On Target for Posterity Yang Fuxi Upholds China’s Bow and Arrow-making Legacy

THE bow and arrow craftsmanship of the Ju Yuan Hao workshop in Beijing was recognized as one of China’s National Intangible Cultural Heritages in 2006.It was among the first cultural traditions to be given the title.At the time,48-year-old Yang Fuxi was one of the few master craftsmen remaining adept at traditional Chinese bow and arrow construction.Yang’s workshop,called "Ju Yuan Hao" for generations,produces some of the more complex bow and arrow designs of ancient China.Creating them today still requires many hours of     

Power and Pomp

An exhibit!on of 260 invaluable jade objects collected from 17 museums and institutions across M China opened at the Palace Museum in Beijing on July 16, celebrating UNESCCXs tribute to a 5,000-year-old Chinese culture. Liangzhu and Ancient China: The 5,000-Year Civilization Demonstrated byJade exhibits jadwares from Liangzhu, an ancient city that flourished 5,000 years ago near what is today Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, in east China.     

Touring Jinzhong Prefecture to Experience Shanxi Merchant Folklore

JINZHONG Prefecture incentral Shanxi Province isknown for its historic sitesand tourist facilities. It nowoffers a Shanxi Merchant FolkloreTour. The tour takes in ten touristspots, including the ancient city ofPingyao; Shuanglin and Zishoutemples; Mianshan, Wujin andShigao mountains; and the Qiao,Qu, Cao and Wang family mansions.Pingyao Ancient CityPingyao is representative ofthe ancient county towns of theHan ethnic group in the CentralPlains area, and is the best preserved county…     

Not Only for the Sake of Charity——A Chinese facility for protection of street urchins

In whatever country and for whatever period of human history, it is those lofty aspirations cherished by the human race that have motivated people to go in for charity. The Chinese culture that dates back to thousands of years ago has always called for charity. Numerous ancient maxims testify to this established fact—"extending the same care you give your own elders and children to others' elders and children," "helping a needy person on hand is worthier than worshipping a god in a faraway land,"     

Capturing the ‘Silk Road Gem’

In the eyes of one Chinese painter,Istanbul is a magnificent wonderlandblending the ancient and the modernWhen speaking about his search for artistic inspiration in Turkey that he undertook a mere handful of years ago.Wang Shengli,a famed oil painter from northwest China,can barely contain his excitement     

Bionic Choreography

REVERENCE for and interaction with nature and other beings is the key to traditional Chinese culture and was interwoven with all aspects of life and society in ancient China, including philosophy, architecture and healthcare. As early as 2,000 years ago a gymnastic routine was created by mimicking the movements of five animals that were believed to work muscles in the best way and stimulate the flow of qi, the intangible flow of vital energy, in the human body. Its inventor is Hua Tuo, known as the Chine...     

Destroying The Dragon Kilns

A television documentary and better transportation have brought illegal treasure hunters to Minqing County with devastating results for the region's ancient kilns In Yiyou Village,Minqing County in south China's Fujian Province ancient ceramic bowls,kettles and cups fitter the ground.The ancient treasures are relics from the Song and Yuan dynasties and date back almost a thousand years.     

The Uriankhai of the Altay： Inheritors of Primeval Culture

Reindeer-drawn Carts in Ancient Rock Paintings
The Artic region and the extreme north of Europe are important habitats for reindeer. In winter you may perhaps spot a reindeer-drawn sleigh speed away over the vast snow-carpeted expanses. But in ancient times such a sight was not uncommon in the Altar. This region was once a reindeer habitat too. as is demonstrated by the very precious rock paintings discovered in Handelate （Mongolian for elk） Valley, home of the Uriankhai people for centuries.     

The Past Preserved

<正>With a history of several thousand years,central China's Hunan Province boasts a large number of cultural relics.The Hunan Provincial Museum in the provincial capital of Changsha alone houses more than 180,000 ancient artifacts.According to Yu Yanjiao,a researcher with the museum,there are four"must-knows"about Hunan's cultural heritage.Birthplace of rice Hunan's climate and soil are eminently suitable for the growth of rice.In 1995,four rice kernels dating back over 10,000 years were discovered in the archaeological site of Yuchanyan in Daoxian County,Yongzhou,which indicates that wild rice has been grown in the region since ancient times.Archaeological discoveries indicate that there are multiple locations in which wild rice used to be grown in Hunan.In 1988,a large quantity of rice husks mixed in with broken pottery pieces were found in the Pengtoushan Site in Lixian County,Changde City.These rice husks were identified to date back 9,000 years.     

The Book Doctors

Du Weisheng, 65, is an expert on repairing ancient books at the National Library of China in Beijing. Before starting work at the library in 1974, Du had been on service in the army's construction and engineering corps in south China's Hunan Province for fi ve years. He was a complete novice in ancient book re-pair when he ended the service in the army and joined the library.     

