Archive January 13, 2020

The Comparison Between Chinese and Western Festivals

“A holiday of a nation represents a glorious culture and concentrated customs of a nation.” To understand a nation’s cultural implications and its cultural characteristics, we must start with its traditional festivals. There exists great difference between Chinese and Western festivals due to their different languages, education, life styles and customs. The differences in their origin and shaping, celebration, food, banquet manners, color of festive dressing and the attitudes of accepting presents  contribute to the great differences of Chinese and Western festive cultures.

Western traditional festivals emphasize on interactivity, collectivity and extreme carnival, focusing on self and advocating free expressing of personality. While in China, we focus on family reunion and enjoy happy family relations. Here we set two examples as follows.

Spring Festival Vs New Year

In western nations, the New Year’s Day falls on January 1st in Gregorian calendar. On the night of December 31, particularly close to the late zero o’clock, tens of thousands of people gather in to pray sincerely and silently for the coming year’s countdown. When the bell sounds 12, suddenly, the beautiful music sound, people are singing happily and talking cheerfully, playing all night long. In China, the Spring Festival falls on January 1st in lunar calendar since Qin Dynasty. On the eve of Spring Festival, we get together to enjoy delicious food and cuisine, staying up for the coming New Year to bid farewell to the old year. The whole family will spend a beautiful night in the sound of firecrackers. The Spring Festival lasts until Lantern Festival. Spring cleaning, New Year gathering, firecrackers, lion dance are the popular customs during Spring Festival. Each of the two festivals has its strong points: The western New Year embodies fashion trend and modern life. While Chinese people attach great importance to dense national culture and traditional atmosphere to the Spring Festival; it has the glorious history and the unique beauty.

Qingming Festival Vs Halloween Day

In China, April in the lunar year is an important month for ghosts. In this month, the souls will be released from the Hades, and people will be organized to hold activities to entertain them with their hospitality for this rare “holidays”. Particularly on April 4th, Qingming festival, every family will prepare for rich offerings to sacrifice these good brothers who come from the nether world. There’re many other activities during the Qingming Festival, such as visiting their ancestors’ tombs, spring hiking and planting osier. Osier means indomitable vitality and can ward off bad luck at the same time. Visiting ancestors’ tombs in Qingming Festival can not only show their respect, what’s more, it shows people’s enthusiasm for life.

In the west, the similar festival is called Halloween day(Oct.11-Nov.7th). It is the third important festival next to Christmas and Thanksgiving Day. It is said that people should let the ghost see their satisfactory harvest and present abundant sacrifice to them. Both the bonfires and lights are not only to scare the ghosts away, but also to illuminate them back to the place where they come from. On this day, people can disguise themselves freely and make trouble to their heart’s content. On many public occasions and home compound, people lay out different kinds of decorations on the windows and doors, such as pumpkin lights, a scarecrow and even the skeleton. Every family will hold a dressing ball, and put on fruit and other crops on the table.

The Biggest Attraction of Travel Is “Snacks” in China

According to the survey, 85.87 percent of college students support tourism, 13.53 percent are neutral and 0.61 percent oppose it. “I am very fond of traveling, and I also support college students to travel more. Traveling can not only cultivate their temperament and make people happy, but also help them learn about the places of interest and historical interest around the world and enhance their knowledge.” Yang Yang, a junior student at fuzhou university, said he spends 80 percent of his holidays and holidays traveling each semester. Although traveling can be tiring, he is still passionate about traveling.

So, what is the key factor that restricts college students to travel? According to the survey, 98.02% of college students believe that money is the primary factor affecting tourism, followed by time and safety, with 83.59% and 62.61% respectively. In addition, 29.48 percent of the students chose their families and 15.35 percent chose their own psychological problems. Tickets, tickets, accommodation, etc., all need funds. If the place is far away, also consider the question of time. “Said zhang tong, a student at jinggangshan university. Wang xiao, a student at tianjin university of technology, said it would be difficult to travel if money was not enough.

According to the survey, choosing to travel with a few friends is the preferred way to travel, accounting for 77.66 percent of the survey results. “Family road trip”, “traveling alone” and “group tour” accounted for 9.88%, 7.29% and 5.17% respectively.

