become his wife.

Niulang listened to the old ox, and went to the pond at appointed day. When the goddness came and took off their silk ropes then jumped into the water. Niulang found Zhinu’s clothes and hide away. Other goddesses witnessed Niulang and dressed up quickly and flew away, only Zhinu left. He had adored her from the first moment he saw her. They looked into each other’s eyes. The heavenly girl told the poor cowherd that she would be his wife.

The soon got married lived together in that cottage. Niulang worked hard to grow crops and Zhinu raised silkworms. They lived a simple but happy life, with a little boy and girl Zhinu give birth afterwards.

One day the old ox died and they preserve its hide according to its words left. At the same time, the king and queen of the heaven found that Zhinu married a man and had babies. The queen flew down to earth with her solders and caught Zhinu away. Niulang came back home and found Zhinu not at home, only the children left. The babies cried and told him where Zhinu was going. Niulang remembered what the old ox told him and placed the twins in wicker baskets on a pole to carry on his shoulder, put on the magic hide, and flew up, up into the sky. The queen noticed that Niulang was following them, she became angry, with wave of her arm, and a raging torrent immediately appeared between her group and Niulang. He could not get past this wide swollen river. Heartbroken, Niulang and his children could only look and weep bitterly. The King in his Heavenly Palace was moved by the sound of their crying, and decided to allow Niulang and Zhinu to meet once a year on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month.

This sad love story was passed down from ancient times, with little magpies were seen on double seventh day, as most of them fly to Milky River to form a bridge for the annual meeting of Niulang and Zhinu.

While the customs of this festival varies according to the different regions, the same hope is cherished by all.

The most prevalent custom is that of girls praying to Zhi Nu for skillful hands for sewing. Because Zhi Nu is regarded as a beautiful woman deft at weaving, in the evening of the festival, girls sew some articles to compete with each other and prepare some delicious fruits to worship Zhi Nu in order to be endowed with the masterly sewing skill. Not only hoping for this skill, they also pray to have a sweet love.

In the rural regions of China, people usually see the meeting of Niu Lang and Zhi Nu as two stars in the sky. At the same time, the old people tell the young about this old love legend.

Today some traditional customs are still observed in rural areas of China, but have been weakened or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root in the hearts of the people. In recent years, in particular, urban youths have celebrated it as Valentine’s Day in China. As a result, owners of flower shops, bars and stores are full of joy as they sell more commodities for love.

Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and together with Chinese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival forms one of the three major Chinese holidays. Since the summer is a time when diseases most easily spread, Dragon Boat Festival began as an occasion for driving off evil spirits and pestilence and for finding peace in one’s life. The festival was later enriched by the legend of the patriot Chu Yuan.

There are many legends about the evolution of the festival, the most popular of which is in commemoration of Qu Yuan (340-278 BC). Qu Yuan was minister of the State of Chu and one of China’s earliest poets. In face of great pressure from the powerful Qin State, he advocated enriching the country and strengthening its military forces so as to fight against the Qin. However, he was opposed by aristocrats headed by Zi Lan, and later deposed and exiled by King Huai. In his exiled days, he still cared much for his country and people and composed immortal poems including Li Sao (The Lament), Tian Wen (Heavenly Questions) and Jiu Ge (Nine Songs), which had far-reaching influences. In 278 BC, he heard the news that Qin troops had finally conquered Chu’s capital, so he finished his last piece Huai Sha (Embracing Sand) and plunged himself into the Miluo River, clasping his arms to a large stone. The day happened to be the 5th of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar. After his death, the people of Chu crowded to the bank of the river to pay their respects to him. The fishermen sailed their boats up and down the river to look for his body. People threw into the water zongzi (pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves) and eggs to divert possible fish or shrimp from attacking his body. An old doctor poured a jug of reaglar wine (Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar) into the water, hoping to turn all aquatic beasts drunk. That’s why people later followed the customs such as dragon boat racing, eating zongzi and drinking realgar wine on that day.

Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part of the festival, held all over the country. As the gun is fired, people will see racers in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums, speeding toward their destination. Folk tales say the game originates from the activities of seeking Qu Yuan’s body, but experts, after painstaking and meticulous research, conclude that dragon boat racing is a semi-religious, semi-entertaining program from the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). In the following thousands of years, the game spread to Japan, Vietnam and Britain as well as China’s Taiwan and Hong Kong. Now dragon boat racing has developed into an aquatic sports item which features both Chinese tradition and modern sporting spirit. In 1980, it was listed into the state sports competition programs and has since been held every year. The award is called “Qu Yuan Cup.”

