Mid-autumn Festival （中秋节）The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese Moon Festival) is an important traditional festivity second only to the Spring Festival. Celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in Chinese lunar calendar, the Moon Festival usually comes sometime between the second week of September and the second week of October.Mid-Autumn day is a time when people celebrate the harvest, enjoy the getting-together with families and friends and appreciate good food and the most beautiful moon.Chinese ancestors took the seventh, eighth and ninth lunar months as autumn and 15th day of the eighth lunar month as the Moon Day which was considered the best day of the year to enjoy the beautiful, round and bright moon.A harvest festival, Moon Day is a time for relaxation and celebration and most importantly, reunion of families. In the past, food offerings were placed on an altar set up in the courtyard. Special food for the festival included moon cakes and cooked taro, edible snails from the taro patches or rice paddies cooked with sweet basil, and water caltrope, a type of water chestnut resembling black buffalo horns. Some people insisted that cooked taro be included because at the time of creation, taro was the first food discovered at night in the moonlight.TraditionThe Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festivity for both the Han and minority nationalities. The custom of worshipping the moon can be traced back as far as the ancient Xia and Shang Dynasties (2000 B.C.-1066 B.C.). In the Zhou Dynasty (1066 B.C.-221 B.C.), people held ceremonies to greet winter and worshiped the moon whenever the Mid-Autumn Festival set in. It became prevalent in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.) that people enjoyed and worshiped the full moon. In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 A.D.), however, people sent round moon cakes to their relatives as gifts in expression of their best wishes of family reunion. At night they looked up at the full silver moon or went sightseeing to celebrate the festival. Since the Ming (1368-1644 A.D. ) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911A.D.), the custom of Mid-Autumn Festival celebration became unprecedented popular. Together with the celebration there appeared some special customs in different parts of the country, such as burning incense, planting Mid-Autumn trees, lighting Lanterns on towers and fire dragon dances. What is worth mentioning is that the Yuetan Park in the western district of Beijing, was originally the Temple of Moon, and every year, the emperor would go there to offer a sacrifice to the moon.In mid-autumn farmers had just finished gathering their crops and bringing in fruits from the orchards. They were overwhelmed with joy when they have a harvest and at the same time they felt quite relaxed after a year of hard work.So the 15th Day of the eighth lunar month has gradually evolved as a widely celebrated festival for ordinary people. When the night falls, the land is bathed in silver moonlight. Families set up tables in their courtyards or sit together on their balconies chatting and sharing offerings to the moon. Together they enjoy the spell of night.Moon CakeMoon cake also has a story. During the Yuan dynasty (A.D.1280-1368) China was ruled by the Mongolian people. Leaders from the preceding Sung dynasty (A.D.960-1280) were unhappy at submitting to foreign rule, and set how to coordinate the rebellion without it being discovered. The leaders of the rebellion, knowing that the Moon Festival was drawing near, ordered the making of special cakes. Contained in each moon cake was a message with the outline of the attack. On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644). Today, moon cakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.The round moon cakes, traditionally about three inches in diameter and one and a half inches in thickness, resembled Western fruitcakes in taste and consistency. These cakes were made with melon seeds, lotus seeds, almonds, minced meats, bean paste, orange peels and lard. A golden yolk from a salted duck egg was placed at the center of each cake, and the golden brown crust was decorated with symbols of the festival. 