Liu ge, from the school of modern arts and sciences at shanxi normal university, said, “when traveling, I prefer to travel with a few friends. Usually two or three people go together, but even is the best.

What kind of scenic spots do college students prefer to visit when they travel? How much will it cost? According to the survey, 40.27 percent would choose scenic spots (natural landscapes), 31 percent would choose scenic towns, 18.69 percent would choose scenic spots (cultural landscapes) and 6.23 percent would choose foreign countries.

Wang Ming, a student from zhengzhou university, said he likes ancient towns with local customs. The local customs and practices of the ancient town are very simple, there are no tall buildings in the city, but give people a sense of “xanadu”.

To the tourist attractions, the main want to experience what content? According to the survey, 84.04 percent of college students chose to “experience local specialties”, while 76.29 percent and 72.04 percent chose famous local attractions and local customs.

Liu changxiao, a student from shandong vocational college of water resources, said he likes local snacks best when he travels. “Sometimes I bring back local snacks for my roommates.”

Wang heng, a counselor at hebei university, believes that travel is both the desire of college students and a special way of leisure. College students should travel more in their spare time, which is of great help to enhance their self-awareness and independence, and can also enhance the friendship between friends. Survey results show that most college students prefer to travel with friends, which not only solves the boredom of the trip, but also makes them closer to each other.

Old Shanghai Style Furniture, A Unique Combination of Craft and Industry

Old Shanghai style furniture refers to the eastern and western style furniture produced in Shanghai from 1843 to 1949. Shanghai archaize the image of furniture is a kind of Chinese and western goods. Among them: western furniture imported from Shanghai, modern furniture produced in Shanghai in the 1920s and 1930s, and Atiq style furniture produced in Shanghai in the 1930s and 1940s.

Most of Shanghai, especially the area of the bund and xujiahu, was once the concession of Britain, America and France. As foreign managers built in these areas, more and more western goods were imported into the city. Furniture was one of the representatives. From 1910 to 1920, the new culture movement (around the time of the May 4th movement in 1919) arose. The movement calls on people to accept the advanced knowledge of western countries. The Chinese are gradually accepting western-style suites. Accompanying this tide, furniture market also produced revolution. Many shanghainese have become collectors of western furniture. In the absence of supporting facilities, a growing number of Chinese and western furniture makers are moving their factories to China, especially Shanghai. Also made in Shanghai, the furniture is still western style to meet people’s preferences.

And in 20 centuries 30 time, Chinese tradition furniture also accepted western-style furniture gradually. The upper classes liked to make furniture out of mahogany. Chinese traditional furniture craftsmen use the characteristics of western furniture to improve the structure of Chinese traditional furniture. Under this kind of improvement, Shanghai classic furniture arises at the historic moment.

Shanghai furniture in the use of the city’s unique resources at the same time, followed the pattern of the combination of the two. The ancestral art of Chinese wood carving was used to create modern works after the art deco design. Because labor is cheap and plentiful, Shanghai’s furniture is the same as France’s, but with less precious materials and made on the big schale. In furniture decoration, wood carvings replace precious wood inlays, creating highly modern and affordable decorative works. The result is a unique combination of craft and industry.

As a symbol of modernization, shanghai-style furniture was widely adopted by the rapidly developing Shanghai upper-middle class in the 1920s and early 1930s. They follow the art deco movement in style, but often adapt to local traditions. The best example is a pair of seats separated by a tea table or a unique Chinese mahjong table. Like traditional Chinese furniture, they are more decorative than practical.

In Shanghai, such as radios, electric fans and other items related to Shanghai furniture can be seen everywhere. In a city obsessed with modernity, shanghai-style furniture is almost mainstream. The styles faded in the 1950s, but Shanghai residents kept them for a long time because of a lack of replacements. There are many new choices in the 1990s, and these old clothes are often discarded and replaced with new and shiny ones. They are now often used by Shanghai designers to create a sense of old Shanghai indoors.

