Category Archives: Tour guides

The 8th full moon is the Autumn festival in China — October 6th this year. A celebration after the harvesting season is common in many cultures. China, a pioneer in agriculture, has developed rich and complicated traditions for this festival. … Continue reading →

Xi'An (西安) is the most ancient capital in China. Way back in 250BC, Emperor Qin (秦) united China and made this city its capital. He had a great plan. He will be the 1st and the beginning of generations of … Continue reading →

Chinese pronounce 8 “ba.” August 8th, short for 8-8, sounds like BaBa, exactly the same sound to call one's father. In Taiwan, August 8th is therefore the father's day there. The full moon of the 7th month is the Chinese … Continue reading →

The 7th day of the 7th lunar month is Chinese Valentine's day. That's today (July 31st) this year. There is a touching story behind it. It started with a mortal (Muggle in Harry Potter speech) orphan boy who grew up … Continue reading →

鱼头泡饼 (Yu Tou Pao Bing), by its name, you will probably not venture it. Paul and I were searching for lunch. We walked toward the dumpling (饺子: JiaoZi) restaurant, knowing that is really the fail-safe choice. Just 50 meters before … Continue reading →

This is really an entry about a garden. Mr. HE Shen (和珅, 1746~1799) died with about 800 million ounces of silver in his estate. That was 10 times China's government income. It is hard to imagine who will be wealthier … Continue reading →

Among many dissimilarities of Chinese is its religions, or the lack of an original one. The closest to a “native” religion is a form of multi-theist one. Chinese generally believe all intensive and unique beings that ever existed live forever … Continue reading →

Yue Fei (岳飛, 1103-1141), was my hero. He is the epitome of poignancy in China history. So, so sad. So, so maddening. I blogged about a poem he wrote earlier. Around 1200 A.D., Han people under Song dynasty (宋) was … Continue reading →

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. I am giddy like a kid. Not many times in my life snow flakes fall where I can reach. Clearly snow removal equipment is not a familar concept here. People try … Continue reading →

Don't be fooled by the name. It is worth going. 北京市规划展览馆 is located near 前门 (QianMen) on the east side (前门东大街). It is a modern, 4-story building that exhibits the history and future plan of the city. There is a … Continue reading →