/Enjoy Temple Fairs in Beijing

Enjoy Temple Fairs in Beijing
2005/02/01Text by Winnie Li
To have a lot of fun outdoors during the Spring Festival, attend one of Beijing's many temple fairs. Temple fairs usually occur from the first to the seventh day of the first month on the lunar calendar. This year, that corresponds to February 9-15, 2005.
Traditional Temple Fairs
Changdian Temple Fair
The Changdian Temple Fair is Beijing's oldest and best known temple fair. It reopened in 2001, after a 37-year absence.
In the old days, Beijingers had a choice of eight temple fairs to attend, but Changdian was always the most popular. It was originally held on open ground outside of Liulichang, now a pedestrian shopping street full of curio and antique shops.
Changdian has everything you'd expect of a temple fair, a mixture of the traditional and modern. Performances include martial arts, acrobatics, Peking Opera, pop music and folk dancing. Vendors from far and wide come to set up shop and sell books, magazines, paintings, toys, tasty snacks, and dried and fresh fruit. There's plenty of food to tempt you including sugar-coated haw berries speared onto metre-long sticks, hot sweet potatoes and sticky pancakes. You can also find traditional Chinese crafts such as kites and painted masks taken from Peking Opera characters to buy. Acrobats and other performers are on hand to keep the crowds entertained throughout the day.

China stocks rise against interest rate hike

Chinese stocks reversed a slump upon opening to post solid gains in the Monday morning session despite an interest rate rise announced by the central bank at the weekend.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2,864.26, a decrease of 2.25 per cent from the closing point of the previous session.
However, the stocks, led by financial shares, started to recover the loss within twenty minutes. At the end of the morning session, the Shanghai Composite Index finished up 2.51 per cent at 3,003.98.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, rose 3.84 per cent to 5.14 yuan while China Life, China's largest life insure, gained 3.55 per cent to 35.01 yuan.
China Merchants Bank surged 7.6 per cent to hit 16.7 yuan and Bank of China was up 4.8 percent to 5.24 yuan.
The surge came after the People's Bank of China raised benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.27 percentage point at the weekend, the third increase in less than one year.
The rate rise was the latest in a series of tightening measures to cool off the torrid economy which, as Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday, is facing a list of problems, including excessive investment, credit, liquidity and swelling foreign exchange reserves.

China stocks rise against interest rate hike

Chinese stocks reversed a slump upon opening to post solid gains in the Monday morning session despite an interest rate rise announced by the central bank at the weekend.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index opened at 2,864.26, a decrease of 2.25 per cent from the closing point of the previous session.
However, the stocks, led by financial shares, started to recover the loss within twenty minutes. At the end of the morning session, the Shanghai Composite Index finished up 2.51 per cent at 3,003.98.
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country's biggest lender, rose 3.84 per cent to 5.14 yuan while China Life, China's largest life insure, gained 3.55 per cent to 35.01 yuan.
China Merchants Bank surged 7.6 per cent to hit 16.7 yuan and Bank of China was up 4.8 percent to 5.24 yuan.
The surge came after the People's Bank of China raised benchmark one-year lending and deposit rates by 0.27 percentage point at the weekend, the third increase in less than one year.
The rate rise was the latest in a series of tightening measures to cool off the torrid economy which, as Premier Wen Jiabao said Friday, is facing a list of problems, including excessive investment, credit, liquidity and swelling foreign exchange reserves.

Acrobat performs

NPC and CPPCC

Foreign media have paid great attention to the annual full sessions of China's National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which opened in Beijing on Monday and Saturday, respectively.
Asia News Time in Thailand issued a commentary on Monday, saying that with the deepening of China's opening-up reform and rapid economic development, the NPC and the CPPCC are playing a more and more important role in China's political life.
The bills, proposals and suggestions brought by lawmakers and committee members are directly concerned with the people's livelihood and closely linked to the political and economic construction of the nation, the commentary said.
The NPC is China's national legislature and the CPPCC is the top advisory body.
The Paris-based Nouvelles d' Europe, the biggest Chinese newspaper in Europe, published an editorial expressing concerns about the fortnight-long sessions of the NPC and CPPCC, as well as appreciation of China's strategy of building a harmonious society.
The editorial said people are concerned about the two sessions, especially about the national policies established at the meetings and the future orientation of China.
To build a harmonious society in China and to promote a harmonious world at an international level would be the shining points of the two sessions this year, it added.
An editorial published by Philippine World News said the CPPCC plays an increasingly important role with its participation in the deliberation and administration of state affairs and democratic supervision.

