China
Introduction
I actually don't know much about China, but it is definitely, in my opinion, one of the more intriguing locations of the world. There's so much history behind this country. They've had many wars and disputes, many uprisings, philosophers who changed the whole meaning of concepts believed to be true by the entire world. China is one of the oldest places on Earth, and a lot of knowledge can probably be found there if you just look for it. It's amazing to see so much tradition and culture is engrained in their everyday life. The opportunity to walk through the streets during a festival, or to journey through their countryside would probably bear an amazing experience. This is a place I would say is worth the trip, after all, who doesn't like Chinese food?
Tri-Cultural Cuisine
My Connections With China
As I said before, I've don 't know anything at all about China, I'm just very interested in learning. According to one of my Chinese friends though he says, and quote "The air is literally just shit.". I guess that means I can assume they have a lot of pollution, but then again nowhere is perfect. China also looks like a rooster too, but that's once again beside the point. I actually didn't even recognize China much as a country until my trip to Toronto, where like 90% of my class was Chinese. As you've probably guessed, I made a lot of Chinese friends over there, so I got a lot more acquainted with their style of life. I celebrated my first Chinese New Year before over there too, woohoo! Well more like people actually cared enough to put up a few decorations and watch the Chinese Year of the Chicken (or rooster or something, sorry if I offended someone) youtube stream celebration on the projector. The stream was actually pretty cool to watch though, as there were some funny skits, astounding dances, and some spectacular performances. If I ever do get the chance to visit China, I'll add on to this later and maybe share a couple picture in the Gallery (That is currently non existent as of July 17, 2017).
An Example of Chinese Art
Artist Unknown
More On Culture And Traditions
China is a place that changes throughiut the country. Many of the customs of one place may change in a place a hundred miles from there. With so much to go over, it's impossible to list all of their traditions, so I'll just go over a few.
Arts
Much of the Chinese arts are influenced by the country's spiritual origins. Paintings might often depict mountains, shrines, and spiritual figures. Musically, China has many instruments unique to the culutre. Martial arts are such as Kung Fu were also developed here in China, which actually came from animal movements. Dance in China is usually notable for the grace and eleagance of the dancers, and the combining of tradition and modern looks.
Cuisine
Just like many of the aforementioned part's of Chinese culture, cuisine can go throuh reat changes depending on the area in China it's found. Xiang, Zhe, Hui, and Su are all different cooking styles in China. Each one of the cooking styles may place emphasis on one quality or type of food or aanother. All of these styles of cooking usually require good technique though and practice. I'm sure you'll still enjoy most of the food prepared though.
Events and CelbratIons
I've said it before and I'll say it again; China is a very diverse place. The festivals and celbrations here are just as diverse and unique. From dragon boat festivals, to the Harbin Ice Festival, and even a mid autumn festival, celbrations can be found all over China. The most important festival is the Chinese New Year celbration (Spring Festival). For a week, the Chinese celbrate by spending time with family, giving gifts of money, buying clothes, decorating the streets with lanterns, and setting off firecrackers. It's truly a spectacle for anyone there. The festivals main purpose, however, is to celbrate a year of hard work and to wish for a prosperous next year. All in all, Festivals in China do seem quite lively.
Language
With so many people living in this country, it would be hard to expect everyone to speak the same language. The majority of China speaks mandarin, but even then, noticeable changes can be found to mandarin throughout the country. Other places in China might speak languages such as Cantonese, Hakka and Wu. China has went through many divides and unifications, so language has changed through the numerous dynasties and eras.
Beliefs
The Chinese Communist Party is atheist, but a few religions are growing and being practiced now in China. Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism are all legal in China. Buddhism, Christianity , Islam, and Taoism are the most commonly practied in China. Most chinese people choose to follow folk religions though (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism). Religion and belief has grown a lot more in China, and still continues to grow slowly today.
2017 Year of Rooster
Singapore
The Chinese Animal Zodiac Cycle
You may know about the Chinese Zodiac Cycle if you've ever been around during Chinese New Year. The Chinese animal zodiac cycle is a type of calendar that identifies each year by an animal. The new year festivals are usually based around which animal it is for that year. 2017, for example was the year of the rooster, so rooster floats could be seen around the streets.
