Guilin

Tired of the busy life? Come to Guilin! Get away from the hustle & bustle of big city life to the nature’s masterpiece!

As one of the most serene and beautiful places in the world, Guilin is situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China.

Guilin is named after the fragrance of osmanthus tree by its first inhabitants in Qin Dynasty over 2,000 years ago. Currently, it is home to ethnic 12 nationalities with a total population of 1,260,000 in the city and surrounding area.

Its scenery is reputed by Chinese to be the “finest under heaven”, or directly from Chinese: “the mountains and rivers in Guilin are the number one under the heaven.”

Now, please come with us to have a visit to Guilin together!

Attractions	Maps	Weather	Transportation
Accommodation	Shopping	Entertainment	Public Service

National Treasure Tour – Henan Museum

It is so beautiful, isn’t it? Besides its beautiful appearance, it is also the most valuable cabbage in Chinese history. Unbelievable? It is true. This ivory carving is one of the representatives of the Henan Museum. Click here to see the details of the ivory cabbage.

Henan is one of the birthplaces of Chinese nationality. In history, Henan had been the political, economic and cultural center of China for a long period of time, and over 20 dynasties chose to have their dynastic capitals either built or moved to Henan. Of the 8 ancient capitals of China, 4 are located in Henan. They are Luoyang, the ancient capital of 9 dynasties; Kaifeng, the ancient capital of 7 dynasties; Anyang, the ancient capital of Yin and Shang Dynasties; and Zhengzhou, the ancient capital of Shang Dynasty.

Therefore, Henan museum will provide you a great opportunity to have a basic understanding of Chinese culture and history. There is a saying said that:” If you have not been to Henan Museum, you have never been to Henan Province.”

Highlights of Henan Museum

Bronze Jin with cloud design

Spring and Autumn Period （770-476B.C.）

Unearthed at Xichuan, Henan

Height: 28.8cm

Length: 103cm

Width: 46cm

Jin is a table for wine vessels. Its body has several layers of cloud-shaped relief decorations supported by bronze stalks of various sizes, with twelve dragon-shaped animals climbing around and another twelve staying at the bottom as legs of the Jin. Of all the bronze objects cast by using the lost wax casting technique unearthed in China, this one is the earliest. The exquisite and complex craftsmanship of this Jin reached an amazingly high level.

Square ewer with design of lotus and crane
Spring and Autumn Period （770-476B.C.）

Unearthed at Xinzheng, Henan

Height: 117cm

Mouth dimension: 30.5×24.9cm

This ewer, excavated in 1923, belonged to the King of the Zheng State. The vivid crane on its top of the ewer, which is spreading its wings ready for flight contrasts sharply to the traditional overelaborate decorations on its body. It reflects a completely new artistic idea in late Spring and Autumn Period.

Bone Flute: The Neolithic Age, unearthed with the Relics of Jiahu, Wuyang.
The Bone Flute, produced some 8,000 years ago, is made from the limb bone of a crane. The flute is commonly 20cm in length, and some 1cm in caliber. Its form is fixed, and the craftsmanship is standard. At one side are 7 perforated sound holes with almost identical intervals. Another smaller, attuning hole is between hole 6 and hole 7 and is closer to hole 7, indicating the complex of sound production was known to the flute maker.

Travel Tips:

Admission fee: Free
Opening Hours: 9:00—17:00 from Tuesday to Friday. No admittance after 15:30. Exhibition Hall is closed at 17:00 each day and closed every Monday except national holidays.
Address: No.8 Nongye Road, Zhengzhou
Telephone: 86-371-3511 237
Official Website: http://www.chnmus.net

Chinese Festivals

Based on both lunar and solar calendars, the Chinese observe a wide variety of traditional and modern holidays. They showcase the rich traditional and cultural heritage of China. Want to be a china hand? Want to touch the soul of China? Please join us to celebrate together！

Following is the festival list for 2009.

• Major Traditional Chinese Festivals

• Ethnic Minority Festivals

Can you guess the names of the following festivals?

Even the Milky Way could NOT Stop the Love

Today is Chinese Valentine’s Day. Undoubtedly, this is a day devoted to romance. There is a beautiful love story about the origin for this special day.

The 7th daughter of the Queen of the Heaven and an orphaned cowherd fell in love with each other. In order to separate them, the Queen pulled off her hairpin and draw a line between them. The line became the Milky Way. The 7th daughter was forced to move to the star Vega and the cowherd moved to the star Altair. They are allowed to meet only once a year on the day of 7th day of 7th lunar month. On that day, magpies would gather and form a bridge for the couple to meet in the evening. More about the legend…

Therefore, the day they meet became Chinese Valentine’s Day. It is said that if the night Chinese Valentine’s Day rains, the rain are the tears of the Weaving Maid and Cowherd. Tonight, the rain is so heavy and does it mean they are very sad? Anyway, wish they will cherish the time they spend together and may all the lovers enjoy happy endings.

More about the Custom of Chinese Valentine

On Chinese Valentine’s Day, couples go to matchmaker temples to pray for everlasting love and marriage. Even single people will frequent the temple for luck in love. Chinese Valentine’s Day is also called “The Daughter’s Festival”. Long ago, Chinese girls aspired to becoming skilled craftswomen like the Weaving Maid. This skill was considered essential to their future as wives and mothers. On that night, unmarried girls prayed to the Weaving Maid star for the special gift. When the star Vega was high up in the sky, girls performed a small test by placing a needle on the water’s surface: If the needle did not sink, the girl was considered to be ready to find a husband. Once a year, on this day, girls could wish for anything their hearts desired.

In some Chinese provinces, people believe that decorating an ox’s horns with flowers on Chinese Valentine’s Day will ward off disaster. On the night of Valentine’s Day, women wash their hair to give it a fresh and shiny look; children wash their faces the next morning using the overnight water in their backyards for a more naturally beautiful appearance; and girls throw five-colored ropes made during the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival on the roofs so magpies can use them to build the bridge.

Measurement in China

Chinese people often use their traditional measurement system. Following is a little knowledge about the measurement in China. It will be very useful when you are shopping in China. 

Length

1 li (里) = 0.5 km = 0.311 mile = 0.27 sea mile

1 chi (尺) = 10 chun (寸) = 0.333 m = 1.094 ft

1 chun (寸) = 3.33 cm = 0.1094 ft

1 km (1,000 m) = 2 li (里) = 0.621 mile = 0.54 sea mile

1 m = 3 chi (尺) = 3.281 ft = 1.094 yard

1 mile = 1.609 km = 3.219 li (里) = 0.868 sea mile

1 ft = 0.305 m = 0.914 chi (尺)

1 sea mile = 1.852 km = 3.704 li (里) = 1.15 mile

Weight

1 ton = 1000 kg = 2000 jin (斤)

1 jin = 10 Liang (两) = 0.5 kg = 1.102 pound

1 Liang (两)= 0.1 (斤) = 50 g = 0.1102 pound

1 kg = 2 jin　(斤) = 2.205 pound

1 UK pound = 0.454 kg = 0.907 jin (斤)

Volume

1 liter = 1 sheng (升) = 0.22 UK gallon

1 UK gallon = 4.546 liter = 4.546 sheng　(升)　

 
Area & Square Measures

1 mu (亩) = 10 fen (分) = 0.067 hectare = 0.164 acre

1 hectare = 15 mu (亩) = 2.47 acre

1 acre = 0.405 hectare = 6.07 mu (亩)

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