Chinese Culture

  • Chinese Traditional Art List:
    Traditional arts include:     Chinese Seals, Chinese Lanterns, Chinese Kites, Cloisonne, Wax Printing, Chinese Knot, Acrobatics, Paper Cut, Paper Umbrella, Traditional Painting, Chinese Calligraphy, Embroidery, Chinese Dance, Beijing Opera
  • Chinese Martial Arts: Kungfu:
    Kung fu, (also known as wushu or martial arts) is one of the most well known examples of traditional Chinese culture and probably one of the earliest and longest lasting sports which utilizes both muscle and brain power. Chinese Kung Fu is a large system of theory and practice which merges self-defense as well as health-keeping techniques. In Kung fu, a distinction is made between "external", with which you exercise your tendons, bones, and skin; and "internal" kung fu with which you train your spirit, your mind and your qi.
  • The art of Tea:
    Tea culture is an important part of traditional Chinese culture. The Chinese tea tradition is several hundred years and even thousands of years earlier than that of Japan. The tradition of tea drinking is an art and attention is paid to the type of environment, atmosphere, music, infusing techniques and interpersonal relationships.
  • Festivals:
    There are numerous festivals taking place all around China each year. The most important of these are:
    • Spring Festival: This festival is the Chinese New Year celebration. People usually go home to their families to celebrate. The atmosphere is joyful at home as well as on the streets, where lion dances and dragon lantern shows are performed, and the temple fairs are crowded with people. Spring Festival is the most important festival for Han Nationality, but some ethnic nationalities also celebrate Spring Festival.
    • Mid-Autumn Festival: It is the second most important festival after the Spring Festival, which is August 15 according to the Chinese lunar calendar Every year, people go home to meet their families and have dinner with them. The festival is related to the moon and in Chinese culture, the full moon is a symbol of the peace and prosperity of the whole family. At that time of the year, the moon looks full and round that people believe that this day is very auspicious. The main celebrations during Mid Autumn Festival are watching the moon, eating moon cakes together and making Chinese Mid-Autumn Lanterns.
    • Lantern Festival: The night of 15th of January according to the Chinese lunar calendar is the first full-moon of the New Year and thus people treat it as a symbol of the New Year and celebrate on it specifically on that day. It also symbolizes the end of the Spring festival. It is celebrated by watching the bright moon and the beautiful lanterns, doing fireworks, guessing lantern riddles and eating yuanxiao or tangyuan (stuffed dumplings made of glutinous rice flour served in soup) together.
    • Qingming Festival: Qingming Festival, around April 5th, is a traditional festival that can also be called Tomb Sweeping Day. It is the most important day for sacrificing for and commemorating the deceased ancestors at their graves (Saomu) in China. According to the old custom, people should bring wine, food, fruits and fake paper money to the graves. The food and wine should be placed in front of the grave and the paper money should be burnt as an offering to the dead. In addition, people usually add some fresh soil to the grave and put some young tree branches on it. This is a festival celebrated by Han people and some other ethnic minorities.
    • Dragon Boat Festival: May 5th in Chinese lunar calendar is the traditional Dragon boat Festival. This festival is more than 2,000 years old and differs from place to place. However, usually daughters come back to their home, and people will partake in activities such as hanging the portrait of Zhongkui (a man who is good at catching ghosts), welcoming the ghost boat, hanging up the calamus and Chinese mugwort, dragon boat racing, competition in martial skills, drinking realgar wine or calamus wine, eating the wudu pie, salted eggs, zongzi (pyramid-shaped mass of glutinous rice wrapped in leaves) and fresh vegetables.
    • Double-Nine Festival: September 9th in Chinese lunar calendar is the traditional Chongyang Festival. Many activities take place on Chongyang Festival, such as travel outside, climbing hills, appreciating the chrysanthemum, wear cornels, eating chongyang cakes, drinking chrysanthemum wine, etc.
  • Culinary Art:
    Food has a special meaning to the Chinese people and the proverb "waste not, want not" means that you must use a great variety of plants and meats and use all of the food. This belief has given rise to a remarkably diverse cuisine. It is common to say that in the south you eat rice and in the north you eat wheat flour-based food. The flavor will also vary regionally: sweet food in the south, salty food in the north, sour food in the east and hot and spicy in the southwest. Chinese cooking puts an emphasis on variety, seasonal eating, aesthetics, taste and medicinal properties.
  • Architecture:
    Ancient Chinese architecture is characterized by the region, the ethnic group and time period. Ancient architecture building reached its pinnacle during the last two imperial dynasties- namely Ming and Qing Dynasties. Namely, the production of the bricks had greatly increased and improved, the quality and quantity of glaze tiles exceeded any past dynasties and the official buildings were highly standardized.