China Cultural Chronicles December 21, 2012
- Two Priests
Purple Field has added a photo to the pool:
Camera: Minolta α-7
Lens: Tamron zoom 28-75mm/f2.8
Film: Fuji Provia 100F
Date: December, 2011 - Talking
Purple Field has added a photo to the pool:
Camera: Minolta α-7
Lens: Tamron zoom 28-75mm/f2.8
Film: Fuji Provia 100F
Date: December, 2011 - Pilgrims with Children
Purple Field has added a photo to the pool:
Camera: Minolta α-7
Lens: Tamron zoom 28-75mm/f2.8
Film: Fuji Provia 100F
Date: December, 2011 - 'brug (dragon, thunder, lightning, whirlwind) in tibetan script.
Levente Bakos has added a photo to the pool:
- 'brug (dragon, thunder, lightning, whirlwind) in tibetan script.
Levente Bakos has added a photo to the pool:
- "It is not enough simply to look at food: you need to eat it. It is not enough simply to hear the Dharma: you must meditate." Milarepa
Levente Bakos has added a photo to the pool:
zas mthong bas mi chog za dgos par 'dug / chos go bas mi chog sgom dgos par 'dug /
- Old lady in Hubei province
- Huanan narrow gauge line
- Shandong Museum listed in China's national first-level museums
A visitor views puppets depicting a guard of honor in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) at the Shandong Museum in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 18, 2012. The Shandong Museum has been listed among the second batch of China's national first-level museums, according to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. [Xinhua]
- Spend this winter vacation with Egrets in Sanya
- Ramble in Guangzhou to read west side stories
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下载安装Flash播放器The Chen Family Temple is a historical gem hidden in the concrete jungle of skyscrapers in the heart of Guangzhou.
While the rest of the metropolis gallops forward, a district on the west side of Guangzhou has wound down for a nostalgic embrace of its graceful past, says Raymond Zhou.
When I was a graduate student in the early 1980s, Guangzhou had only two bridges across the Pearl River, and what is now the center of town in Tianhe was still an endless swath of rice paddies. I would ride a bicycle along Haizhu Bridge and the boulevard that used to be the axis of the city.
As the city expands, mostly toward the east and the south, instead of being drowned in a canyon of skyscrapers, old Guangzhou has emerged in its regained glory of a century ago. Liwan district was the old commercial hub, with trading companies (most notably Sup Sam Hung) and retailers as well as residential buildings so unique they were given the name Xiguan manor.
Xiguan literally means "outside the west gate", but the city gate was demolished early in the 20th century and the 16.2-sq-km housing 700,000 residents is now officially Liwan district.
I never knew there was a Liwan Creek, one of a dozen that crisscross the city. That was once swallowed up by heaps of unseemly buildings. Now, a walkway has been created along the creek, which has been dredged and removed of its stench.
Old structures along the banks have been cleaned and retouched. You may even chance upon a wedding procession or a Cantonese Opera show that adds a punchy splash of color to the scenery.
The area used to have as many as 800 manors, two-story elongated houses (10 meters by 40 meters) the wealthy had built for their families. Now, only a dozen remain in their original form.
What distinguishes the Xiguan manor from private homes in other parts of southern China is the entrance: It has three doors, a swinging door similar to a saloon in the American frontier, a sliding gate with horizontal bars to keep the draft in and burglars out, and the real door.
What distinguishes the Xiguan manor from private homes in other parts of southern China is the entrance: It has three doors, a swinging door similar to a saloon in the American frontier, a sliding gate with horizontal bars to keep the draft in and burglars out, and the real door.
Not surprisingly, kids would use the barred door as an ad hoc playground and the naughty ones might even get their heads stuck between the bars.
Those who lived in Xiguan had money but little political power, which tended to congregate on the east side of town, which was, until recently, known as Dongshan district. So, the merchants would educate their daughters in one of the 300 family schools and marry them to young men who lived on the east.
The practice was obviously so common that the terms "Miss Xiguan" and "Master Dongshan" went into vogue.
Nowadays, visitors would most likely ramble along Shang Xia Jiu High Street, a pedestrian avenue lined with hundreds of tourist-friendly stores.
But even if you are not interested in antiques, artifacts or local crafts, you'll probably be unable to resist the temptation of local snacks. It is said that the variety is so rich, you'll not run out of choices if you tasted one a day.
Well, some of them are available at a typical Cantonese tea and breakfast, so you'd better savor those that you don't find elsewhere.
- Hope for convenient exit and entry
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下载安装Flash播放器Laurence Huang, a Chinese-American scholar specialized in the science of education, feels a bit troublesome when thinking about going back to China now. She will be required to submit an invitation letter every time she applies for a Chinese visa, according to a new law passed in June.
"I had hoped the new exit and entry law would bring us more convenience and better service," Huang said, "but the letter issue seems to me an extra trouble."