13 moon cakes were piled in apyramid to symbolize the thirteen moons of a "complete year", that is, twelve moons plus one intercalary moon.Moon ViewA moon view is a must in the Mid-Autumn Festival when the moon is especially round and bright. If the weather remains fine, people will be able to see a full moon on Mid-autumn day astronomers say. A full moon usually falls on the 16th day of a lunar month, instead of the 15th day. The moon will appear at its fullest when it is most closely aligned with the earth and the sun. It takes about 29.5 days for the three celestial bodies to be approximately aligned. The next time for such a fullest moon will be September 19, 2013. Dragon boat festival 厦门划龙舟英文介绍Another festival, commonly called the Fifth Moon Festival, is celebrated on the fifth day of the lunar fifth month. The proper name for this festival was the Upright Sun Festival, but foreigners in China refer to it as the Dragon-Boat Festival.The Fifth Moon Festival is also noted for its dragon-boat races, especially in the southern provinces, where there are many rivers and lakes. This regatta commemorated the death of Qu Yuan, an honest minister in the old days who was said to have committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.Qu Yuan was a minister in the kingdom of Chu situated in present-day Hunan and Hubei provinces, during the Warring States period (475 -221 BC). He was upright, loyal and highly esteemed for his wise counsel that had brought peace and prosperity to the kingdom. However, when a dishonest and corrupt prince vilified Qu Yuan, he was disgraced and dismissed from his office. Realizing that the country was now in the hands of evil and corrupt officials, Qu Yuan clasped a large stone and leaped into the Mi Lo river on the fifth day of the fifth moon. Nearby fishermen rushed over and tried to save him, but they were unable even to recover his body. Thereafter, the kingdom declined and was eventually conquered by the kingdom of QinThe people of Chu, mourning the death of Qu Yuan, threw rice into the river to feed his hungry ghost every year on the fifth day of the fifth moon. One year, according to the legend, the spirit of Qu Yuan appeared and told the mourners that a huge reptile in the river had stolen the rice that had been offered. The spirit advised them to wrap the rice in silk and bind it with five different colored threads before tossing it into the river.On the Fifth Moon Festival, a glutinous rice pudding called Zongzi was eaten to symbolize the rice offerings to Qu Yuan. Ingredients such as beans, lotus seeds, chestnuts, pork fat and the golden yolk of a salted duck egg were often added to the glutinous rice. The pudding was wrapped with bamboo leaves, bound with a sort of raffia and boiled in salt water for hours.The dragon-boat races represented the attempts to rescue and recover thebody of Qu Yuan. A dragon-boat ranged from fifty to one hundred feet in length with a beam of about five and a half feet, accommodating two paddlers sitting side by side. A wooden dragonhead was attached at the bow, and a dragon tail at the stern. A banner hoisted on a pole was also fastened at the stern. The hull was decorated with a design of red, green and blue scales edged in gold. In the center of the boat was a canopied shrine. Behind the shrine sat drummers, gong-beaters and cymbal-crashers that would set the pace for the paddlers. Men standing at the bow set off firecrackers, tossed rice into the water and made believe they were looking for Qu Yuan. All the noise and pageantry created an atmosphere of gaiety and excitement for the participants and spectators. Competitions were held between different clans, villages and organizations, and winners were awarded medals, banners, jugs of wine and festive meals.After the races, the wooden head and tail of the dragon were detached and stored either at the clan headquarters or at the local temple. The hull was buried in the muddy river to prevent cracking, warping and shrinkage. The boats were therefore reconditioned annually before the festival.Now, on the fifth day of the lunar fifth month, all Chinese people celebrate this festival by eating ZongziMooncake gambling（厦门博饼英文介绍)The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. For centuries, the Mid-Autumn Festival has encouraged family reunions, big feasts and enjoyment of a beautiful full moon. But for people in Xiamen, their exciting games have just started. A special custom “Moon-cake Gambling” will take place in every Mid-autumn Festival.You find a pack of six dice inside after opening every gaudily decorated box of mooncakes.Gambling? Right, but it is definitely legal. Because the stakes among the locals are mooncakes - and that is how this unique celebrating activity has got its Chinese name "Bo Bing." It is played only around the Mid-Autumn Festival. Easy to play though, the games have quite complicated rules hard to remember. So it is thoughtful for some mooncake manufacturers to print the rules on the package.All the "Bo Bing" game requires are six dice and a china bowl. Just throw the dice into the bowl - and the different pips you get stand for different ranks of awards you will win.When walking