The Peach Blossom Fan (1699)

Inspirations from The Peach Blossom Fan (1699)
Over the past decade the entertainment industry has rapidly developed, giving people more options to relax in their spare time. As a result, the popularity of stage performances, and opera in particular, has declined. There are a few reasons for this. One is that marketing for stage performances is underdeveloped, and the other is the flood of western operas and performances that have saturated the market in China since it joined the WTO.

The Peach Blossom Fan (1699), a new edition of an ancient Kun Opera by the Jiangsu Performing Arts Group in collaberation with artists from China, Japan and Korea, was performed at the Beijing Poly Theater on March 17th last year. In October, The Peach Blossom Fan (1699) received rave reviews after showing in Korea.

Why is The Peach Blossom Fan (1699) so successful? Because the sponsors of the opera have focused on building brand establishment and sustaining long term development through making it more fashionable, more mainstream, and more global.

Lion Dance

The Lion Dance is one of the most popular dances in China. Known as the king of animals, the lion is a traditional symbol of good luck in China. The dance has a long history stretching back 2000 years. Records show that during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Lion Dance was already performed for the royal family.
In the Lion Dance, two people act as a lion; one moving the head and the other moving the body and tail; while one performer plays the part of the cub. The last dancer sways the silk ball with which the lion plays.
Skill is vital while any one of the many kinds of Lion Dance which continues to be one of the most popular forms of dance amongst acrobatics troupes today.
During the Lantern Festival and other festivals, the lion dance marks the beat of the frolics, bringing luck and happiness to all who contemplate it, if well-performed.
Styles of Lion Dance
The performances can be divided into Wenshi (civil lion) and Wushi (martial lion). Wenshi depicts a docile and amusing lion, playfully licking others and gently nodding off. Famous examples of this dance are the Luohan Playing with Lion in Sichuan and Hunan provinces and the Laughing Monk Playing with Lion in Shaanxi Province.
Opposed to his friendly cousin, Wushi portrays the power of the lion. Besides the athletic jumping and tumbling, performers show off their techniques by climbing upon a high table or by stepping across five wooden stakes. For instance, the Gaotai (High Terrace) Lion Dance of Sichuan Province is performed on seven high tables, increasing the difficulty. In recent years, the Lion Dance in Beijing melded different stylistic elements to become a new style

Lion Dance

The Lion Dance is one of the most popular dances in China. Known as the king of animals, the lion is a traditional symbol of good luck in China. The dance has a long history stretching back 2000 years. Records show that during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Lion Dance was already performed for the royal family.
In the Lion Dance, two people act as a lion; one moving the head and the other moving the body and tail; while one performer plays the part of the cub. The last dancer sways the silk ball with which the lion plays.
Skill is vital while any one of the many kinds of Lion Dance which continues to be one of the most popular forms of dance amongst acrobatics troupes today.
During the Lantern Festival and other festivals, the lion dance marks the beat of the frolics, bringing luck and happiness to all who contemplate it, if well-performed.
Styles of Lion Dance
The performances can be divided into Wenshi (civil lion) and Wushi (martial lion). Wenshi depicts a docile and amusing lion, playfully licking others and gently nodding off. Famous examples of this dance are the Luohan Playing with Lion in Sichuan and Hunan provinces and the Laughing Monk Playing with Lion in Shaanxi Province.
Opposed to his friendly cousin, Wushi portrays the power of the lion. Besides the athletic jumping and tumbling, performers show off their techniques by climbing upon a high table or by stepping across five wooden stakes. For instance, the Gaotai (High Terrace) Lion Dance of Sichuan Province is performed on seven high tables, increasing the difficulty. In recent years, the Lion Dance in Beijing melded different stylistic elements to become a new style

Beijing's hutongs,

Beijing's hutongs, lanes or alleys formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard) where old Beijing residents live, witness the vicissitude of the city.
The word "hutong" originates from the word "hottog" which means "well" in Mongolian. Villagers dig out a well and inhabited there. Hutong means a lane or alley, in fact the passage formed by lines of siheyuan (a compound with houses around a courtyard) where old Beijing residents live. Be care not to lost in it! It was recorded that in the Yuan a 36-meter-wide road was called a standard street, a 18-meter-wide one was a small street and a 9-meter-wide lane was named a hutong. In fact, Beijing's hutongs are inequable ranging from 40 centimeter to 10 meter in wide. The longest has more than 20 turns. Either in east-west or north-south, Beijing's hutongs varied as slant, half or " blind hutongs" cul-de-sacs. The gray-tiled houses and deep alleys crossing with each other in identical appearance like a maze, you will find it much fun to walk through but be care not to lost yourself.

