China Travel Guide

Humble Administrator's Garden, a representative of Jiangnan gardens, is the largest and most famous garden in Suzhou . It's also one of four classic gardens (others are Beijing Summer Palace, Chengde Summer Resort, and Suzhou Lingering Garden ) in China. The entire garden is composed of three parts: east, central, and west parts, in which the middle part is the essence. Humble Administrator's Garden Basics of the Humble Administrator’s Garden Name : 拙政园 in Chinese and Humble Administrator's Garden in English Humble Administrator's Garden Area : 5.6 hectares (13.8 acres) Age : Built in the 1510s with a history of more than 500 years Entrance Tickets : 70 RMB (Jan., Feb., Mar., Jun., Nov., and Dec.); 80 RMB (Apr., May, Jul., Aug., Sep., and Oct.) Opening Hours : 7:30 -17:30 (Mar.1st - Nov.15th); 7:30 - 17:00 (Nov.16 - Feb.) Address : No.178, Northeast Street, Gusu District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province The Time Needed : 2–3 hours How Was the Humble Administrator’s G...

Puyi is the last emperor in the Qing dynasty and also the last emperor in Chinese history . He ascended the throne at age three and was forced to abdicate in 1912. Along with his abdication was the end of the Qing dynasty and China’s imperial period. After the September 18th Incident in 1931, Puyi became the puppet emperor for Manchukuo under Japanese control until 1945. He was kept as a captive by the Soviet army for s few years before being taken over by the Chinese government in 1950. Since then, Puyi was nothing different from an ordinary Chinese person. On Oct.17, 1967, Puyi died in Beijing and was buried in Hualong royal cemetery.  Puyi’s Resume Puyi Full Name: Aisin Gioro Puyi Occupation: emperor, prisoner, ordinary person Birthday: Feb.7th, 1906 Death Date: Oct.17, 1967 Major Accomplishments: imperial restoration Burial Ground: Hualong Royal Cemetery of the Western Qing Tombs Early Years of Being An Emperor Puyi was born on Feb.7, 1906 , at the residence of Prince Chun. H...

Do you know how to greet a Chinese in the past? You must ask: "have you eaten?" Chinese people take food as the paramount necessity, and their long history justifies it. Food has evolved from merely a survival necessity to a unique culture bearing Chinese philosophy and thinking. The history of Chinese food culture can be roughly divided into five phases.  Hotpot Embryonic Stage (primitive times) In primitive society, eating was for survival . There was no such thing as food culture. People had what they could get until the discovery of fire. Five Grains Suiren made a significant discovery that fire could be made by rubbing sticks . Primitives began to cook food. With no sophisticated utensils, meats were either directly roasted on fire or boiled with water. The food supply was severely unstable. Starvation was common. Fuxi , a respected leader of ancient Chinese tribes, taught commons to fish . He also invented the primordial eight trigrams to guide people through the bad we...

Red envelope, also called Hongbao, is a long and narrow red paper envelope written with golden lucky words. It’s a cultural specialty during the Spring Festival. However, Hongbao is given more meaning today. It’s used as gift money, bonus money, tip, bribery, gamble, and gift coupon.  Origin of Chinese Red Envelope The legend goes that there was a little sprite named “Chong," who was very mischievous. He often came out on new year’s eve and touched children’s heads while they were sleeping. Those who were touched would end up having a fever and becoming dumb. To keep the sprite from hurting children, the parents lit up all the rooms and sat up all night. A new year was coming along, and the little sprite was ready to play again. He went to an old couple’s house and found the cherished baby boy. He was about to touch the boy’s head when a shaft of light appeared. The sprite fled away. It turned out that the old couple placed a small red envelope with eight copper coins wrapped besi...

Modern Chinese history refers to the history between the founding of the People’s Republic of China and today. It's divided into the new democratic society and the socialist society. During this time, China has evolved from establishing and consolidating its regime to leading the Chinese people to a prosperous, democratic, and self-reliant path. The timeline below illustrates the difficult past and the outstanding achievements that have been made by today. Phase One: The Founding of the People’s Republic of China and the Consolidation of the New Regime On April.23rd, 1949, the Chinese People's Liberation Army built its first navy in the east China military area. In September 1949, the first Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference was held in Beijing. Founding Ceremony On October 1st, a founding ceremony was held, indicating the official founding of the People’s Republic of China. From October 1950 to July 1953, China sent the Chinese People's Volunteer Army t...

Liu Bang , also called Emperor Gaozu , is the founder of the great Han Dynasty (202 B.C - 220 A.D). He is the first grass-root emperor in Chinese history who turned out to be an outstanding militarist, politician, and strategist. From the uprising against the tyrannical rule of the Qin dynasty (221 - 207 B.C) to establishing the Han dynasty, Liu Bang and his supporters struggled for seven years. In 202 B.C, Liu Bang realized his dream of being an emperor, and he ruled for seven years before death.  Basics of Liu Bang Name : Liu Bang, Liu Ji Gender : male Birthplace : Fengyi, Pei Prefecture (today’s Fengxian county, Jiangsu) Birthday : 256 or 247 B.C Reign years : 206 - 195 B.C Death date : June 1, 195 B.C Posthumous title : Emperor Gaozu of the Han Major achievements : Destroying the Qin dynasty and founding the Han dynasty Major literary works : Song of the Great Wind, Song of the Large Swans Early Years - A Complete Scoundrel Born in a peasant family, Liu Bang was a generous an...