Yangtze River, 6, 300 km in length, is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world. It originates from Mt. Tanggula on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and runs through Qinghai, Tibet, Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Shanghai till the East Sea. Along the banks inhabit more than 300 million people. There are 27 million hectares of farm land in the river valley which is abundant with rice, cotton, rape, natural silk, hemp, tea and tobacco. The output of rice accounts for 70 percent of the national total and that of cotton holds a one-third share.
The river system is quite satisfying, with some 900 billion cu. m. of water running to the sea at the river mouth every year, 20 times that of the Yellow River. The navigable waters extend some 70, 000 km on the Yangtze River with 30, 000 km for motorships. The reserved potential of hydroelectric resources is 230 million kw.
The distance between Chongqing and Wuhan is 1, 370 km and 2,495 km with Shanghai.
The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River are world famous for the colorful scenery as well as diversified cultural relics, unique folk arts of the Ba and Chu states. Pleasure boats can take tourists to Fengdu, Wanzhou, Wushan Mountain, Shennongxi, Badong, Zigui, Yichang and Jingsha and other scenic spots along the river. The Three Gorges Tour is one of the 10 best itineraries in China.
To enjoy the beauty of Yangtze River, take a grand Yangtze River Cruise on luxury cruise ships from Top China Trip. Some of available cruise routes are listed below for your choice.
1. 14 Days Beijing, Xi'an, Lhasa, Yangze River, Shanghai Tour
2.11 days Beijing, Xian, Yangtze River and Shanghai Tour
3. 14 Days Three Gorges with Guilin Shanghai Beijing Tour
2010年11月11日星期四
Miao Ethnic Minority
The Miao ethnic minority has a population of 8,940,116 which is larger than most of minority groups in China. After immigration in a long history, today they live mainly in Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Hubei, Hainan Provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Prefecture. They are divided into several branches, such as Black Hmong, White Hmong, Striped Hmong, etc.
The Miao language, which belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan phylum, has developed into three dialects: the dialect of western Hunan Province, the one of eastern Guizhou Province and the one of ChuanQianDian (Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan). Due to a long time living with the Han and other people, they can also speak the Chinese, Dong and Zhuang languages. They have been writing their own Miao language based on Latin since 1956.The Miao people believe that everything in nature has a spirit, which incombination are mighty enough to control their lives. Every time there are disasters, they will invite a wizard to perform ceremonies designed to drive out the devil ghost. They worship their ancestors so much that memorial ceremonies are very grand. Sacrifices such as wine, meat, and glutinous rice are costly. Some Miao also believe in Catholicism or other Christian religions.The staple food of the Miao ethnic minority is rice. Other dishes are meat and acidic soups. Pickled vegetables, hot seasonings and home-made wine are common at the table. Glutinous rice becomes a must during festivals and celebrations.Divided by regions, the Miao people celebrate their festivals at different times, but they all have many, like the Dragon Boat Festival, the Huashan Festival, the Pure Brightness and the New Rice Tasting Festival (Chixin Jie). Among these, the Miao Spring Festival is the most important one that is held during the lunar ninth to the eleventh month.
The Miao language, which belongs to the Miao-Yao group of the Sino-Tibetan phylum, has developed into three dialects: the dialect of western Hunan Province, the one of eastern Guizhou Province and the one of ChuanQianDian (Sichuan, Guizhou and Yunnan). Due to a long time living with the Han and other people, they can also speak the Chinese, Dong and Zhuang languages. They have been writing their own Miao language based on Latin since 1956.The Miao people believe that everything in nature has a spirit, which incombination are mighty enough to control their lives. Every time there are disasters, they will invite a wizard to perform ceremonies designed to drive out the devil ghost. They worship their ancestors so much that memorial ceremonies are very grand. Sacrifices such as wine, meat, and glutinous rice are costly. Some Miao also believe in Catholicism or other Christian religions.The staple food of the Miao ethnic minority is rice. Other dishes are meat and acidic soups. Pickled vegetables, hot seasonings and home-made wine are common at the table. Glutinous rice becomes a must during festivals and celebrations.Divided by regions, the Miao people celebrate their festivals at different times, but they all have many, like the Dragon Boat Festival, the Huashan Festival, the Pure Brightness and the New Rice Tasting Festival (Chixin Jie). Among these, the Miao Spring Festival is the most important one that is held during the lunar ninth to the eleventh month.
