Why are Chinese so Concerned About Saving Face?

Mianzi, or face is something that Chinese people think about more than any other. Be it the nation's leaders, or its common citizens, the consideration of saving face is always the first thing they think about before they act. Since face is so important, it's worth asking, what exactly is it? What is face? If you check a dictionary, you'll see that the original intended meaning ofmianzi (面子) wa...

Babies bloom in propitious years of the Chinese zodiac

Some obstetric medical workers in Beijing said they have seen an obvious increase of workload this year, and they partly attribute it to the traditional Chinese zodiac. Zhai Guirong, a gynecologist working at a private hospital, said the hospital's obstetrics ward is booked and can't accommodate any more women who are expected to give birth before December."The Chinese zodiac has a great influe...

It's Graduate Season Again

Another graduate season falls again. Fresh graduates around China are busy taking graduation photos to save their precious university memories. The students strike different poses, and are sometimes funny or challenging. Let’s take a look at how creative their photos are. Graduates of Shandong Normal University in Shandong province pose for graduation photos on the campus, May 30, 2012. ...

HK Marks Cheung Chau Bun Festival

The annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival was held on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong, South China, May 6, 2014. Every April on the Chinese lunar calendar, a strange bun festival takes place at Cheung Chau, a tiny, dumbbell-shaped island located about 12 kilometers south of Hong Kong. The four-day celebration falls on the fifth to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month, and what Time.com de...

What the Chinese Don't Eat

I first came to China in 2002 as an exchange student to Hong Kong. One of the first things that surprised me was what the Chinese ate: everything from the Animalia, Plantae, and Fungi kingdoms and everything in between. I was told by one local of the three basic rules of Chinese cooking: "If it flies and it's not an airplane, you can eat it. If it swims and it's not a submarine, you can eat it. ...

The Chinese baby month.

When my wife, Echo gave birth to our son Miles, she had to undergo a “baby month”. During this month a lot odd things happened. Echo wasn’t allowed to eat any fruit, raw vegetables, or drink any cold drinks, every glass of water she had was scalding. She wasn’t allowed to wash her hair for a month. She wasn't allowed to leave the house for over a month. Miles, our new traveler, had to b...

Qingming festival boosts tourism in China

Qingming festival is not only a festival to remember and honor ancestors, but also denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime. Here in Baili Azalea Nature Reserve in Guizhou Province, thousands of tourists are pouring in to get experience the beauty. The reserve has been taken over by a riot of colors as up to 40 different species of azalea are in full bloom.Me...

Firecrackers

Firecrackers are a special product of China. They are also called "bursting weapons" and "cannon weapons" etc. Exploding firecrackers is an important custom during the Spring Festival, dating back over 2,000 years. Firecrackers were originally used to drive away poisonous mists or curb pestilence. Later, with the appearance of gunpowder, niter, sulphur and charcoal et...

Chinese Traditional Concept of Health Preserving

Health preserving is a concept in Chinese traditional medicine to enhance physical fitness, prevent diseases, postpone aging and prolong the life by spiritual toning, therapeutic diets and medicated diet, healthy exercises and other methods. Such concept takes the natural point of view in ancient China as the theoretical basis, such as Five Elements Theory, Yin-yang Theory, Pneumatism and Connec...

Kate Flying

Kite flying is a traditional sports game widely popular among the Chinese people. The kite, dubbed the earliest flying object of man kind, originated from China over 2,000 years ago. Legend has it that in the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Ban, the great building master, made a bird-shaped wooden kite that could fly in the air. After that, paper was used to make kites, which ...