But there are also good signals. The new Exit & Entry Administration Law, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2013, stipulates that foreign "talents", for the first time, will be granted regular Chinese visas.
It reflects the concept of "skilled immigration", said Professor Liu Guofu, an immigration law expert from the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT).
China does not have a migration law. The country passed two laws on the exit and entry of Chinese citizens and foreigners, respectively, in 1985. The new law aims to build a unified exit and entry information platform by combining the two together.
One of the objectives in revising the laws is to facilitate the entry of overseas talents. "China's demographic dividend is dwindling. Talents will be crucial to the country's continued development in the following three decades," said Dr. Wang Huiyao, director general of the Center for China and Globalization, a subsidiary of China Western Returned Scholars Association.
Many of the overseas talents are Chinese nationals who have lived abroad either with or without foreign resident or citizen status. Since China carried out the reform and opening up policy in the late 1970s, about 10 million people have left the Chinese mainland, and more than half of them have stayed abroad, Wang said.
With China's rapid economic growth, many of them have come back to seek better development opportunities during the past decade. Official statistics show that the total of both Chinese and foreigners exiting or entering China climbed to 411 million in 2011, 10.08 times that of 1985.
However, many returnees complained that the often frustrating experiences of applying and waiting for approval to enter China have made them feel "unwelcome" in their motherland.
"The flights from New York City to China are packed almost every day," Laurence Huang said, "It's understandable that the Chinese government shall tighten its administration on foreigners' exit and entry. But the new requirements such as invitation letter, which is so easily available, may not help."
"I don't know whether I will be classified as a 'talent' or not, and I will keep a close eye on it," said Huang, who acquired US citizenship in 1995.
Liu Guofu considered the term "talent" over-simplified. "The new law does not give a definition of talents or describe how they are assessed. The general account makes it difficult to implement."
Liu hoped there will be further explanations about the talent issue in the new law's supporting rules which are being enacted or revised.
He also hoped that the law makers will take the actual conditions into consideration in terms of permanent resident status. "Overseas talents, especially high-level ones, often choose to divide their work time between countries, and many talented Chinese who have acquired foreign citizenship indicate that they prefer this mode of career development."
"You don't have to stay in China to make outstanding contributions to the country," Liu said.
In 2004, China launched a mechanism for evaluating permanent residence status applications from foreigners. The China green card, valid for five or 10 years, exempts its holder from having to apply for a visa each time he or she enters China. Critics, however, have said the threshold is too high for many would-be applicants.
Statistics released by the Ministry of Public Security show that by July of this year, the ministry had granted permanent resident status to 3,275 foreigners, including 621 high-caliber overseas talents. Most of them are of Chinese origin.
On Dec. 11 of this year, 25 government departments just countersigned a set of new methods to further clarify the rights and benefits of those green card holders.
According to the new methods, except for political rights and some other issues that the law has different rulings, a foreigner who holds the China green card enjoys, in principle, the same rights and has the same obligations as a Chinese citizen, such as applying for social insurance, purchasing houses and sending children to local schools.
- Beijing Central Business District
The Beijing CBD or Beijing Central Business District is a projected part of Beijing city (in China). Geographically situated in the eastern urban area, sandwiched between the 3rd Ring Road and the 4th Ring Road, the Beijing CBD area is an area currently under immense development. China's CCTV and other important organisations and businesses are gobbling up space in the CBD. The area is to become a new kind of hub for business Beijing following completion. [bluezxy/bbs.fengniao.com]
- Sacred Yonghegong Lama Temple
Located in the Dongcheng District of Beijing, Yonghegong Lama Temple is the largest lamasery in Beijing. The resplendent temple was first built in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) as the residence for Prince Yong (Yin Zhen) who later ascended to the throne and was known as Emperor Yongzheng. [China.org.cn]
- Bareback horse race, Tibet 2012
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Like to see the pictures as LARGE as your screen? Just click on this Slideshow : www.flickr.com/photos/reurinkjan/sets/72157630983897338/s...
Very much away from any tourist trail, a local horse race festival.
Horse racing is an activity beloved by Tibetan people, for it is not only an assemblement for leisure time and exchanging farming experience, but also a show of horse racing spirit of local people.
The Horse Racing Festival, originally an ancient Tibetan harvest festival, is celebrated in large parts of the Himalayan region, showing that despite 50 years of Chinese rule parts of Tibet's cultural identity remain.
Long-distance galloping: Participants are mostly local youngsters who grew up on horseback. They wear colorful garments instead of Tibetan robes. There is no saddle on the horse to lighten the weight and also prevent a rider being dragged along by the horse if he becomes unseated.
www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3438 - No Parking or Stopping
Mule67 has added a photo to the pool:
I'm not an avid kanji reader, however I can easily pick out the "STOP" and "no parking" signs. Location: Alley in Kashi.
- Sugarfruit seller
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