Huangpu River
Nowadays the Huangpu River becomes a world famous tour bay. This river is a golden gateway of foreign trade as well as an important waterway to the Pacific Ocean from the Pudong new district. Cruising on the Huangpu river is an important traditional travel program in Shanghai. Riding a cruise boat along the Huangpu River, you will take a glimpse of Yangpu Bridge, Nanpu Bridge and Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower on both sides. Various exotic architectural buildings on the west bank of Huangpu River stand opposite to various modern skyscrapers on the east bank.
Wusongkou Port, a convergent point where the Huangpu River joins the Yangtze River, is adjacent to the eastern sea. Therefore, it is a place where three streams combine.
Huangpu River, a symbol of Shanghai, originates in Dianshan Lake and empties into the Yangtze River at Wusongkou (mouth of Wusong River). It is 114 kilometers (71miles) long and 400 meters (0.25 miles) wide. Huangpu River is ice-free year round. It has also become a demarcating line between two Shanghais, east and west, past and future. On its western shore, the colonial landmarks of the Bund serve as a reminder of Shanghai's 19th-century struggle to reclaim a waterfront from the bogs of this river; on the eastern shore, the steel and glass skyscrapers of the Pudong New Area point to a burgeoning financial empire of the future.The Huangpu's wharves are the most fascinating in China. The port handles the cargo coming out of the interior from Nanjing, Wuhan, and other Yangzi River ports, including Chongqing, 2,415km (1,500 miles) deep into Sichuan Province. From Shanghai, which produces plenty of industrial and commercial products in its own right, as much as a third of China's trade with the rest of the world is conducted each year.
Wusongkou Port, a convergent point where the Huangpu River joins the Yangtze River, is adjacent to the eastern sea. Therefore, it is a place where three streams combine.
Huangpu River, a symbol of Shanghai, originates in Dianshan Lake and empties into the Yangtze River at Wusongkou (mouth of Wusong River). It is 114 kilometers (71miles) long and 400 meters (0.25 miles) wide. Huangpu River is ice-free year round. It has also become a demarcating line between two Shanghais, east and west, past and future. On its western shore, the colonial landmarks of the Bund serve as a reminder of Shanghai's 19th-century struggle to reclaim a waterfront from the bogs of this river; on the eastern shore, the steel and glass skyscrapers of the Pudong New Area point to a burgeoning financial empire of the future.The Huangpu's wharves are the most fascinating in China. The port handles the cargo coming out of the interior from Nanjing, Wuhan, and other Yangzi River ports, including Chongqing, 2,415km (1,500 miles) deep into Sichuan Province. From Shanghai, which produces plenty of industrial and commercial products in its own right, as much as a third of China's trade with the rest of the world is conducted each year.
Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces
In the south-east of Longsheng County in Guangxi province and within the land of Ping Xiang, there is a group of large-scaled rice terraces built into the hillside. Some of the terraces look like great chains, other look like ribbons. They wind from the foot to the top of the hill. The smaller ones are like snails and the bigger ones like towers. There are layers on layers of terraces, high and low. The outline is very smooth. Its scale is enormous. It is called "The champion of the terrace world". It is the Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces. By the way, Long Sheng is also the gathering land for the minorities, such as Yao, Dong, Zhuang and Miao. The stockaded villages’ backs face the hills and their fronts face the river.
The Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces is 27 kilometers from Longsheng County, and it is 80 kilometers from Guilin city. Longji Mountain (the Dragon‘s Backbone Mountain) is a high mountain and its peak, Mao Er peak, is the highest in South China. With its foundation such a high mountain, how can the Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces not be winding and boundless! The total area of the Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces is 1014 hectares, and the whole terrace is built on the hillside with attitude from 300 meters to 1100 meters. Layers of terraces swirl and climb up from the river valley of torrent to the top of the hills where there are a lot of clouds. If you look toward the horizon, you would see that blocks of terraces are found to hand in hand, from the steep cliff to the end of the lush trees. Everywhere there is mud, there are cultivated terraces. Specifically speaking, the core of the terraces is a big land with area of two or three square kilometers.
The Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces is 27 kilometers from Longsheng County, and it is 80 kilometers from Guilin city. Longji Mountain (the Dragon‘s Backbone Mountain) is a high mountain and its peak, Mao Er peak, is the highest in South China. With its foundation such a high mountain, how can the Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces not be winding and boundless! The total area of the Dragon‘s Backbone Rice Terraces is 1014 hectares, and the whole terrace is built on the hillside with attitude from 300 meters to 1100 meters. Layers of terraces swirl and climb up from the river valley of torrent to the top of the hills where there are a lot of clouds. If you look toward the horizon, you would see that blocks of terraces are found to hand in hand, from the steep cliff to the end of the lush trees. Everywhere there is mud, there are cultivated terraces. Specifically speaking, the core of the terraces is a big land with area of two or three square kilometers.
