No partner for Valentine’s Day? No problem. Rent-a-partner services provide a quick but expensive solution to young people pressed by families to bring home a partner. Such services increase in demand in China, with prices starting from RMB100 per day and running to as high as RMB3,000 daily. Websites offering “professional” rental services of girlfriends […]
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Taiwanese founder of Pengyuan restaurants and the inventor of General Tso’s chicken (左宗棠雞), passed away in Taipei, Taiwan on Nov. 30. He was 98. Peng started out as an apprentice of Cao Jingchen, a famous early 20th-century Chinese chef. After his apprenticeship, he began developing his own takes on Hunan cuisine. Peng first cooked General […]
WeChat, China’s major instant messaging app, came up with a new holiday tradition: sending and receiving red packets via social media. On the eve of 2017 lunar new year alone, a record of 14.2 billion electronic red packets containing gift money were given and received, with people born in the 1980s being the most active […]
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China’s Great Wall: 21,196 km
The State Administration of Cultural Heritage report on China’s Great Wall protection states that the sections of the Great Wall in China total a distance of 21,196.18 kilometers, distributed throughout 404 counties, cities or regions in 15 provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities nationwide, such as Beijing, Hebei and Shanxi. So, how long is 21,196 km? […]
Twenty-five tombs were found during an excavation at Xintang county in Guangzhou of Guangdong province. Archaeologists believe that the tombs date back from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) to Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The findings include three tombs from Shang Dynasty, one pit tomb from the late Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24 AD), 19 brick-chambered tombs […]
Goji Berries or Lycium barbarum 枸 杞 (also known as kamki in Hokkien 甘杞) have long-been nutritional supplements for middle-aged and elderly people in China. The dried berries are starting to catch on in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Austra- lia for their ability to increase people’s energy, enhance im- mune systems […]
Ten bilingual Chinese- English editions of Jingju (京劇 Peking opera or Beijing opera) classics were released inBeijing last Dec. 27. Peking opera is a quintessential part of Chinese culture. Though the lyrics are rich in meaning it is difficult to express them in other languages, which greatly hinders foreigners from understanding and enjoying the art […]
In celebration of the coming Chinese New Year, the Palace Museum, in collaboration with a Chinese phone maker, is planning to release 999 mobile phone units priced at RMB19,999. The phone will reportedly be available by the end of January 2017. The design of the phone is drawn from the Palace Museum’s collection, incorporating elements […]
China’s Twenty-Four Solar Terms has been inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, according to the UN committee. China’s “24 solar terms” is a knowledge system and social practice formed through observation of the sun’s annual motion, and an understanding of a whole year’s changes of season, climate and phenology. […]
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Sinan Museum open 24/7
Since the beginning of 2017, Sinan Mansions (思南公館) has become an open-air museum featuring 51 historical buildings dating back from the early 1900s. Visitors can scan QR codes printed on building facades to read about the history of each building. They can also listen to audio clips recorded by volunteers. Unlike a regular museum, the […]