along streets in this tiny island during this time, you will hear the pleasant silvery sound of the dice rolling. Cheers of winning or loss are everywhere.The 300-year-old custom of mooncake gambling dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The inventor, Zheng Chenggong (1624-62), a general ofthe Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), stationed his army in Xiamen. Zheng was determined to recover Taiwan, which was occupied by Dutch invaders since 1624.When every Mid-Autumn Festival came, the soldiers naturally missed their families but fought with heroical determination to drive off the aggressors. General Zheng and his lower officer Hong Xu invented mooncake gambling to help relieve homesickness among the troops.The gambling game has six ranks of awards, which are named as the winners in ancient imperial examinations, and has 63 different sized mooncakes as prizes.From the lowest to the highest, the titles of six ranks are Xiucai (the one who passed the examination at the county level), Juren (a successful candidate at the provincial level), Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination), Tanhua, Bangyan and Zhuangyuan (respectively the number three to number one winners in the imperial examination at the presence of the emperor).Game players throw the dice by turns. Different pips they count win the player a relevant "title" and corresponding type of mooncakes.The lucky player who gets the pips to make it the title of "Zhuangyuan," will be the biggest winner in the game, and gain the largest mooncake.In ancient China, to win the imperial examination was the only way to enter an official career which was the dream of most learners, since the examinationsystem was established in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618).No wonder then, if a person won "Zhuangyuan" through the imperial examination, the success would bring great honour to both him and his family, followed with a high-level position and a great sum of money.The game has something to do with the number "four." In mooncake gambling, the pips for most ranks of the awards are related to this number. For instance, one die of four pips wins you "Xiucai" and the smallest mooncake. And if you get four or more dice of four pips, then congratulations - you win "Zhuangyuan."The game provides 32 mooncakes for "Xiucai," 16 for "Juren" and the rest may be deduced by analogy. Only one player will win the lucky title "Zhuangyuan." That is why a total of 63 mooncakes are prepared for the game.As a game well combining culture, folk custom and recreation, moon cake gambling soon got popular among troops.So General Zheng approved of the soldiers playing the game in turn from the 13th to the 18th of the 8th month around the Mid-Autumn Festival.Since then, "Bo Bing" has become a popular traditional activity among local people. On every Mid-Autumn Festival, family members gather to gamble mooncakes, deep in arguments about who will be the winner.Also cake confectioneries will produce many kinds of gambling cakes to cater to the market.Xiamen people believe that the person who wins "Zhuangyuan" in the game,will have good luck that year. And the Mid-Autumn Festival is the second important holiday in Xiamen besides Spring Festival.Nowadays, the mooncakes are not the only kind of award. With the upgrade of people's living standards, daily necessities, household appliances and even money can also be won.What's more, people add funny rules. If the dice read "six," then forget all those boring ranks. Turn off all the lights, and then seize as many prizes as possible in the darkness. It is a combination of good memory, high speed and a strong body.Changes of prizes has made the game even popular among younger generations.Gezai Opera（厦门歌仔戏英文介绍)Gezai Opera, also known as Xiang Opera, is the representative opera in South Fujian. Being a traditional opera, it prevails in Minnan, Taiwan and regions in Southeast Asia where overseas Chinese live in compact communities. Its melody comes from folk and the libretto is easy to understand, hence it is warmly welcomed. In 1662, the huge inflow of South Fujian folks into Taiwan with the national hero hoxinga also brought to the island folk music arts such as Longxi Brocade Eulogy, Anxi Tea Pickin g, and Tong’an Cart Drum. As a result, Gezai Hall emerged. In the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, under the influence of Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera and Peking Opera, GezaiOpera, a unique form of performing art, gradually came into existence and gained popularity in Taiwan and later spread to South Fujian after 1928 and renamed Xiang Opera following reforms and innovations by folk artists. Gezai