Beijing Opera
As the most influential sort of traditional operas in China, Beijing Opera has a long history, following the Kunqu Opera (a class of tunes originating in Kunshan, Jiangsu). Since the fifty-fifth year (1791A.D.) of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the four major Anhui opera troupes who originally gave performances in South China entered successively into Beijing. They cooperated with actors from Hubei Province and accepted part of repertoires, tunes and performing methods of Kunqu opera and Qinqiang opera. In the meanwhile, they absorbed folk tunes in some regions and made continuous efforts in exchanges and assimilation. It is on this basis that they finally created Beijing Opera, which is the most influential type of opera with the most abundant repertoires and the largest number of actors, troupes and audience.
Beijing Opera provides a set of standardized art-expressing rules in various aspects such as literature, performance, music and stage design. Roles in Beijing Opera are classified into Sheng (young male character), Dan (young female character), Jing ("painted face" character), Chou (clown) and other roles in line with natural attributes of the characters. More frequently, they are classified in accordance with the characters' personalities and appraisals of the originator on them. A set of performance rules is prepared for every role, with unique features in singing, speaking, acting and martial arts. With historical stories as the main performance content, Beijing Opera is provided with a variety of widely-known repertoires including Blade of Cosmos, Magnolia Denudate, A Gathering of Heroes, Empty-City Stratagem and The Drunken Beauty. Beijing Opera is classified into "Beijing School" and "Shanghai School". There appeared a large number of excellent actors in different periods, with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng and Shang Xiaoyun known as the famous "Four Famous Drama Roles".
Widely spreading throughout China with extensive influence, Beijing Opera is dubbed as "Chinese Opera". It has reached all corners of the world as a crucial means of introducing and spreading traditional Chinese culture. Additionally, the multiple art elements contained within have served as the symbol of traditional Chinese culture.
Beijing Opera provides a set of standardized art-expressing rules in various aspects such as literature, performance, music and stage design. Roles in Beijing Opera are classified into Sheng (young male character), Dan (young female character), Jing ("painted face" character), Chou (clown) and other roles in line with natural attributes of the characters. More frequently, they are classified in accordance with the characters' personalities and appraisals of the originator on them. A set of performance rules is prepared for every role, with unique features in singing, speaking, acting and martial arts. With historical stories as the main performance content, Beijing Opera is provided with a variety of widely-known repertoires including Blade of Cosmos, Magnolia Denudate, A Gathering of Heroes, Empty-City Stratagem and The Drunken Beauty. Beijing Opera is classified into "Beijing School" and "Shanghai School". There appeared a large number of excellent actors in different periods, with Mei Lanfang, Cheng Yanqiu, Xun Huisheng and Shang Xiaoyun known as the famous "Four Famous Drama Roles".
Widely spreading throughout China with extensive influence, Beijing Opera is dubbed as "Chinese Opera". It has reached all corners of the world as a crucial means of introducing and spreading traditional Chinese culture. Additionally, the multiple art elements contained within have served as the symbol of traditional Chinese culture.
Shaolin Kungfu—Legend Forever
Shaolin Kungfu is a kind of martial arts practiced by monks under the special Buddhist culture of the Songshan Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng City, Henan Province. Taking martial art skills and actions as the performance form and Buddhism belief and Zen wisdom as the cultural meaning, the Shaolin Kungfu has a complete technical and theoretical system.
The Shaolin Temple, built in the Nineteenth year of Taihe Period during the Northern Wei Dynasty (495), is a cultural space for the development of the Shaolin Kungfu. The Shaolin Kungfu, which is originally practiced by the Buddhist monks whose duties were to protect the temple, has been gradually developed into an art of perfect technology, abundant meanings and high reputation in the whole world after more than 1500 years of development. According to martial art books registered by the Shaolin Temple, there are several hundred sorts of routines of Shaolin Kungfu practiced by monks of generations, among which, several dozen are the representative of boxing routines that have been handed down. In addition, there are 72 stunts and Kungfu of special sorts like capture, wrestle, discharging bone, point percussion and Qigong. Altogether 255 routines of boxing art, weapon and mutual practice are still practiced today.
