Celebrations New Year's 2008 in China

If you are in China at the time of New Year you will hear people wishing you Gung Hay Fat Choy. Don't get worried, it is Happy New Year in Chinese.

New Year 2008 celebrations is a grand event of China. New Year festivities lasts for one month in China. Chinese New Year is also called Spring festival. It begins from the middle of the last month of the year and ends up in the first month of the new year. These last day celebrations in China is called Lantern Festival.

How to Celebrate For a Chinese Christmas 2007

For Christmas 2007 in China, it's mainly Christians who celebrate Christmas party, although the commercial aspect of the special holiday is spreading.

Steps for Chinese Christmas 2007:

1. Make paper lanterns to decorate your house.

2. Set up a Tree of Light, or Christmas tree, and adorn it with paper chains, paper flowers and paper lanterns. These trees are usually artificial.

3. Help your children hang muslin stockings to be filled with small presents.

4. Expect Dun Che Lao Ren, or Christmas Old Man, to visit.

5. Participate in local festivals (like Hong Kong's Ta Chiu festival), which happen in many parts of China. They may or may not be directly associated with Christmas.

6. Go to church if this religious tradition is an important part of your Christmas celebration. Midnight Mass is popular with the small Catholic population.

7. Prepare for the Chinese New Year, officially called the Spring Festival, which marks the beginning of the new Chinese calendar year.

8. Buy your children new clothes and toys for the occasion.

9. Understand that it's appropriate to honor your ancestors during the New Year's celebration; hang portraits in your home of relatives from past generations.

10. Display bowls of oranges and tangerines, which symbolize wealth and good fortune.

AEMI International Clown Carnival in Hangzhou

Clowns try to spice up the atmosphere of AEMI international clown carnival in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province September 30, 2007. More than 70 comedians from 15 countries all over the world amused a great number of participants at the carnival.

[Source from; chinadaily.com.cn]

Panda cub in Chengdu

A newborn panda cub sleeps in an incubator at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan province July 26, 2007. The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species and is found only in China. An estimated 1,600 wild pandas live in nature reserves in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and 217 are kept in captivity. The panda, together with Tibetan antelope, swallow, fish and the spirit of the Olympic flame are represented by the five stylised doll mascots for the 2008 Olympic games.

[Source from; chinadaily.com.cn]

Contestants Sail on Bamboo in Guizhou

A young girl in a Red Army costume kicks her leg in the air during the Kong Zhu Piao contest or single bamboo rafting in which competitors must get across the water on a bamboo pole while striking difficult poses in Zunyi, South China's Guizhou Province.

[Source from; chinadaily.com.cn]

Chinese Website to Launch Gay TV Show

A Chinese Web site will launch Thursday what its producer describes as the country's first show to focus on gay issues and the first with an openly homosexual host. The weekly, hour long Internet TV show "Tongxing Xianglian," or "Connecting Homosexuals," will debut Thursday on www.phoenixtv.com, producer Gang Gang said in a phone interview.

The Web site is run by the same media company that runs the Phoenix satellite TV station. Gang said clips from the online show will be aired on the broadcaster. Gang said while homosexuals have appeared on Chinese TV shows, this will be the first show to focus on gay issues and the first with an openly gay host, AIDS activist Didier Zheng.

He said he hopes the Beijing-based show will improve public understanding of Chinese homosexuals. "There are many people in China's gay community, but people don't have a deep enough understanding about this community. This community faces a lot of trouble and difficulties. They face a lot of pressure," Gang said. The new show will explore homosexuality from legal, parental and sociological perspectives, dealing with issues like gay marriage, Gang said. The program will also feature a friend-matching portion.

The show's host, Zheng, 27, is a France-educated activist at the Chi Heng Foundation, which works with AIDS orphans and promotes AIDS prevention. "I hope to convey my love in caring for gays, my hopes for them to get better recognition in society," said Zheng, a Chinese citizen who pursued graduate studies in psychology at the Sorbonne.

Gang said he believes gays in China face less discrimination than in the West, where criticism of homosexuals stems from Christian beliefs. "The pressure comes more from the Chinese problem of saving face," he said.

[Source from; chinadaily.com.cn]

Jay Chou - The King of R and B in Asia

Jay Chou born 18 January 1979 is a World Music Award winning, popular Taiwanese pop and R and B musician, singer, and producer. Jay Chou is known for combining both Chinese and Western musical styles along with his classical music background to produce a sound unique to mainstream Chinese pop. His unique lyrics touch on various controversial issues; for instance, domestic violence in "Dad I am Back"; eco-awareness in "Rice Fields", the devastation of war in "Wounds that end the War" and reminds listeners to honor their mothers in "Listen to Your Mother". His unique sound has gained enormous recognition throughout Asia, most notably Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan. He is also very popular in other Overseas Chinese communities.

In 2002, Jay has won awards from all over the world. In China, he has won the most prestigious annual Channel V award for Best Male Singer. Today, he is often regarded as the best Asian male singer, and the reputation earned him a title of "Small King of R and B"

In 2005, Jay Chou played the leading role in the movie Initial D (Takumi Fujiwara), which was based on a popular Japanese manga of the same name. It was the most popular and talked about movie in Asia, premiering in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Western Countries as well. Other well known celebrities are playing too, such as Anne Suzuki, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue, Chapman To and Anthony Wong.

Jay Chou's amazing 2002 tour concert "The One," with an incredible total audience of 40,000 people has been captured on to VCDs. This twin-VCD set is a live recording of his 23 smash hits in his concert at the first station, Taipei.

As always, Jay promises an excellent performance with his vocal and dance skills. He invited his idol David Tao to be the guest performer. Jay also came out with various costumes, including Ninja, basketball player, soldier and vampire looks, perfect for those R and B nights. Watch out for Jay's R and B and RAP skills!

[Source from; answers.com]

Sexually Chinese Movie - Curse of the Golden Flower

Chinese director Zhang Yimou has made some of the most fascinating films in cinema history. A short list would have to include "Red Sorghum," "Ju Dou" and "Raise the Red Lantern" from early in his career, along with 2004's "House of Flying Daggers." But his latest effort, "Curse of the Golden Flower," is a major disappointment.

It's easy to understand why this epic set in 10th-century China has generated so much buzz: It stars Chow Yun-Fat ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") and Gong Li, two of the most charismatic actors on the international scene. But their talents are wasted on a glorified soap opera that clearly aspires to the crossover appeal of "Crouching Tiger" but is woefully low on martial-arts action.

Yun-Fat is the majestic but moody Emperor Ping; Li is the sleek but bleak Empress Phoenix. Their marriage is as sour as their surroundings are opulent. Clouds of discontent also hover over their son Prince Jie (Jay Chou) and stepson Crown Prince Xiang (Liu Ye). Ultimately, it all comes down to the question of who is to reign — and who is to die.

Yimou's gift for spectacle remains intact. But that's simply not enough to stave off boredom.

Yun-Fat and Li can't be faulted. Their performances are as good as could be expected, given the material. Because they're such fine actors, it's almost worth the price of admission just to revel in their interactions, despite the dubious circumstances.

In recent years, Yimou has alternated between making martial-arts epics such as "House of Flying Daggers" and "Hero," and intimate dramas such as "Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles" and "Happy Times." But regardless of genre, he has consistently demonstrated considerable artistry.

Perhaps the unfortunate "Curse of the Golden Flower" is merely a transitional film along the way to greater glory.