opera features plain libretto and lively melody and therefore enjoys tremendous popularity among local folks. Liang Shanbo & Zhu Yingtai, a classic drama performed by Xiamen Gezai Troupe, was made into a film by Hong Kong Great Wall Motion Pictures and distributed in Southeast Asian nations. Other plays including Building in Flames, Five Girls Offering Birthday Felicitations, Best Pig Butcher, Legend of White Snake and Authentic or Fake Prince have also been made into TV drama shows.The Lantern Festival元宵节英文介绍On the 15th of the lst lunar month, they're in the Lantern Festival. In the streets, big and small, and in every family, beautiful festival lanterns are decorated. The public places like Zhongshan park and temples etc, hold celebrating activities of performing dragon dance, lion dance, walking on stilts, running artificial boats, letting off fireworks, welcoming Goddess Zigu and eating sweet dumplings. During the night, the transparent palace lanterns merry-go-round lanterns (a lantern on the top band of which are decorative figures revolving as the hot air ascends), Baolian lanterns, lotus shape lanterns and elephant shape lanterns shed dazzling brightness in all directions On the surface of the lake, lantern boats row, splendidly attired girls and childrenperform joyful festive lantern dance. On the streets, the stilt tram strides magnificently making a grand spectacle.Gongfu Tea闽南功夫茶英文介绍China, the Homeland of Tea China is the homeland of tea. It is believed that China has tea-shrubs as early as five to six thousand years ago, and human cultivation of teaplants dates back two thousand years. Tea from China, along with her silk and porcelain, began to be known the world over more than a thousand years ago and has since always been an important Chinese export. At present more than forty countries in the world grow tea with Asian countries producing 90% of the world's total output. All tea trees in other countries have their origin directly or indirectly in China. The word for tea leaves or tea as a drink in many countries are derivatives from the Chinese character "cha." The Russians call it "cha'i", which sounds like "chaye" (tea leaves) as it is pronounced in northern China, and the English word "tea" sounds similar to the pronunciation of its counterpart in Xiamen (Amoy). The Japanese character for tea is written exactly the same as it is in Chinese, though pronounced with a slight difference. The habit of tea drinking spread to Japan in the 6th century, but it was not introduced to Europe and America till the 17th and 18th centuries. Now the number of tea drinkers in the world is legion and is still on the increase.Tea-Drinking Customs in ChinaOf the three major beverages of the world-- tea, coffee and cocoa-- tea is consumed by the largest number of people.China is the home of tea, and drinking tea is a national obsession. The Chinese are the most likely to delight in drinking tea as well as being the most discriminating in the way tea is made and served.Tea is indispensable in the life of the Chinese people. It is not simply a type of drink, but a transmitter of culture, representing the philosophy, aesthetic views and way of life of Chinese people, from which the spiritual world of the Chinese can be discerned.The tea-drinking tradition from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which features infused tea, has been inherited in most of China. But people from different areas favor different teas. Generally, people in northern China, northeastern China and Sichuan Province, love jasmine tea; those living in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces favor green tea; and along the southeast coast, Oolong tea is preferred. People from Hunan Province have an interesting habit: they chew and swallow the tea leaves after drinking the infusion.Distinct customs in different areas and minorities compose the variety of China's tea-drinking tradition."Gongfu" Tea from Fujian ProvincePreparing and drinking "Gongfu" tea involves elaborate procedures. This tea is popular in Yunxiao, Zhangzhou, Dongshan and Xiamen in southern Fujian Province, and Chaozhou and Shantou in Guangdong Province.The antique-looking "Gongfu"tea set includes "Four Treasures for Tea-Making": one is a reddish-brown kettle, "yushuwei," with an oblate body that holds only 200g of water; the second is "Shantou Wind Stove," which is a small, exquisite and vented stove, used to boil water. Today, for convenience, many people use the electric stove. The third is a teapot, "Mengchen Pot," the size of a goose egg, made of zisha, a fine clay from Yixing that holds just over 50g of water. The last is "Ruochen'ou," an extraordinarily small cup about the size of half a pingpong