Lantern Festival 元宵节 - 汤圆 tāngyuán

Other than watching lanterns, guessing lantern riddles, people also eat Rice Dumplings. Rice Dumplings are also called 'Yuanxiao' hence the festival name, 'Yuanxiao Festival' 元宵节. It falls on the 28th February for 2010.

The other name that is more common to hear is 'tangyuan' 汤圆 tāngyuán. It is made into small balls using glutinous rice flour. The ingredients of the filling include rose petals, sesame, bean paste, jujube paste, walnut meat, dried fruit, sugar and edible oil.



By boiling, frying, or steaming, you can make them easily at home. The taste is sweet and delicious. Basically the pronunciation of 'tuanyuan' has a meaningful connotation which means 'Reunion'. Hence, it is eaten to denote union, harmony and happiness for the family.

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Danube - 多瑙河

The Danube is Europe's second longest river, of importance for the Danube is also the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) which is an international organisation consisting of 13 member states (Germany, Austria,Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine) and the European Union. It originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance of some 2850 km (1771 miles), passing through several Central and Eastern European capitals, before emptying into the Black Sea via the Danube Delta in Romania and Ukraine.

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Happy Chinese New Year!＝新年快乐，万事如意

新年快乐，万事如意

xīn nián kuài lè

新年快乐

， 

wàn shì rú yì

万事如意

 

万事如意	wàn shì rú yì	to have all one's wishes (idiom) / best wishes / all the best / may all your hopes be fulfilled
新年快乐	xīn nián kuài lè	Happy New Year!

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Beijing北京

Food street of Beijing

Some local photos of Beijing:-

Peter from Stockholm in Sweden wrote in his Visit Beijing 北京 blog:

''1st day of my visit, 15th of April to 15th of May 2007, Beijing is in my heart forever. I share my memories here with you. Living in Lipings new 3 room apartment, Minan Residential Complex at Dongzhimen Nei Dajie, Dong Cheng District, Beijing. Local street is Dong Yang Wei Jie. Earlier in the Dong Yang Wei Hutong. In Dongzhimen Area, inside the 2nd Ring Road. In The Inner City. Near to the subway station, busses or walking to see all of Beijings interesting sights. Who could ask for more?''

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Chinese Alphabetical Order

The following is a list of countries in Chinese alphabetical order. For the Olympics, countries enter the stadium in alphabetical order of the local language, so in 2008 case, the chinese language in China. Hungary was the 83rd country to enter ;)