Building Nanjing at High Qrality and Upgrading a New Image in a Leaping Manner——An Interview with Mr.Dai Yongning,Vice Mayor of Nanjing City

Nanjing has a history of over 2, 470 years and is one of the four ancient cities in China. It is famous for its beautiful mountains, rivers and its history for an ancient capital of six dynasties.Nanjing is surrounded by mountains, lakes and rivers. Its mountains, lakes, rivers, and forest are integrated into a whole body and the city is noted for its excellent physical geographical     

The Queen Who Rode to War

正Ancient female general provides a role model for the 21st centuryThere’s an unusual woman in Nan Yang’s life.The 30-year-old Chinese language teacher with a passion for making classroom teaching vivid and related to Chinese history and culture is under the spell of someone who,according to legend,was one of the60 wives of an ancient king.That is not the only remarkable thing about     

Charm Circling the wrist

<正>In the Chinese language,bracelets are called shouzhuo,as well as chuan,shouhuan and bihuan.As a ringlike adornment worn around the wrist,bracelets are often made of gold,silver and jade,or even rattan. With their long antiquity,bracelets first appeared in the transitional period between matriarchal and patriarchal society.In ancient times,a bracelet was a symbol of marriage for women,and an emblem of status or standing for men.Ancient people also believed that wearing a bracelet could ward off evil spirits or bring good luck.Structurally,bracelets may be divided into two types:one with enclosed rings made mostly of jade;     

Ningbo:Beautiful Coastal City

NINGBO is a tranquil coastal city, its 500-km coastline forming a scenic seascape. The HemuduCulture of 7,000 years ago records the lives of ancient ancestors that inhabited the region, and the Sun and the Moon Lakes,dug in the seventh century. are a particularly beautiful sight. The peopleof Ningbo have throughout their history had a deep affinity for the ocean. Two thousand years ago. XU Fu, a necromancer of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 B.C.). led a fleet from here. thus becoming the firs…     

山西·平遥 欢迎八方客

Shanxi is a major birthplace of the Chinese nation and one of the earliest developed areas in China. The burned bones that were discovered at the Xihoudu Site in Ruicheng Country--signs of the most ancient human civilization China has ever known--were a testimony of the earliest use of fire by hominid. It manifests that our remote ancestors lived and procreated on this land as early as 1.8 million years ago. The Dingcun Site (about 100,000 years old up to date) in Xiangfen County contains …     

Dujiangyan Scenic Area──A World Heritage Site

THE Dujiangyan Irrigation System that has turned the 733,300-hectare Chengdu plain into farmland with constant good harvests, was actually constructed 2,200 years ago. As an exceptionally good example of water conservation works both in China and in the world, the ancient project has functioned perfectly, serving as a method of flood prevention, irrigation, navigation and power generation. Thus, it is one of the wonders in the history of hydraulic engineering, embodying ancient Chinese civi…     

Fields of Dreams Efforts to preserve agricultural heritage promote sustainable farming

正In Qingtian,Zhejiang Province,fish swim in the paddy fields and at night,one can hear the sound of fish gulping up falling rice flowers.This unique agricultural practice has existed for over 1,000 years.The legend goes that farmers in ancient times inadvertently released fish fries,or newly hatched fish,into the paddy fields when channeling brook water into the fields.When harvesting rice in autumn,to their surprise,they found a lot of adult fish roaming the paddies.     

Jianshui,a Historical Haven简

正JIANSHUI Old Town is famous for its abundant historical and cultural attractions:remarkable ancient temples,ubiquitous ancient wells,countless exquisite old residences,and manifold delicacies.It’s no wonder that,the moment I set foot in this ancient town in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province,I was totally captivated by its charms.     

Confucius School, a National Strategy for Chinese Language Teaching

Confucius Great educator, thinker, and founder of Confucianism, Confucius (551-479 B.C.) is regarded as having had the greatest influence on the development of Chinese culture. He is believed to have had 3,000 students and 72 disciples, with whom he traveled the vassal states in ancient China for 14 years. He collated and compiled many ancient books, including the Book of Songs, the Book of History, the Book of Rites, and the Book of Music. He also wrote     

Under the Sea

An ancient shipwreck’s unveiling is a triumph of China’s underwater cultural relic protection programsAn exhibition showcasing the remains of an ancient sunken ship recently drew a flood of attention in Beijing upon its opening on August 22.The ancient ship named Huaguangjiao 1,enchanted the capital with its mysteries after laying untouched for almost800 years underwater.Huaguangjiao 1 was first discovered by a fisherman at the bottom of the South China Sea in 1996.It is also the first ancient ship found by the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.As a merchant ship,it was found full of items for trade,including porcelain,bronze ware and stone implements.Huaguangjiao 1was originally built in southeast China’s Fujian