China’s Ice and Snow Tourism Revenue is About 386 Billion Yuan

It’s snowing season again in winter. As Beijing winter Olympic Games entered the countdown, to a snow and ice tourism, has quietly become a popular choice from the weathervane. Recently, the China tourism academy (data center of the ministry of culture and tourism) released the China snow and ice tourism development report 2020, which estimated that during the 2018-2019 snow and ice season, the number of snow and ice tourists in China has reached 224 million and the revenue of snow and ice tourism is about 386 billion yuan.

As a new type of leisure consumption, ice and snow tourism has become a new engine of tourism consumption. Hangzhou people not only go to the northeast to play with snow, but also like to find ice to play with snow. Some insiders also said that, compared with the rapidly growing consumer demand, the number of well-known IP and tourist destinations of ice and snow tourism is not enough, and the form tends to be homogeneous. Moreover, for such high-risk tourism projects, the supporting product system is not yet perfect. These core questions are worth pondering in the current heat of ice and snow tourism.

Through hulunbuir steppe, close contact with reindeer in the alshan deer village, and then all the way north to the North Pole village… During the recent New Year’s day holiday, he jin, a young man from hangzhou, took a special annual leave and went to Harbin with his friends for a “year of ice and snow”. “Maybe it’s because I’ve lived in the south since I was young. I’m always excited when it comes to snow in winter.

In fact, there are many hangzhou consumers like he jin. Several otas have told reporters that although themed tourism products such as snow and ice tourism are still new things at present, the rapidly expanding consumer demand has also made the supply side constantly take on new characteristics.

According to ctrip join the swim team and freedom tour booking data, in November 2019 to January 2020, Harbin, hering snow still is a traditional high popularity of ice and snow tourist destination, the local ice and snow tourist routes and tourism products after years of building, has formed a relatively mature system, which has become a popular choice of similar products, but at the same time, the Lhasa in Tibet, nyingchi winter snow has become a new choice for tourists. “Different from previous years, tourists will pay more attention to the ice and snow routes in xinjiang, Tibet and hubei in 2020.” “Said peng liang, chief researcher of ctrip’s big data lab.

Data from lvmama also showed that the number of bookings for ice and snow tourism products in December 2019 increased by 47.9 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. Among the surrounding tour products, the ice and snow parks in wuxi, yangzhou, shaoxing and other places allow hangzhou tourists to experience the fun of ice and snow in close proximity. In terms of outbound tourism, the Alps in Europe, Hokkaido in Japan, Quebec in Canada, Oregon and Montana in the United States are all favored by hangzhou tourists.” Donkey mother related officials said.

He jin’s first impression is that there are more professional ski resorts and skating rinks in hangzhou. “Snow and ice activities are heating up in hangzhou, and I feel that playing with snow is not only for northerners.”

In addition to outdoor ski resorts such as daming mountain and jiangnan tianchi, there are more and more places for people in hangzhou to play with snow in recent years. According to the data from tianyan, there are 14 enterprises whose business scope includes “skiing” in operation, existing and emigrated in hangzhou, among which 4 new enterprises will be added in 2019, 1 enterprise whose business scope includes “indoor skiing”, and 4 enterprises whose business scope includes “skating”. By last July, nine ice rinks had been built in zhejiang, and seven in hangzhou, one in ningbo and one in quzhou were all in shopping malls.

“Driven by the Olympic snow and ice fever, the northern tourism destinations have obvious advantages in snow and ice sightseeing and professional skiing leisure. Meanwhile, the southern cities have gradually established their advantages in snow entertainment and leisure, and the market pattern is increasingly clear.” Peng liang told reporters. At the same time, the report also pointed out that the south pays more attention to the strong consumption capacity of the local market and the consumption rule of tourist areas, and has attracted many tourists to experience ice and snow in short distance by building large ice and snow commercial complexes and mountain skiing facilities.

China Post, How to Mail Big Luggage Home

Traveling in China is an experience you won’t soon forget. Of course, you can also buy more souvenirs to make the experience fresh in your mind. But what do you do when your eye for a bargain is out of reach for your luggage? This article will help you decide how to transfer all your Chinese memories home in the simplest and most economical way.

Generally speaking, most international airlines have a 50-pound weight limit for checked baggage (23 kilograms in economy class).