ball, which holds only 4ml of the brew. Usually, four cups make a set and are placed on an oval tea tray. Besides pottery tea sets, there are porcelain ones, which look distinct with blue floral patterns glazed on a white background.With "Four Treasures", you can make tea. In preparing "Gongfu" tea, you must undertake a unique process. First, rinse the tea set in clean spring water and place it on a tea tray. When the water in the kettle is boiling, use some to warm the pot and cups. Then put tea leaves in the tea pot until it is half-full and add boiling water until it reaches the brim. Purists will immediately pour out the first infusion and warm the tea cups with it. Again, fill the pot with boiled water, using the lid to skim off the foam before covering the pot to preserve the aroma. Arrange the four cups in a square, their mouths all touching. Wait a moment (less than one minute) before lifting the pot and moving it in circles over the cups while pouring tea until each cup is filled. Known locally as "General Guan Patrollinging the Town," this ensures that thedensity of tea is the same in each cup. Even the final and most dense bit is poured evenly into the four cups-- known as "General Han Xin Dispatching Troops."Once the tea has been poured in the tea cups, that does not mean you can drink it immediately. According to the practice of "Gongfu" tea, you should first lift the cup to your nose and inhale the fragrance. Then take a sip, and hold it in your mouth to taste its flavor; in no time you will feel your nose and mouth filling with the fragrance, your throat moistening, and the secretion of saliva increasing, which will comfort your whole body. Add more water to the pot and enjoy another round of tea. After, at most, the fifth round, replace the tea dregs with new tea and start over.The best leaves for "Gongfu" tea is Oolong -- for green tea has a "cold nature" that pains the stomach and black tea has a "hot nature" that seems to dry the stomach; neither is suitable to be drunk undiluted. Only the half-fermented Oolong, having a "warm nature" and enduring infusion, is best for "Gongfu" tea.Making and drinking Oolong teaIn making and drinking Oolong tea, people focus on quality. The tea utensils, small and exquisite, mainly include a kettle, a heater, a teapot and several teacups. They are usually in a complete set which is called “the four treasures of the tea shop”I. Choose fine pottery tea utensils. Heat and wash the teapot and teacups withboiling water. Put proper amount of tealeaves into the teapot and pour the “boiling” water into it until it is full, making sure to the down-pouring water can fully stir the tealeaves in the teapot. Remove the foam with the teapot lid and then lid the teapot.II. Shower the teapot with a little boiling water for one or two minutes. Distribute the tea soup equably into each cup in turn and the tea is ready to serve.III. The tealeaves can endure several infusions. After the tea is poured into the cups, one should first smell the fragrance and then try the flavor. Only by sipping slowly can one enjoy the real flavor of the tea.Advantages of Tea-DrinkingTea has been one of the daily necessities in China since time immemorial. Countless numbers of people like to have their aftermeal cup of tea.In summer or warm climate, tea seems to dispel the heat and bring on instant cool together with a feeling of relaxation. For this reason, tea-houses abound in towns and market villages in South China and provide elderly retirees with the locales to meet and chat over a cup of tea.Medically, the tea leaf contains a number of chemicals, of which 20-30% is tannic acid, known for its anti-inflammatory and germicidal properties. It also contains an alkaloid (5%, mainly caffeine), a stimulant for the nerve centre and the process of metabolism. Tea with the aromatics in it may help resolve meat and fat and thus promote digestion. It is, therefore, of special importance topeople who live mainly on meat, like many of the ethnic minorities in China.A popular proverb among them says, "Rather go without salt for three days than without tea for a single day."Tea is also rich in various vitamins and, for smokers, it helps to discharge nicotine out of the system. After wining, strong tea may prove to be a sobering pick-me-up.The above, however, does not go to say that the stronger the tea, the more advantages it will yield. Too much tannic acid will affect the secretion of the gastric juice, irritate the membrane of the stomach and cause indigestion or constipation. Strong tea taken just before bedtime will give rise to occasional insomnia. Constant drinking of over-strong tea may induce heart and blood-pressure disorders in some people, reduce