ChinaBog.Com

The Lantern Festival (also called Yuan Xiao Festival) is on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. According to the custom, people start to prepare for the celebration of Lantern Festival to be held on the 14th day of the first Chinese lunar month. Two of the most important things are lanterns and sweet dumplings (called Yuanxiao in Chinese).

“Yuan” literally means first, while “Xiao” refers to night. The Lantern Festival is the first time when we see the full moon in the lunar year. It is traditional festival for family reunion. And the lanterns in various sizes are hung in the trees or somewhere. Besides, the lanterns owners write riddles on a piece of paper and post them on the lanterns in ancient time. If someone knows the solution to riddles, they can pull the paper out and go to the owners to check the answer. If they are right, they can get some small gifts.

Read the rest of this entry »

According to Kyodo News, Air China will terminate the Chongqing to Central Japan International Airport (Centrair) route from March 28, 2010, and it will launch a new route from Chengdu to Centrair on the same day.

This new route will be operated daily with a stopover in Shanghai; it is expected to attract more business travelers and tourists.

Read the rest of this entry »

Following last year’s total solar eclipse on July 22, 2009, the longest this century, the longest annular solar eclipse this millennia will be witnessed in China on January 15. The maximum magnitude annular eclipse (95%) will be visible in Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Henan and Shandong during a period from about 16:40 to 17:05 local time, while other regions will be able to witness a lesser eclipse, lasting from about 15:00 to 18:00 local time.

According to astronomers, the annular solar eclipse is calculated to be the longest one in the next one thousand years, as an eclipse lasting longer than this one won’t occur until 3043. Astronomers said in a statement that the maximum duration for the annular solar eclipse will be 11 minutes and 8 seconds, beginning at 07:06:33 UT over the Indian Ocean.

Read the rest of this entry »

North Myrtle Beach is an excellent beach vacation that offers endless stretches of powdery white sand and the crystal blue Atlantic Ocean. These are all but the beginning of what a truly great vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is all about.

No matter if you are looking for a relaxing break from your daily routine or a vacation filled with activity, you’ll find it all and then some in Myrtle Beach. There is something for your entire family here, including miniature golf, water parkers, fine dining, shopping, and a lot more.

Golf lovers will find paradise in choosing from over 80 pro courses in the Myrtle Beach/North Myrtle Beach areas. When the sun goes down in Myrtle Beach, the fun doesn’t stop. Several fine dining restaurants will tempt you with their delicious food.

Read the rest of this entry »

On Nov 17th, the ever largest group of terra cotta warriors was exhibited in the city of Washington, D.C of the United States.

The exhibition, themed by “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor” officially met the American public yesterday, on Nov 19th.

According to the officials from Shaanxi museum, the exhibition showcased 15 life-size terra cotta figures, including nine warriors, and 100sets of objects, including weapons, stone armor, coins, jade ornaments, roof tiles and decorative bricks, and a bronze crane and swan.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are eight styles of distinct regional cooking  in China. Of them, the most influential and representative ones are the culinary styles of Lu, Chuan, Yue, Min, Su, Zhe, Xiang and Hui.

Each culinary style is inseparable from its long history and influenced by geography, climate, resources, specialties and dining habits of each area. Some descriptions of the eight culinary schools are: the cuisines of Jiangsu and Zhejiang have been compared to delicate beauties of the Yangtze River Delta; those of Shandong and Anhui have been compared to simple but sturdy men of the north; those of Guangdong and Fujian are compared to elegant nobles; those of Sichuan and Hunan are likened to people with substantial and varied accomplishments.

The cooking techniques of each of the Chinese culinary schools are unique and the dishes have their own distinguished characteristics.

Sichuan Cuisine/Chuan Cuisine
Among the eight major schools of China’s culinary art, Sichuan Cuisine is perhaps the most popular one. It is well-known for its hot and pungent flavoring. Sichuan dishes boat a variety of flavors and different methods of cooking. It can be hot, sweet, sour salty or tongue-numbing.

Read the rest of this entry »

To promote Guangxi’s tourism resources and attract more Hong Kong tourists, Guangxi Tourism Administration has signed a tourism cooperation agreement with China National Travel Service (Hong Kong) for the year 2010.

HK CTS will introduce series of Guangxi tourist products to Hong Kong citizens based on different Hong Kong tourist seasons. Apart from the traditional tourist products, it will focus more on sending four or five-day regular groups and eight-day groups to Guangxi.

Read the rest of this entry »

After nearly 20 years of trying to court the Chinese government, the Walt Disney Company has won approval to build a theme park in Shanghai, the largest and riches city in China. The approval, will allow the entertainment giant to make what is expected to be one of the largest-ever foreign investments in China.

The Disneyland Theme Park in Shanghai would eventually sprawl over as much as 1,700 acres of Shanghais Pudong District, and would acquire an investment of as much as 4 billion US dolla…

On November 11, 2009, there will be Bullet trains to start running from Qingdao to Hankou (in Wuhan City, Hubei Province) on November 11th. The train number is D352/3. By then, the whole journey from Qingdao to Hankou will take only 11 hours, and it will be about 10 hours shorter than now. Its the first berth bullet train to run in Wuhan.

It will take only 11 hours and 26 minutes to complete the whole journey, 10 hours and 13 minutes shorter than the previous time. It’s the first berth bullet…

I would like to begin with complementing China highlights Grace on an excellent job on organizing and arranging the itinerary for our memorable Time in China.

Our itinerary was for 32 days that covered a greater proportion of China so the wife and I would see a wide variety of countryside and cities that also included the Chinese culture and history. It is difficult to pin point one single highlight during the tour because of the input we had during the time the itinerary was being developed …