A fascinated art, originally a form of local theatre, Peking Opera spread all over the country and then became the national opera of China. About 200 years ago, the Qing Emperor Qianlong toured in southern China and developed an interest in the local operas. On his 80th birthday, he let local opera troupes come to Beijing to perform for him. Some remained in Beijing after the celebration. The ones from Anhui and Hubei were incorporated with the palace opera -Kunqu Opera, which formed the Peking Opera .Peking Opera combines stylized acting with singing, dancing, musical dialogues, martial arts, colorful facial make-up and fantastic costumes.

 
Male roles are “Sheng”, and clowns are “Chou”. Each role, according to their sex, age and disposition, is characterized by different designs of facial make-up, say, Jing representing a rough, frank character and Hua Face representing a cruel or sinister character. So the audience can easily tell what kind of character an actor is performing.Facial make-up, costumes and head – dresses are wonderful works of traditional art. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Popularity: 10% [?]

 ”New York Times” (www.nytimes.com) has named The 31 Places to Go in 2010, the southern Chinese city of Shanghai,  ranked No. 12.

To many, the idea of a World Expo might seem like a dated, superfluous throwback from some preglobalized age. (Remember the one in Aichi, Japan? Enough said.) But tell that to the 70 million who are expected to attend Expo 2010 in Shanghai. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Popularity: 3% [?]

 ”New York Times” (www.nytimes.com) has named The 31 Places to Go in 2010, the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen,  ranked No. 20.

Chances are, the iPod in your pocket was made in Shenzhen, China. But this industrial powerhouse of a city on the Pearl River Delta in the southern region of the country, is more than just a factory town of sweatshops and bad smog — and it has the high-class hotels and high rollers to prove it. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Popularity: 12% [?]

Taishan Mountain in Shandong was included as “World Cultural and Natural Heritage” by UNESCO in Dec 1987.
Taishan Mountain, a typical representative of the Chinese famous traditional mountains, is a mountain with a long history and a special historic status. In 1982, Taishan Mountain was up into the list of State key scenic spots and was formally listed in the directory of World Natural and Cultural Heritage in 1987. It becomes a precious heritage of human being. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Popularity: 9% [?]

Chinese traditional painting dates back to the Neolithic Age about 6,000 years ago. The excavated colored pottery with painted human faces, fish, deer and frogs indicates that the Chinese began painting as far back as the Neolithic Age. Over the centuries, the growth of Chinese painting inevitably reflected the change of time and social conditions. From Primitive to Modern. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>

Popularity: 100% [?]