Theme of China's congress: Making economy work for 1.3 billion

If there is an overall theme for this year's gathering of 3,000 lawmakers in the heart of Beijing it must be the challenge of making the economy work to the benefit of all 1.3 billion Chinese.
There is only so much laws can do to stem this sort of development, but even so the struggle to prevent the rich-poor divide widening further will be reflected in the legislation of the coming years, observers said.
The quest for fairness shows in two laws legislators are being asked to review, and eventually approve at the end of the ongoing session -- the Property Law and the Corporate Income Tax Law.
"All players have equal status in the market, enjoy the same rights, observe the same rules and bear the same responsibilities," said Yin Tian, a professor at Peking University.
The Corporate Income Tax Law invokes some of the same principles of fairness, according to observers.
"They have to be treated equally now, given that China has opened nearly all its markets to foreign players," said Liu Jinyong, a professor at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics.
" The two laws show that Chinese society is developing in the direction of more fairness said Zhang Jun, an economist at Shanghai's Fudan University.

Theme of China's congress: Making economy work for 1.3 billion

If there is an overall theme for this year's gathering of 3,000 lawmakers in the heart of Beijing it must be the challenge of making the economy work to the benefit of all 1.3 billion Chinese.
There is only so much laws can do to stem this sort of development, but even so the struggle to prevent the rich-poor divide widening further will be reflected in the legislation of the coming years, observers said.
The quest for fairness shows in two laws legislators are being asked to review, and eventually approve at the end of the ongoing session -- the Property Law and the Corporate Income Tax Law.
"All players have equal status in the market, enjoy the same rights, observe the same rules and bear the same responsibilities," said Yin Tian, a professor at Peking University.
The Corporate Income Tax Law invokes some of the same principles of fairness, according to observers.
"They have to be treated equally now, given that China has opened nearly all its markets to foreign players," said Liu Jinyong, a professor at Beijing's University of International Business and Economics.
" The two laws show that Chinese society is developing in the direction of more fairness said Zhang Jun, an economist at Shanghai's Fudan University.

Special Purchases for Spring Festival

Special Purchases for Spring FestivalIn the weeks before Chinese New Year, the market is jam-packed with people shopping for the "new year goods" that will carry them through the New Year holiday. In the past, the special purchases (nian huo, literally meaning New Year Goods) for the Spring Festival mainly referred to food.
New Year Cake At the Spring Festival, most Chinese will eat the New Year Cake which is made of glutinous rice or millet flour and garnished with anything from bean to jujube paste, assorted fruits and preserves. By tradition, it is believed eating Niangao will bring good luck.
Tray of Togetherness

When visiting relatives, it's customary for them to offer guests tea, along with a round or octagonal tray filled with a variety of treats, from nuts to sweets. This is known the Tray of Togetherness.

China aims to rid dire poverty by 2010

No one in China should live in dire poverty by 2010, members to the National Committee of the Chinese People's Consultative Conference (CPPCC) said yesterday.
"I am confident that we can meet this target by 2010," Chen Yaobang, a former official in the agriculture and forestry ministries, said.
"By a simple calculation, we can see that if each person gets 300 yuan from the government, then we only need 6 billion yuan to solve the problem of people in dire poverty."
The number of Chinese living in dire poverty, earning below a 638 yuan ($82) a year, dropped by 2.78 million in 2006, according to official figures.
Those considered to be earning low income, below 958 yuan ($123), fell by 5.17 million.
A report submitted by the Ministry of Finance to the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress, said China will earmark 391.7 billion yuan ($50.54 billion) on rural expenditure, an increase of 15.3 percent.
However, there are still many who need help, with 21.48 million people still in dire poverty and 35.5 million in the low-income basket, Zhang Baowen, vice-minister of agriculture, said.
This year, Zhang said, the government had four initiatives to help China's "Three No" farmers.
Those with no job, no land and no social security will be targets of a promise in Premier Wen Jiaba's work report to set up a minimum cost of living allowance for the country's most disadvantaged rural residents.
"A trial project has already been conducted in the eastern provinces and rich provinces, which has been quite successful," Chen Yaobang said, adding this year's focus should be on the western and central areas.
And Wan Zhibao, former director of the State Forestry Administration, said the State Council would soon map out plans to develop mountainous regions.
According to Justin Lin Yifu, vice-chairman of the Committee for Economic for Economic Affairs of the CPPCC National Committee, the key issue for the new socialist countryside is to improve farmers' incomes, which could be achieved by developing modernized agriculture and non-agriculture business.
"But the construction of the 'new socialist countryside', a move aiming to narrow China's yawning urban-rural wealth gap, should not be misunderstood as the construction of new villages," Lin said.
Some village heads, for instance, after visiting Huaxi Village in East China's Jiangsu Province, were impressed by its pretty buildings and took it for granted that the new building was a symbol for the "new socialist countryside", Lin said.
In Huaxi, the average annual villager income is 41.8 times that of the country's farmers in 2004. It is regarded as the model for the new countryside concept.
"That kind of misunder-standing will increase farmers' financial burden and impair their interests," Lin said.

