The Chinese LanguageA brief introduction to the Chinese Language Writing Chinese script developed from pictograms. Early pictograms were in use about 3,500 years ago. Originally these were something like the pictograms we are familiar with from the ancient Egyptians. Over the years these gradually changed from depictional to be increasingly abstract although in some cases the similarity of original pictogram and modern character can still be seen. Many characters are composed of two or more simpler characters. Some words are composed of two or more characters. The meaning of such words of more than one character may be based on the combined meanings or the combined sounds. To be reasonably proficient one would need to know about 2,000 characters although there are many many more. On the mainland of China, the characters exist in a 'simplified' form, though perhaps do not look so to the western eye! The order that the strokes of a character are written is important. One starts at the top and then left to right as one works one's way down. When writing with speed, cursive styles are possible. Historically, this behaviour will have contributed to the evolution of characters. Cursive styles are also sometimes used in Chinese calligraphy, which is an important art-form in Chinese culture. What we call Chinese script is not the only script still used, but is the official common language (along with Mandarin for spoken Chinese). There are also Tibetan, Manchurian and Mongolian scripts. The Tibetan script, because of geographic location, resembles Indian and Arabic scripts. Pin-Yin, an alphabet-based phonetic rendition of spoken Chinese is learned by young schoolchildren as an aid to pronunciation, just as it is for the foreigner learning Chinese. Pin-Yin enables non Chinese speakers to get a rough idea of the sound of Chinese and also allows words to be more easily recognised and remembered by westerners. Hence, place names are usually marked in Pin-Yin as well as traditional Chinese script. Note that older Chinese people cannot read Pin-Yin. Spoken Chinese The official spoken language of China is called Mandarin and is based on the dialect native to Beijing. Mandarin is a tonal language with four tones: flat, rising, falling and falling then rising. Ideally, Pin-Yin would be written with accents to indicate the tones but seldom is. For example, the sound 'ba' means 'eight' if said with a flat tone but 'father' if spoken with a rising tone.
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30 popular drinks and beverages you might encounter in China, including traditional favorites and popular choices:
Green Tea (绿茶, lǜchá) - Refreshing and commonly served in Chinese restaurants and households.
Black Tea (红茶, hóngchá) - Another classic tea variety enjoyed across China.
Oolong Tea (乌龙茶, wūlóngchá) - Semi-oxidized tea with a diverse range of flavors.
Jasmine Tea (茉莉花茶, mòlìhuā chá) - Fragrant tea infused with jasmine flowers.
Pu-erh Tea (普洱茶, pǔ'ěrchá) - A fermented tea known for its earthy flavor and health benefits.
Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花茶, júhuā chá) - Light and floral tea made from chrysanthemum flowers.
Hawthorn Juice (山楂汁, shānzhā zhī) - Tart and slightly sweet juice made from hawthorn berries.
Coconut Water (椰子水, yēzi shuǐ) - Refreshing and hydrating natural drink from young coconuts.
Soy Milk (豆浆, dòu jiāng) - Nutty and creamy beverage made from soybeans.
Milk Tea (奶茶, nǎichá) - Popular sweetened tea with milk, often served cold or hot.
Bubble Tea (珍珠奶茶, zhēnzhū nǎichá) - Sweetened tea or milk drink with chewy tapioca pearls.
Lemon Tea (柠檬茶, níngméng chá) - Tea infused with lemon juice, often served cold.
Lü Cheng Ice Tea (绿茶, lǜchá) - A popular bottled tea often found in convenience stores.
Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花茶, júhuā chá) - Light and floral tea made from chrysanthemum flowers.
Soy Milk (豆浆, dòu jiāng) - Nutty and creamy beverage made from soybeans.
Milk Tea (奶茶, nǎichá) - Popular sweetened tea with milk, often served cold or hot.
Bubble Tea (珍珠奶茶, zhēnzhū nǎichá) - Sweetened tea or milk drink with chewy tapioca pearls.
Lemon Tea (柠檬茶, níngméng chá) - Tea infused with lemon juice, often served cold.
Lü Cheng Ice Tea (绿茶冰, lǜchá bīng) - Bottled green tea served chilled with ice.
Beer (啤酒, píjiǔ) - Commonly enjoyed alcoholic beverage in China, with popular brands like Tsingtao and Snow Beer.
Rice Wine (米酒, mǐjiǔ) - Traditional Chinese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice.
Baijiu (白酒, báijiǔ) - Strong Chinese distilled spirit made from grains, commonly consumed during celebrations.
