Forbidden City has so much to see
by herzog63
If you want to see all that the Forbidden City has to offer you better have a couple of weeks!! It is huge! Over 800 buildings with tons of stuff to see. I just wandered through some of the pavilions and looked at some of the old stuff that the Emperors of times gone by would have used. It was interesting to see but a little overwhelming for me at the same time. If you want to learn more about the sights of the Forbidden City it would probably be worth hiring a guide as they can fill you in on the cool details. I was just interesting at looking at some stuff and calling that good enough.
Spring Festival (Chun1 jie2) – the story
by ntm2322
According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the first day of the first month of the lunar year is the beginning of the Spring Festival.
In 2008, the Spring Festival begins in February the 7th. It means that February 7th is the first day of the lunar year, the 8th is the second day of the lunar year and so on.
The Spring Festival, commonly called "Chun1 jie2" or “guo4 nian2” (celebrating the New Year) is definitely the most important and “noisiest” (in the good sense) traditional Chinese festival.
There is a story related to this word “nian” (year).
It is said that in ancient times there was a terrible monster called “nian”. Its face was amazingly big, it would eat people as soon as it saw them, and it would harm livestock as soon as it encountered them. As a result God jailed “nian” and allowed him to come out only once a year, more precisely, on the 30th of the twelfth month of the lunar year (it means, in the last day of the lunar year).
However, people discovered that the monster “nian” was afraid of three things
- Red color
- Big noise
- Blaze
Consequently, everybody sticked red papers on the entrances, continuously cracked firecrackers and left the lights lit the whole night. When that monster “nian” came, every household was well illuminated, every door was red and everywhere there was this noise of firecrackers, then “nian” got tremendously frightened and ran away. Since then “nian” never returned again.
And the celebrations of the New Year (xin1 nian2) still have kept these customs just mentioned.
See next tip for “Spring Festival – most important customs”.
My favourite Hutong picture
by egosyncratix
I took this picture secretly of this lady sitting in the hutong but i must mention that I was chided by my friends for not asking her permission first. To the chinese, when you take a picture, some who are superstitious may view it as taking a part of their spirit away....to others, its just an invasion of privacy, so take pictures of people secretly or with their permission (watch out! some may ask for $ just to take pictures with them!)
Buying Jade
by blue_sky04 about --
China is known as the kingdom of jade, and jade is considered as precious stone for Chinese people. The Chinese superstitiously believe that jade could protect people from evil spirit, keep them healthy, & heal sickness.
The darker the green color, the more precious the jade is. Jade with very dark green color is seen as the King of Jade, and its price will be expensive.
Be careful when purchasing jade! Some are “real”, but others are “fake”. Real jade can be differentiated from the fake by checking its color and sound.
Real jade naturally has green color. Fake jade has green color because the color is injected to the stone. If you check the color with specific equipment, you will see its real color. When I visited a jade store in Beijing, the shopkeeper allowed me to test the jade with their color-test equipment. I could see that the real color of the fake jade was “yellow’, not green. Jade expert will be able to differentiate real and fake jade without having to use that color-test equipment.
Additionally, you can check the jade by hearing its sound. If you hit the "real" jade gently with a small iron stick, it will produce a clear sound. The fake jade will not.
When you visit jade stores in China, you may find jade in the shape of a cabbage used as home decoration. It’s a popular shape for Chinese because they believe jadeite cabbage can bring blessing to their house. Jade - jewelry & home decorations
Public Buses
by chewy3326
While taxis may be way more convenient, taking the Beijing public bus system can allow you to meet locals as well as saving you many yuan. A typical ride costs Y1. However, it's essential for you to know your Chinese, because all signs along the bus routes are basically in Chinese. You can basically find a bus stop anywhere in the city, making it very easy to access.
Sign in with Facebook
The Great Wall
Different view of main temple
me
Departure Area
