The Spring of Beijing

It's still cold in Beijing and I can feel the chills while walking on the streets. We have several days of snow even! The sky had been gray and cloudy. Snow and little rainy, make this city as if it was still in the winter.

But the news from the Spring! Like a whisper, slowly come down to Beijing. Osiers and Poplars, the most popular trees seen on the streets, have the little buds silently from the twigs.

It tells the spring' s word to us. With the warmer breeze on our face, and the fragrance among the air. What do I see in this beautiful city? Spring is like a baby's sweet smile, so innocent, so pure.

When you find the light fog sprawl the alleys in the early morning, while the city is just waking up; or when you listen to the sounds gradually disappear at the late night, the lights twinkle in the near and far…. Then life is touching us. (Yizheng 99-3-17)

Spring Festival (Chinese New Year)

This year's Spring Festival started on February 15nth according to the every year different Chinese Lunar Calendar. This Calendar is about one month later than the western calendar and it was made several thousandyears ago.

The Lunar Calendar is made by the regulation of the movement of Moon.

And the former people planting and harvest according to the lunar calendar. Spring Festival represents the beginning of a new year, and we usually have the celebration just at the eve before the first day.

The meaning of it is from the ancient legend. And stay late till midnight is just to keep away the evil called "nian". So spend the spring festival is called " guo nian" in Chinese.

Some customs during the spring festival…the first and must is the dumplings! I think that dumpling could be treated as the most traditional and famous Chinese food.

It's very delicious and all the family should have dumplings at the eve of the new year's day. Imagine that warm scene: the whole family prepare and make the dumplings around the dinning table, the son and daughter take their family and kids back home with the parents.

The family would have a warm meet during this festival. Everyone is happy and satisfying. You could find smiles on each one's face. This is the time for the families.

We also used to have fireworks to celebrate the Spring Festival, and "miao hui" means the " festival fair". It is a very traditional item during the festival and it's especially for the Beijingers.

It goes back several hundreds of years, when at that time the fair was a public entertainment programs with magical shows. But now we still have such programs in the festival fair, and also you can find all the traditional Beijing snacks!

The celebration will last for one week and this year of 2002 is the Year of the Horse!

Beijing  -  my hometown

Have you ever been to this magic place?

An ancient city with a history of 3,000 years; a modern city, in which one can find almost anything.

The largest square – Tian’anmen square; the miracle in the world – the Great Wall; the Forbidden City – the famous palace complex with 9,999 houses and there had been  the home of  even 24 emperors.

Guess what you would know and see in Beijing, from the high red walls on the street, built by bricks may with over one thousand year’s history, to the folk resides with gray roof.

You may find that something you are touching maybe is much more older than us.

Perhaps the tree, the designed stone bricks under your feet; and the houses and buildings. 

The charming side of Beijing is the perfect combination of ancient and modern. They are in each other and in the mean time make each other more attractive. 

I cannot express how much I love this city. And the feelings is complex.  I love the temples, the palaces, the museums; I love the olders singing the Beijing Opera on the garden; I love the smell of the breeze in the morning --- at that time the street is still in it’s sleep.

You will find so many persons from 7:00 am everyday. Beijing is also very famous for it’s population in the world: it has almost 11 million people.

Most of the foreigners been to Beijing would be captivated of this city’s  traditional buildings, languages, and even our Chinese names. And almost all the foreigners who staying here, studying or working, have themselves interesting Chinese names.