the milk of a breast-feeding mother, and put a brown colour on the teeth of young people. But it is not difficult to ward off these undesirable effects: just don't make your tea too strong.The Categories of TeaChinese tea may be classified into five categories according to the different methods by which it is processed.1) Green tea: Green tea is the variety which keeps the original colour of the tea leaves without fermentation during processing. This category consists mainly of Longjing tea of Zhejiang Province, Maofeng of Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province and Biluochun produced in Jiangsu.2) Black tea: Black tea, known as "red tea" (hong cha) in China, is the category which is fermented before baking; it is a later variety developed on the basis of the green tea. The best brands of black tea are Qihong of Anhui, Dianhong of Yunnan, Suhong of Jiangsu, Chuanhong of Sichuan and Huhong of Hunan.3) Wulong(Oolong) tea: This represents a variety half way between the green and the black teas, being made after partial fermentation. It is a specialty from the provinces on China's southeast coast: Fujian, Guangdong and Taiwan. 4) Compressed tea: This is the kind of tea which is compressed and hardened into a certain shape. It is good for transport and storage and is mainly supplied to the ethnic minorities living in the border areas of the country. As compressed tea is black in colour in its commercial form, so it is also known in China as "black tea". Most of the compressed tea is in the form of bricks; it is, therefore, generally called "brick tea", though it is sometimes also in the form of cakes and bowls. It is mainly produced in Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces.5) Scented tea: This kind of tea is made by mixing fragrant flowers in the tea leaves in the course of processing. The flowers commonly used for this purpose are jasmine and magnolia among others. Jasmine tea is a well-known favourite with the northerners of China and with a growing number of foreigners.Tea ProductionA new tea-plant must grow for five years before its leaves can be picked and, at 30 years of age, it will be too old to be productive. The trunk of the old plant must then be cut off to force new stems to grow out of the roots in the coming year. By repeated rehabilitation in this way, a plant may serve for about l00 years .For the fertilization of tea gardens, soya-bean cakes or other varieties of organic manure are generally used, and seldom chemical fertilizers. When pests are discovered, the affected plants will be removed to prevent their spread, and also to avoid the use of pesticides.The season of tea-picking depends on local climate and varies from area to area. On the shores of West Lake in Hangzhou, where the famous green tea Longjing (Dragon Well) comes from, picking starts from the end of March and lasts through October, altogether 20-30 times from the same plants at intervals of seven to ten days. With a longer interval, the quality of the tea will deteriorate.A skilled woman picker can only gather 600 grams (a little over a pound) of green tea leaves in a day. The new leaves must be parched in tea cauldrons. This work , which used to be done manually, has been largely mechanized. Top-grade Dragon Well tea, however, still has to be stir-parched by hand, doing only 250 grams every half hour. The tea-cauldrons are heated electrically to a temperature of about 25oC or 74oF. It takes four pounds offresh leaves to produce one pound of parched tea.The best Dragon Well tea is gathered several days before Qingming (Pure Brightness, 5th solar term) when new twigs have just begun to grow and carry "one leaf and a bud." To make one kilogram (2.2 lbs) of finished tea, 60, 000 tender leaves have to be plucked. In the old days Dragon Well tea of this grade was meant solely for the imperial household; it was, therefore, known as "tribute tea".For the processes of grinding, parching, rolling, shaping and drying other grades of tea various machines have been developed and built, turning out about 100 kilograms of finished tea an hour and relieving the workers from much of their drudgerytour xiamen (旅游厦门，八大景八小景)Xiamen is a well-known tourist port city in the Southeast coast of China. It is one of the Cleanest Cities of China, the Garden Cities of China, the National Environmental Protection Model Cities, and the best sightseeing cities in China. Not only being wealthy with travel resources, Xiamen has also temperate weather, fast and convenient transport and communication, and complete travel establishments.In the old times, there were "Eight Major Landscapes" and "Eight Minor Landscapes" "Landscapes Beyond Landscapes" in Xiamen and altogether 24。