Travelers should buy a mini scale or check to see if your hotel offers a weighing service to make sure your weight is within limits. If you find that your luggage exceeds the limit set by the airline, you can choose to check more than one bag.

If you plan to check in a second (or more) bag, you may have to pay between $35 and $100, depending on your flight, airline and other factors.

For example, the excess baggage charge is usually 1.5% of the economy fare per kilogram. You also run the risk of breaking fragile items on your flight.

While there are ways to ensure and protect your luggage, some items may be irreplaceable. If you think that excess baggage can be a problem for you when you get home, you’d better read through the basics to help you plan your strategy.

Passengers are also encouraged to familiarize themselves with Chinese customs regulations to avoid unfortunate incidents at airports.

There are several ways to check excess baggage home. While these options can be expensive, they are often touted as the safest and most reliable way to move your important projects.

China post is considered the most cost-effective and streamlined mode of transportation.China post is the official postal agency in China. Like the U.S. postal service, they ship both domestically and internationally. You’ll want to browse their website to learn the rules and fees that apply to your unique situation. They provide air and surface transportation.

Air freight is the fastest and usually takes 7 to 15 working days, depending on the final destination and size. The Surface is a cheaper, slightly slower option. For international transport, this means that your packages will be shipped by sea and may take 40 to 70 working days to arrive.

China post’s parcels are divided into small parcels and large parcels. Small packages are suitable for goods weighing less than 4.4 LBS (2 kg). A large package can weigh up to 66 pounds (30 kilograms).right now unless the host said “don’t go” again and again. If the guest insists to go, the host can stand up after the guest stands up and persuade the guest to stay longer. If the guest sends you gifts, you should also send some small delicate gifts to him as a reward, and this custom both exists in west and China.

A Comparison Between Chinese Etiquette and the Western Etiquette

Since different countries have different histories and cultures, there are a lot of differences in the habit of conducts and the ceremony, especially between China and the West, the jokes and the mistakes caused by misunderstanding is not unusual. This shows that the understanding of the different etiquettes between Chinese and  the Westerners is absolutely necessary. In the office, to understand each other’s customer will be conductive to the exchanges between the countries. A person who understands others’ rituals and folk customs can be seen as respecting for others and can be easier to make a good impression on the other side. Along with the constant development of Chinese culture and the Western culture, Chinese ritual and the Western ritual are fusions. The Westerners have accepted the reasonable factors in Chinese culture and other important feelings. Chinese people have gradually accepted the advanced civilization of the Western culture and etiquette style. However, in real life, the etiquette’s impact due to cultural differences between China and the West still exists. The paper explores the differences between Chinese etiquette and the Western etiquette to make Chinese communicate with the Westerners more easily.

The Impact of Different Modes of Social Interaction on Etiquette Chinese cultures and the Western cultures have attached great importance to interpersonal relationship. However, they were clearly different in exchanging ideas. Chinese are very warm and hospitable, which contained in relationships, being notseemed to be preserved. It is granted to understand the age, occupation, income, marital status, children and other issues with each other. The Westerners will generally not do like that. Chinese will ask the price of goods which is bought by others directly. In the eyes of Chinese people, the price is only for items or rank. It is said the quality of goods. In Westerners’ eyes, if you do the same thing, it may be regarded as the inquiry of other’s economic conditions. It is also the privacy of the Westerners which should not be asked directly. If you want to know the price in details, you can only tactfully praise the achievement of the goods. Under such circumstances, the Westerners will tell you if it is cheap or expensive in general, but they normally do not tell you the price. Chinese prefer to ask “where are you going?” when they meet others. This is just a form of calling in China. And if it happens in the United States, it might make the other feel embarrassed, because it belongs to other’s privacy you should not interfere in. In addition, the distance of the interaction between people can be divided into four types. There are close distance, individual distance, social distance and public distance. Chinese people’s kind relatively belongs to close distance. We often see two Chinese girls walking on the street arm-in-arm which is rare to see in the West. The Westerners think that the Chinese are too close. On the contrary, the Chinese feel that the Westerners are very cold, arrogant, distant with others, and unfriendly. If Chinese people find that there is a thrum in other’s clothes, they will naturally pick it off. It is a bad behavior in the eyes of the Westerners. When Chinese meet a friend who wears very pretty clothes, he will stroke the clothes before asking price or texture. The Westerners will not do like that but directly praise his friends and his beautiful clothes.