1 Greece (GRE) Ilias Iliadis Judo

2 Guinea (GUI)

3 Guinea-Bissau (GBS)

4 Turkey (TUR)

5 Turkmenistan (TKM) Guvanch Nurmuhamedov Judo

6 Yemen (YEM)

7 Maldives (MDV)

8 Malta (MLT) Marcon Bezzina Judo

9 Madagascar (MAD)

10 Malaysia (MAS) Azizul Hasni Awang Cycling (track)

11 Mali (MLI) Daba Modibo Keita Taekwondo

12 Malawi (MAW)

13 FYR Macedonia (MKD) Atanas Nikolovski Canoe / Kayak (slalom)

14 Marshall Islands (MHL) Waylon Muller

15 Cayman Islands (CAY)

16 Bhutan (BHU)

17 Ecuador (ECU)

18 Eritrea (ERI)

19 Jamaica (JAM)

20 Belgium (BEL) Se’bastien Godefroid Sailing

21 Vanuatu (VAN) Priscila Tommy Table tennis

22 Israel (ISR) Michael Kolganov Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

23 Japan (JPN) Ai Fukuhara Table tennis

24 Chinese Taipei (TPE) Lai Shengrong Softball

25 Central African Republic (CAF)

26 Hong Kong, China (HKG) Wong Kam-po Cycling

27 Gambia (GAM)

28 Benin (BEN)

29 Mauritius (MRI)

30 Mauritania (MTN)

31 Denmark (DEN) Joachim Olsen Athletics (shot put)

32 Uganda (UGA)

33 Ukraine (UKR) Yana Klochkova Swimming

34 Uruguay (URU) Alejandro Foglia Sailing (Laser)

35 Uzbekistan (UZB)

36 Brunei Brunei (BRU)

37 Barbados (BAR)

38 Papua New Guinea (PNG)

39 Brazil (BRA) Robert Scheidt Sailing (Star)

40 Paraguay (PAR) Vi’ctor Fatecha Athletics (javelin throw)

41 Bahrain (BRN) Rakia Al Gassra Athletics (sprints)

42 Bahamas (BAH)

43 Panama (PAN) Irving Saladino Athletics (long jump)

44 Pakistan (PAK) Zeeshan Ashraf Field hockey

45 Palestine (PLE)

46 Cuba (CUB) Mijail Lopez Wrestling (Greco-Roman)

47 Burkina Faso (BUR)

48 Burundi (BDI)

49 Timor-Leste (TLS)

50 Qatar (QAT)

51 Rwanda (RWA)

52 Luxembourg (LUX)

53 Chad (CHA)

54 Belarus (BLR) Alexandr Romankov

55 India (IND) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Shooting

56 Indonesia (INA) I Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana Sailing (RS:X)

57 Lithuania (LTU) S(aru-nas Jasikevic(ius Basketball

58 Niger (NIG)

59 Nigeria (NGR)

60 Nicaragua (NCA) Alexis Arguello

61 Nepal (NEP) Deepak Bista Taekwondo

62 Ghana (GHA)

63 Canada (CAN) Adam van Koeverden Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

64 Gabon (GAB)

65 San Marino (SMR) Daniela Del Din Shooting

66 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (VIN)

67 Saint Lucia (LCA)

68 Sa~o Tome’ and Pri’ncipe (STP)

69 Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN)