Plum Juice (酸梅汤, suān méi tāng) - Tangy and sweet juice made from preserved plums.
Winter Melon Tea (冬瓜茶, dōngguā chá) - Refreshing tea made from winter melon, often sweetened.
Red Bean Soup (红豆汤, hóngdòu tāng) - Sweet soup made from boiled red beans, served hot or cold.
Honey Citron Tea (柚子蜂蜜茶, yòuzi fēngmì chá) - Tea infused with honey and citron fruit, served hot.
Laba Congee (腊八粥, làbā zhōu) - Sweet rice porridge traditionally enjoyed on Laba Festival, made with various ingredients like nuts and dried fruits.
Wolfberry Tea (枸杞茶, gǒuqǐ chá) - Tea made from goji berries (wolfberries), known for their health benefits.
Osmanthus Tea (桂花茶, guìhuā chá) - Fragrant tea made from osmanthus flowers, often sweetened.
Lemon Water (柠檬水, níngméng shuǐ) - Simple infused water made with lemon slices and water.
These are just a few examples of the diverse and delightful drinks you can enjoy in China. Each region may have its own specialties and variations of these beverages.
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With Reporterfy Media ...
With Seiu Travel ...
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A film by Pryadko Artem and Shishkovski Dmitry
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YT comment : dominique ridoux :
True story: I once visited a couple of friends in their flat in downtown Shanghai city. When I arrived the whole street was under construction, the road, the side walks, everything... We had lunch, played mahjong, then dinner. When I went out after the evening dinner, the street was completely finished! New asphalt, sidewalks paved and new trees planted all the way. I even went back thinking my friend's building had 2 entrances... The big difference with us in Europe is when a decision is made the do some infrastructure work, they will put as many workers as needed to do it very quickly, they cannot afford to have streets blocked for weeks in a city of 23 million people like Shanghai. In China everything is about efficiency because they have no other choice. Can you afford to queue for tickets and so on in a city of 23 millions? No! Ok, let's all use Wechat and Alipay to increase efficiency... Done in a few years! Almost nobody is using cash anymore in China!
They apply the same mindset to everyday activity, may it be transportation, food industry or even paying your taxes! The result is (as far as I am concerned) a full body check (including check in, CT scan, blood work etc) in less than 2 hours including a complementary breakfast for less than 400 Euros. Or Visa application done in 20 minutes. All car parkings are using plate recognition technology decreasing time wasting again and again.
High speed train are efficient, can move large amounts of people at a fantastic pace. Also as mentioned by many people, they build "hubs", you get out of the train and you have 2 or even 3 subway lines to bring you to your final destination, more and more you even have the airport hub at a walking distance! We have a similar hub in Paris (CDG with RER and TGV within the airport walking distance) but the size of it in Shanghai makes it spectacular!
YT comment : rhn94
China spent 1 Trillion USD over 10-15 years building this network, that is 1/4th the cost of the Iraq War the US paid.
YT comment : Pal Sih
China is building their country.
USA is destroying other countries.
YT comment : thata xx
The best part of China's high speed train is you can order food from any of the restaurants in the station on your phone and designate at what time during which stop to have it delivered to you. During the 2-3 minutes stop, your food is already there waiting to be distributed to you on the train. I miss it so much.
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Korean vocal girl group.
Be My Baby - The Ronettes ...
Barbara Ann - Beach Boys ...
Summer Love ...
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The beautiful Dragon's Backbone rice terraces; about 60km from GuiLin ...
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5th March 2023.
To mark the 125th anniversary of the birth of Zhou EnLai - one of the top leaders of the Chinese Revolution, and Premier of People's China from 1949 until his death in 1976 - we conducted an extensive interview with Professor Ken Hammond about Zhou's life and legacy.
The interview covers Zhou EnLai's formation as a revolutionary; his role in the early years of the Chinese Revolution in the 1920s; his working relationship with Mao Zedong; his contribution to Marxist understanding of socialist foreign policy; his role in establishing links of solidarity between China and Africa; his role in the negotiations with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon that brought about the start of a rapprochement between the US and China; his experiences in the Cultural Revolution; and his lasting legacy, both in China and globally.
Ken Hammond is a professor of East Asian and Global History at New Mexico State University, founding director of the Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University, and an activist with Pivot to Peace. He’s also a member of the Friends of Socialist China advisory group, and is working on a biography of Zhou EnLai. He is interviewed by our co-editor Carlos Martinez.
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