Victoria Harbour, One of the Three Best Night Scenes of the World

Located between Hong Kong island and the Kowloon Peninsula, Victoria harbour, also known as Victoria bay, is the largest seaport in China and the third largest in the world, after San Francisco in the United States and Rio DE janeiro in Brazil. It is home to most of Hong Kong’s ports, making it one of the busiest in the world. The harbor is busy day and night with a wide variety of vessels, from the historic star ferry to cruise ships, cargo ships and wooden fishing boats.

The port is named after queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years (1837-1901), making it the longest port in British history. During her reign, Britain enjoyed unprecedented cultural and economic prosperity. In 1840, three years after assuming the throne, Britain launched the first opium war against China. After the war, the treaty of Nanking was signed and Hong Kong island became a British concession. After the second opium war in 1860, China was forced to sign the treaty of Beijing, and the Kowloon Peninsula was ceded to Britain in 1861. In April of that year, the bay between Hong Kong island and the Kowloon Peninsula was named Victoria harbour. As the natural centre of Hong Kong’s densely populated urban area, the harbour has hosted many large public displays, including the annual fireworks display.

Victoria harbour has long been known for its fascinating panoramic views and is a major attraction in Hong Kong. Skyscrapers on Hong Kong island and on the Kowloon Peninsula glint with countless lights at night, making Hong Kong one of the world’s three best nightspots, along with Hakodate in Japan and Naples in Italy.

The 2019 China Tourism Development Report Has Been Officially Released

The 2019 China tourism development report, which took a year to compile by the research team of the Wuhan branch of the China tourism academy, was released in Wuhan on Dec 19. From the perspective of global and domestic linkage and social, economic and cultural integration, the report makes a comprehensive and in-depth review and evaluation of China’s annual tourism development performance, key issues and hot issues, and evaluates and ranks the tourism competitiveness of provinces and key cities in China.

From different perspectives of the world, region and industry, the research group makes a comprehensive review of the development of China’s tourism industry. While highlighting the research features of the report series, the timeliness and scientificity of the research are highlighted. The report consists of the general report and the special report.

The reform of cultural and tourism institutions is progressing smoothly, and the policy environment for industrial development is sound. This year, the reform of cultural and tourism institutions has been implemented at the municipal and county levels. At the same time, a series of policies have been issued and introduced, involving many fields such as tourism poverty alleviation, scenic spot tickets, high-quality development of characteristic towns, tourism dishonesty, etc., creating a favorable policy environment for industrial operation.

Three markets continue to run well, the entry market continued to warm. In 2018, the number of Chinese domestic tourists, outbound tourists and inbound tourists reached 5.54 billion, 149.7 million and 141.2 million respectively. Domestic tourism revenue, outbound tourism expenditure and inbound tourism revenue were 5.13 trillion yuan, 277.3 billion U.S. dollars and 127.1 billion U.S. dollars, respectively. According to the data of the last three years, the outbound tourist arrivals of China show a rapid growth trend with an average annual growth rate of 9.1%. The inbound tourist arrivals have continued to recover since 2014 with an average annual growth rate of 1.8%, while the domestic tourist arrivals have a relatively low growth rate of 11.5%.

The investment scale is the second largest in the world, and the investment subjects are increasingly diversified. According to the world tourism and travel council, China’s tourism investment in 2018 stood at us $161.5 billion, up 4.40 percent year on year, firmly ranking second in the world. Since the 13th five-year plan, tourism investment has maintained an average annual growth rate of 6.82%, attracting diversified capital including government investment and financing platforms, private enterprises and non-tourism enterprises.

Overall contribution remained the second largest in the world, but growth slowed. In terms of domestic contribution, statistics released by the ministry of culture and tourism show that total tourism revenue reached 5.97 trillion yuan in 2018, up 10.5 percent year on year. The overall contribution of tourism to GDP was 9.94 trillion yuan, accounting for 11.04% of GDP. In terms of international contribution, according to the world tourism and travel council, the combined contribution of China’s tourism industry to global GDP reached us $1509 billion in 2018, ranking second in the world. The number of jobs contributed by the tourism industry is 79.91 million, ranking the first in the world.