70 Guyana (GUY)

71 Djibouti (DJI)

72 Kyrgyzstan (KGZ) Talant Dzhanagulov Judo

73 Laos (LAO)

74 Armenia (ARM) Albert Azaryan Gymnastics (coach)

75 Spain (ESP) David Cal Figueroa Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

76 Bermuda (BER)

77 Liechtenstein (LIE)

78 Congo (CGO)

79 DR Congo (COD)

80 Iraq (IRQ)

81 Iran (IRI) Homa Hosseini Rowing

82 Guatemala (GUA) Kevin Cordon Buezo Badminton

83 Hungary (HUN) Zolta’n Kammerer Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

84 Dominican Republic (DOM) Fe’lix Sa’nchez Athletics (400m Hurdles)

85 Dominica (DMA)

86 Togo (TOG)

87 Iceland (ISL)

88 Guam (GUM)

89 Angola (ANG)

90 Antigua and Barbuda (ANT)

91 Andorra (AND)

92 Tonga (TGA)

93 Jordan (JOR) Zeina Shaban Table tennis

94 Equatorial Guinea (GEQ)

95 Finland (FIN) Juha Hirvi Shooting

96 Croatia (CRO) Ivano Balic’ Handball

97 Sudan (SUD)

98 Suriname (SUR)

99 Libya (LBA) Mohamed Ben Saleh Judo

100 Liberia (LBR)

101 Belize (BIZ)

102 Cape Verde (CPV)

103 Cook Islands (COK) Sam Pera Junior Weightlifting

104 Saudi Arabia (KSA)

105 Algeria (ALG)

106 Albania (ALB) Sahit Prizreni Wrestling (Freestyle)

107 United Arab Emirates (UAE) Maitha bint Mohammed Al Maktoum[41] Taekwondo

108 Argentina (ARG) Manu Gino’bili Basketball

109 Oman (OMA)

110 Aruba (ARU)

111 Afghanistan (AFG)

112 Azerbaijan (AZE) Farid Mansurov Wrestling

113 Namibia (NAM) Mannie Heymans Cycling (mountain bike)

114 Tanzania (TAN)

115 Latvia (LAT) Vadims Vasil,evskis Athletics (Javelin Throw)

116 Great Britain (GBR) Mark Foster Swimming (50m freestyle)

117 British Virgin Islands (IVB)

118 Kenya (KEN) Wilfred Bungei Athletics (800M)

119 Romania (ROU) Valeria Bese Handball

120 Palau (PLW)

121 Tuvalu (TUV) Logona Esau Weightlifting

122 Venezuela (VEN) Softball Team Softball

123 Solomon Islands (SOL) Wendy Hale Weightlifting

124 France (FRA) Tony Estanguet Canoe / Kayak (slalom)

125 Poland (POL) Marek Twardowski Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

126 Puerto Rico (PUR) McWilliams Arroyo Judo

127 Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) Amel Mekic’ Judo

128 Bangladesh (BAN) Rubel Rana Swimming

129 Bolivia (BOL)

130 Norway (NOR) Ruth Kasirye Weightlifting

131 South Africa (RSA)

132 Cambodia (CAM)

133 Kazakhstan (KAZ) Bakhyt Akhmetov Weightlifting

134 Kuwait (KUW)

135 Co^te d’Ivoire (CIV)

136 Comoros (COM)

137 Bulgaria (BUL) Petar Stoychev Swimming (marathon)

138 Russia (RUS) Andrei Kirilenko Basketball

139 Syria (SYR)

140 United States (USA) Lopez Lomong Athletics (1500metres)

141 Virgin Islands (ISV)

142 American Samoa (ASA)

143 Honduras (HON)

144 Zimbabwe (ZIM)

145 Tunisia (TUN)

146 Thailand (THA) Manus Boonjumnong Boxing

147 Egypt (EGY) Karam Gaber Wrestling (Greco-Roman)

148 Ethiopia (ETH)

149 Lesotho (LES)

150 Mozambique (MOZ)

151 Netherlands (NED)

152 Netherlands Antilles (AHO)

153 Grenada (GRN)

154 Georgia (GEO)

155 Somalia (SOM)

156 Colombia (COL) Mari’a Luisa Calle Cycling (track)

157 Costa Rica (CRC)

158 Trinidad and Tobago (TRI)

159 Peru (PER) Sixto Barrera Wrestling (Greco-Roman)

160 Ireland (IRL) Ciara Peelo Sailing (Laser Radial)

161 Estonia (EST) Martin Padar Judo

162 Haiti (HAI)

163 Czech Republic (CZE) Stepanka Hilgertova Canoe / Kayak (Slalom)

164 Kiribati (KIR)

165 Philippines (PHI) Manny Pacquiao

166 El Salvador (ESA)

167 Samoa (SAM)

168 Micronesia (FSM)

169 Tajikistan (TJK) Dilshod Nazarov Athletics (hammer)

170 Vietnam (VIE)

171 Botswana (BOT)

172 Sri Lanka (SRI) Susanthika Jayasinghe Athletics (sprints)

173 Swaziland (SWZ)

174 Slovenia (SLO) Urs(ka Z(olnir Judo

175 Slovakia (SVK) Elena Kaliska’ Canoe / Kayak (slalom)

176 Portugal (POR) Nelson E’vora Athletics

177 South Korea (KOR) Jang Sung-Ho Judo

178 North Korea (PRK)

179 Fiji (FIJ) Makelesi Bulikiobo Athletics (sprints)

180 Cameroon (CMR) Frank Moussima Judo

181 Montenegro (MNE) Veljko Uskokovic’ Water polo

182 Chile (CHI) Fernando Gonza’lez Tennis

183 Austria (AUT) Hans-Peter Steinacher Sailing (Tornado)

184 Myanmar (MYA)

185 Switzerland (SUI) Roger Federer Tennis

186 Sweden (SWE)

187 Nauru (NRU)

188 Mongolia (MGL) Mahgal Bayarjavhlan Judo

189 Singapore (SIN) Li Jiawei Table tennis

190 New Zealand (NZL) Mahe Drysdale Rowing

191 Italy (ITA) Antonio Rossi Canoe / Kayak (flatwater)

192 Senegal (SEN)

193 Serbia (SRB) Jasna S(ekaric’ Shooting

194 Seychelles (SEY)

195 Sierra Leone (SLE)

196 Cyprus (CYP) George Achilleos Shooting

197 Mexico (MEX) Paola Espinosa Diving

198 Lebanon (LIB)

199 Germany (GER) Dirk Nowitzki Basketball

200 Moldova (MDA) Nicolai Ceban Wrestling (Freestyle)

201 Monaco (MON)

202 Morocco (MAR)

203 Australia (AUS) James Tomkins Rowing

204 Zambia (ZAM)

205 China (CHN) Yao Ming Basketball

The above is the list of flag bearer and they led their countries' sports representatives into the Beijing National Stadium at the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 

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春节

There are a number of distinct uses for the paper cut outs in Chinese culture, almost all of which are for health, prosperity or decorative purposes. Where it is different compared to other cultural style is the extensive use of red. Also it has a heavy emphasis on single or a few Chinese characters often symbolizing the festivity. This paper cutting symbol is SPRING, in chinese 春 and when it is inverted, it means春倒 which has the similar sounding as 'arrived' pronounced in pinyin 'chūn dào'

If you want to learnt more about the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, click here for more.

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This Year, Next Year=今年，明年

qián nián, qù nián, jīn nián, míng nián  
前年，去年， 今年，明年  


前年是2008年。
The previous year was 2008. qián nián shì èr líng líng bā nián.  


去年是2009年。 Last year was 2009. qù nián shì èr líng líng jiǔ nián.  


今年是2010年。 This year is 2010. jīn nián shì èr líng yī líng bā nián.  


明年是2011年。 Next year is 2011. míng nián shì èr líng yī yī nián.  


后年是2012年。 Next year is 2012. hòu nián shì èr líng yī èr bā nián.  


去年是牛年。 Last year was the year of Ox. qù nián shì niú nián.  
今年是虎年。 This year is the year of Tiger. jīn nián shì hǔ nián.  
明年是兔年。 Next year will be the year of Rabbit. míng nián shì tù nián.

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昨天，今天，明天 = yesterday, today, tomorrow

jīn tiān , zuó tiān , míng tiān

昨天，今天，明天 


zuó tiān shì xīng qī tiān

昨天是星期天。 Yesterday was Sunday.

jīn tiān shì xīng qī yī

今天是星期一。 Today is Monday.

míng tiān shì xīng qī èr

明天是星期二。 Tomorrow is Tuesday.

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