Nuo opera to celebrate the Lantern Festival

Chinese per.The opera, called Nuo in Chinese, aims to exorcise the devil causing any plague and pray for happiness and rich harvest.Nuo performers often wear masks painted in different colors. A Living Fossil - The Nuo OperaNuo Opera is actually an age-old Chinese folk-custom; in addition, it is also a kind of folk art that reflects the significance of clan and religion. Nuo Opera, which is popular in Chizhou City, is the only 　鉳ost complete and ancient　?opera that still exists in China.So it is deemed as 　鉻he living fossil of opera　? The basic performance unit is usually a clan. The purpose of the performance is often to pray deities and revere the ancestor, or to exorcise the evil and enjoy a life of comfort. It maintains the features of primitive simplicity and of being straightforward. It is of great value in research of the development of the China’s ancient opera, culture, social fashion and customs,and religion.

Yuanxiao

Yuanxiao
Besides entertainment and beautiful lanterns, another important part of the Lantern Festival,or Yuanxiao Festival is eating small dumpling balls made of glutinous rice flour. We call these balls Yuanxiao or Tangyuan. Obviously, they get the name from the festival itself. It is said that the custom of eating Yuanxiao originated during the Eastern Jin Dynasty in the fourth centuty, then became popular during the Tang and Song periods.
The fillings inside the dumplings or Yuansiao are either sweet or salty. Sweet fillings are made of sugar, Walnuts（胡桃）, sesame, osmanthus flowers（桂花）, rose petals, sweetened tangerine peel, bean paste, or jujube paste（枣泥）. A single ingredient or any combination can be used as the filling . The salty variety is filled with minced meat, vegetables or a mixture.
The way to make Yuanxiao also varies between northern and southern China. The usual method followed in southern provinces is to shape the dough of rice flour into balls, make a hole, insert the filling, then close the hole and smooth out the dumpling by rolling it between your hands. In North China, sweet or nonmeat stuffing is the usual ingredient. The fillings are pressed into hardened cores, dipped lightly in water and rolled in a flat basket containing dry glutinous rice flour. A layer of the flour sticks to the filling, which is then again dipped in water and rolled a second time in the rice flour. And so it goes, like rolling a snowball, until the dumpling is the desired size.
The custom of eating Yuanxiao dumplings remains. This tradition encourages both old and new stores to promote their Yuanxiao products. They all try their best to improve the taste and quality of the dumplings to attract more customers.

Lantern Festival

The 15th day of the 1st lunar month
The 15th day of the 1st lunar month is the Chinese Lantern Festival because the first lunar month is called yuan-month and in the ancient times people called night Xiao. The 15th day is the first night to see a full moon. So the day is also called Yuan Xiao Festival in China. According to the Chinese tradition, at the very beginning of a new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.
History
Until the Sui Dynasty in the sixth century, Emperor Yangdi invited envoys from other countries to China to see the colorful lighted lanterns and enjoy the gala（节日的，庆祝的）performances.
By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew（宵禁令）, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems which describe this happy scene.
In the Song Dynasty, the festival was celebrated for five days and the activities began to spread to many of the big cities in China. Colorful glass and even jade were used to make lanterns, with figures from folk tales painted on the lanterns.
However, the largest Lantern Festival celebration took place in the early part of the 15th century. The festivities continued for ten days. Emperor Chengzu had the downtown area set aside as a center for displaying the lanterns. Even today, there is a place in Beijing called Dengshikou. In Chinese, Deng means lantern and Shi is market. The area became a market where lanterns were sold during the day. In the evening, the local people would go there to see the beautiful lighted lanterns on display.
Today, the displaying of lanterns is still a big event on the 15th day of the first lunar month throughout China. People enjoy the brightly lit night. Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, for example, holds a lantern fair each year in the Cultural Park. During the Lantern Festival, the park is literally an ocean of lanterns! Many new designs attract countless visitors. The most eye-catching lantern is the Dragon Pole. This is a lantern in the shape of a golden dragon, spiraling up a 27-meter -high pole, spewing fireworks from its mouth. It is quite an impressive sight!