Qingyan Ancient Town, One of the Most Famous Historical Towns in Guizhou

Huangguoshu Waterfall is a miniature of the Milky Way, the largest waterfall in Qingyan ancient town, located in the southern suburb of Guiyang, is one of the famous historical and cultural cities in Guizhou province. Founded in 1378, Qingyan is an ancient town covering an area of 300 hectares (740 acres). Today, due to its long history and strong cultural atmosphere, the town has become an attractive destination for many domestic and foreign tourists.

Qingyan town was built in the early Ming dynasty (1368-1644) for military reasons. Because of its location, Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming dynasty, established it as a place to convey military messages and accommodate standing armies. After years of modification and restoration, Qingyan ancient town gradually became an ancient town with cultural characteristics of the Ming and qing dynasties (1644-1911).

Although the ancient town of qingyan is small in area, it has a reasonable architectural style, hundreds of ruins and profound cultural deposits.

Due to the local geological conditions, qingyan ancient town is built entirely of stone. Visitors will be able to see the spectacular walls built on the cliffs, where huge rocks divide the bluestone into inner and outer parts. There were four doors on the wall, facing north, south, east and west. Beyond the four gates, there are originally eight stone tablets, which are considered to be the symbol of Qingyan ancient town. Of the eight pieces, three have elaborate sculptures on each surface. One of the most famous is Zhao ethics-baisui (longevity star) fang.

Walking into the inner city, visitors are sure to marvel at the ancient buildings. Monasteries, temples, pavilions, caves, courtyards, palaces and more than 30 kinds. They were all designed by highly skilled architects in the Ming and qing dynasties. The stone carvings of ciyun temple, the wood carvings of shou Buddha temple and other exquisite items are worth a look. You can visit the old commercial street and enjoy the elegant classical wooden houses. If you like, go to those teahouses and sample some of the famous local snacks, such as smoked tofu, rice tofu and brown sugar.

It is also rich in religious culture, including Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism and Christianity. If you are interested in Buddhism, you can take this opportunity to learn the typical buddhist culture here. At the same time, you will also be impressed by the Taoist way of speaking. What’s more, you’d be surprised how many of its residents are Catholic and Christian, since Catholicism was introduced by a French priest in 1851 and Christianity nearly 70 years ago. When traveling there, visitors will hear stories of many historical figures who were born or lived here.

Immersive Travel Brings New Experiences in China

The 2019 China international travel fair has opened in kunming, yunnan province. In the exhibition areas, visitors can not only taste cultural and creative food and buy cultural and creative products, but also participate in role play and make handicrafts with yunnan characteristics. The rich and diverse cultural tourism experience makes people linger and enjoy themselves.

In recent years, with the deepening of the reform on the supply side of tourism, a number of new forms of tourism with strong sense of participation and strong cultural flavor have emerged. These new formats constantly refresh people’s travel experience and become a new growth point for the development of the tourism market.

The new format of tourism can be described by “sense of participation”, “immersion” and “Internet +”

Here, I not only see the beauty of the water town south of the Yangtze river, but also appreciate the beauty of the culture south of the Yangtze river, very comfortable. Recently, li hui, an employee of a financial enterprise in pudong new area of Shanghai, took his family to fuyang district of hangzhou, zhejiang province, to travel by car and felt the charm of the integrated development of local culture and tourism.

Culture is becoming the focus of many scenic spots across the country. The combination of culture and tourism enables culture to go further and travel more poetically. Cultural landscape, tourism and performing arts, theme parks, characteristic towns, cultural and creative development, cultural festivals… Various new modes of cultural and tourism integration emerge one after another, bringing tourists more cultural tourism feast.

With the upgrade of travel consumption, people now put forward higher requirements for travel experience than traditional tourism. Stay in a homestay to experience local customs, watch a super movie in VR, and take a trip through ancient costume… Immersive tourism with more experience and participation is increasingly sought after by tourists.

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