Zongzi is an essential food of the Dragon Boat Festival. It is said that people ate them in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). In early times, it was only glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in reed or other plant leaves and tied with colored thread, but now the fillings are more diversified, including jujube and bean paste, fresh meat, and ham and egg yolk. If time permits, people will soak glutinous rice, wash reed leaves and wrap up zongzi themselves. Otherwise, they will go to shops to buy whatever stuff they want. The custom of eating zongzi is now popular in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

On Dragon Boat Festival, parents also need to dress their children up with a perfume pouch. They first sew little bags with colorful silk cloth, then fill the bags with perfumes or herbal medicines, and finally string them with silk threads. The perfume pouch will be hung around the neck or tied to the front of a garment as an ornament. They are said to be able to ward off evil.

The Qingming (Pure Brightness) Festival is one of the 24 seasonal division points in China, falling on April 4-6 each year. After the festival, the temperature will rise up and rainfall increases. It is the high time for spring plowing and sowing. But the Qingming Festival is not only a seasonal point to guide farm work, it is more a festival of commemoration.

This is the most important day of sacrifice. Both the Han and minority ethnic groups at this time offer sacrifices to their ancestors and sweep the tombs of the deceased. Also, they will not cook on this day and only cold food is served. Before we talk about Qingming, we must say something about another ancient event, Hanshi, which always comes one day before Qingming.

Hanshi literally meanscold food.It is said that in the seventh century BC during the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Xiao was the monarch of the state of Jin. His eldest son, Shen Sheng should have inherited the throne on the death of his father. But Duke Xiao had other plans. He wanted the son of his favorite concubine, Li Ji,to succeed him as the ruler of Jin. Not exactly a loving father, Duke Xiao had Shen Sheng murdered and would have done the same to his second eldest son, Chong’er, But Chong’er got wind of this and fled.

For 19long years, Chong’er and his entourage of loyal officials and servants wandered homeless, no sterangers to cold and hunger. One day, Chong ‘er was actually starving and close to death. one of his most faithful followers, Jie Zitui, cut a slice of muscle from his own leg and served it to his master, thereby saving his life. Finally in 636 BC ,Chong’er managed to take the throne that was tightfully his and took the official title of Duke Wen of the state of Jin.

After becoming the ruler of the state, Chong’er decided to reward the officials who had stayed with him through his years of wandering. But he forgot about Jie Zitui who had sacrificed the flesh of his leg. Jie Zitui was heartbroken and went away. Later Chong’er remembered Jie Zitui’s sacrifice and sent people to look for him. Eventually they found him. Chong’er went in person to apologize and ask him to return to the royal court. But Jie itui left them and went deep into the mountains, so no one could find him again. Someone advised Chong’er to set fire to the area in order to force Jie Zitui into the open, where he could be talked into returning to the comforts of life in the royal house. Chong’er took this advice and set fire to the mountain where Jie Zitui was believed to be hiding. The fires raged for three days and Jie Zitui was found leaning against a large tree, carrying his old mother on his back. Both Jie Zitui and his mother were dead .

Chong’er was deeply saddened by this tragedy. He ordered that a temple be built in memory of his most loyal follower. he also ordered that no fires were allowed on the anniversary of Jie Zitui’s death. So people had to eat their cold food on that day, or the day of Hanshi. In addition, people began to visit Jie Zitui’s tomb and pay their respects to his memory.

Cold Food
By Han Hong (Tang Dynasty)

All over the capital catkins flew wantonly,
A scene of the spring so significant,
On Cold Foodthe east wind willfjlly,
Made the imperial willows slant;
Now as the dusk approached quietly,
Within the Han palace candles glowed,
Towards the five mansions of nobility,
The silvery smoke of the tapers flowed.

It was not until the Qing Dynasty about 300 years ago that the practice of Hanshi or eating cold food was replaced by that of Qingming , which had now become an important occasion for people to offer sacrifices to their ancestors.

In ancient China, Qingming was by no means the only time when sacrifices were made to ancestors. In fact such ceremonies were held very frequently, about every two weeks, in addition to other important holidaysand festivals. The formalities of these ceremonies were in general very elaborate and expensive in terms of time and money.

In an effort to reduce this expense, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty declared in 732 AD that respects would be fomally paid at the tombs of ancestors only on the day of Qingming.This is the custom that continues to date. People will visit their ancestors’ graves. They will tidy up, remove weeds and sweep away leaves. This is why Qingming is also known as the Grave Sweeping Day. Beijing’s subway is particularly crowded around Qingming as people flock to Babaoshan, Beijing’s most famous cemetery and crematorium, to pay respects to their departed loved ones.