The Zen wisdom of Buddhism has endowed the Shaolin Kungfu with profound cultural connotations. The Buddhist commandment has evolved into the commandment of Kungfu practicing, displayed by the Kungfu morals of the practicers. This evolvement has endowed the Shaolin Kungfu with such characteristics as abstention, modesty and reservation, as well as taking regard to the inner strength, terseness and to winning by striking only after the enemy has struck.The Shaolin Kungfu is an outstanding representative of the Chinese Wushu culture, and is the most representative performance form of the
The Shaolin Temple, built in the Nineteenth year of Taihe Period during the Northern Wei Dynasty (495), is a cultural space for the development of the Shaolin Kungfu. The Shaolin Kungfu, which is originally practiced by the Buddhist monks whose duties were to protect the temple, has been gradually developed into an art of perfect technology, abundant meanings and high reputation in the whole world after more than 1500 years of development. According to martial art books registered by the Shaolin Temple, there are several hundred sorts of routines of Shaolin Kungfu practiced by monks of generations, among which, several dozen are the representative of boxing routines that have been handed down. In addition, there are 72 stunts and Kungfu of special sorts like capture, wrestle, discharging bone, point percussion and Qigong. Altogether 255 routines of boxing art, weapon and mutual practice are still practiced today.
The Zen wisdom of Buddhism has endowed the Shaolin Kungfu with profound cultural connotations. The Buddhist commandment has evolved into the commandment of Kungfu practicing, displayed by the Kungfu morals of the practicers. This evolvement has endowed the Shaolin Kungfu with such characteristics as abstention, modesty and reservation, as well as taking regard to the inner strength, terseness and to winning by striking only after the enemy has struck.The Shaolin Kungfu is an outstanding representative of the Chinese Wushu culture, and is the most representative performance form of the
Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Minority
The Grand Song of the Dong Ethnic Minority – or the Grand Chorus, as we will call it here, though the Dong themselves call it Ga Lao ("Grand Tradition") – is the generally accepted title used by outsiders to describe the folk-song traditions of China's Dong ethnic minority. The Grand Chorus is performed entirely without the aid of musical instruments; it is what one would call a cappella in the West, to use the now popular Italian term, whose root is of course "chapel", but in a very particular sense: the small, semi-secluded room in a church, or at royal court, where the performing choir was located. In addition, the Grand Chorus is performed – sometimes even in groups that number the hundreds – without the benefit of a conductor, which is all the more impressive given the complex structure and the rapid changes in cadence of the Grand Chorus.
But the Dong people's Grand Chorus is much more than just an a cappella performance of folk songs – the songs of the Grand Chorus are intimately linked to all aspects of Dong culture, from the loftiest to the most mundane. The Grand Chorus, which also rests entirely on an oral tradition (indeed, the language of the Dong lacks its own orthography, or method of representing language sounds in written form), has traditionally been the Dong people's sole method of transmitting their culture down the ages; all of the "stories" of Dong culture, from creation stories to stories of kindness, sincerity, friendship, love, social harmony, respect for nature, respect for one's ancestors – in short, all of the stories deemed worthy of being remembered (not surprisingly the Grand Chorus has been called 'An Encyclopedia of Dong Social Customs') – are preserved in the songs of the Grand Chorus. As might be expected, elderly Dong singers are revered in much the same way that prize-winning writers and historians are revered in Western culture, for they are truly the guardians of Dong culture. Curiously, jealousy, distrust, strong feelings of dislike and dishonesty – in all its forms, from lying to cheating to stealing – seem to have been chastised from Dong social life, judging from the songs of the Grand Chorus, as if the aim of Dong social organization has been one of instilling a sense of communality in the group rather than one of celebrating the capriciousness of the individual.
But the Dong people's Grand Chorus is much more than just an a cappella performance of folk songs – the songs of the Grand Chorus are intimately linked to all aspects of Dong culture, from the loftiest to the most mundane. The Grand Chorus, which also rests entirely on an oral tradition (indeed, the language of the Dong lacks its own orthography, or method of representing language sounds in written form), has traditionally been the Dong people's sole method of transmitting their culture down the ages; all of the "stories" of Dong culture, from creation stories to stories of kindness, sincerity, friendship, love, social harmony, respect for nature, respect for one's ancestors – in short, all of the stories deemed worthy of being remembered (not surprisingly the Grand Chorus has been called 'An Encyclopedia of Dong Social Customs') – are preserved in the songs of the Grand Chorus. As might be expected, elderly Dong singers are revered in much the same way that prize-winning writers and historians are revered in Western culture, for they are truly the guardians of Dong culture. Curiously, jealousy, distrust, strong feelings of dislike and dishonesty – in all its forms, from lying to cheating to stealing – seem to have been chastised from Dong social life, judging from the songs of the Grand Chorus, as if the aim of Dong social organization has been one of instilling a sense of communality in the group rather than one of celebrating the capriciousness of the individual.
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