Now, On each Qingming Festival, all cemeteries are crowded with people who came to sweep tombs and offer sacrifices. Traffic on the way to the cemeteries becomes extremely jammed. The customs have been greatly simplified today. After slightly sweeping the tombs, people offer food, flowers and favorites of the dead, then burn incense and paper money and bow before the memorial tablet.

In contrast to the sadness of the tomb sweepers, people also enjoy hope of Spring on this day. The Qingming Festival is a time when the sun shines brightly, the trees and grass become green and nature is again lively. Since ancient times, people have followed the custom of Spring outings. At this time tourists are everywhere.

People love to fly kites during the Qingming Festival. Kite flying is actually not limited to the Qingming Festival. Its uniqueness lies in that people fly kites not during the day, but also at night. A string of little lanterns tied onto the kite or the thread look like shining stars, and therefore, are called “god’s lanterns.”

The Qingming Festival is also a time to plant trees, for the survival rate of saplings is high and trees grow fast later. In the past, the Qingming Festival was called “Arbor Day”. But since 1979, “Arbor Day” was settled as March 12 according to the Gregorian calendar.

The Chinese people have a custom of enjoying lanterns on Lantern Festival, which is said as “holding ceremonies of festival lantern on the 15th day of the first lunar month.” The custom come from the Taoist “Theory of There Yuan”: the 15th day of the first lunar month is Shangyuan Festival; that of the seventh lunar month is Zhongyuan Festivals; and that of the tenth lunar month is Xiayuan Festival. These three yuan are in the charge of three officials: heaven, earth and human world respectively. The official of heaven likes joyful things, so lanterns should be lit on Shangyuan Festival.

Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala performances.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems which describe this happy scene.

In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China.Colorful glass and even jade were used to make lanterns, with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.

However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area set aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. Even today,there is a place in Beijing called Dengshikou.In Chinese,Deng means lantern and Shi is market.The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the day.In the evening, the local people would go there to see the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.

There are many different beliefs about the origin of the Lantern Festival.But one thing for sure is that it had something to do with religious worship.

One legend tells us that it was a time to worship Taiyi, the God of Heaven in ancient times. The belief was that the God of Heaven controlled the destiny of the human world. He had sixteen dragons at his beck and call and he decided when to inflict drought,storms, fafmine or pestilence upon human beings.Beginning with Qinshihuang, the first emperor to unite the country, all subsequent emperors ordered splendid ceremonies each year. The emperor would ask Taiyi to bring favorable weather and good health to him and his people. Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty directed special attention to this event. In 104 BC,he proclaimed it one of the most important celebrations and the ceremony would last throughout the night.

Another legend associates the Lantern Festival with Taoism. Tianguan is the Taoist god responsible for good fortune. His birthday falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month. It is said that Tianguan likes all types of entertainment. So followers prepare various kinds of activities during which they pray for good fortune.

The third story about the origin of the festival boes like this. Buddhism first entered China during the reign of Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty. That was in the first century. However, it did not exert any great influence among the Chinese people. one day, Emperor Mingdi had a dream about a gold man in his palace. At the very moment when he was about to ask the mysterious figure who he was, the gold man suddenly rose to the sky and disappeared in the west. The next day, Emperor Mingdi sent a scholar to India on a pilgrimage to locate Buddhist scriptures. After joumeying thousands of miles,the scholar finally returned with the scriptures. Emperor Mingdi ordered that a temple be built to house a statue of Buddha and serve as a repository for the scriptures. Followers believe that the power of Buddha can dispel darkness.So Emperor Mingdi ordered his subjects to display lighted lanterns during what was to become the Lantern Festival.

Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. People enjoy the brightly lit night. Lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in the streets, attracting countless visitors. Children will hold self-made or bought lanterns to stroll with on the streets, extremely excited.

“Guessing lantern riddles”is an essential part of the Festival. Lantern owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns. If visitors have solutions to the riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the lantern owners to check their answer. If they are right, they will get a little gift. The activity emerged during people’s enjoyment of lanterns in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). As riddle guessing is interesting and full of wisdom, it has become popular among all social strata

Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.

The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts, sesame, osmanthus flowers, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste. A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat, vegetables or a mixture.

The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in southern provinceds is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a hole, insert the filling, then close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands.In North China,sweeet or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are pressed into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and rolled a second time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.

The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.

In the daytime of the Festival, performances such as a dragon lantern dance, a lion dance, a land boat dance, a yangge dance, walking on stilts and beating drums while dancing will be staged. On the night, except for magnificent lanterns, fireworks form a beautiful scene. Most families spare some fireworks from the Spring Festival and let them off in the Lantern Festival. Some local governments will even organize a fireworks party. On the night when the first full moon enters the New Year, people become really intoxicated by the imposing fireworks and bright moon in the sky.