Tiaocai , serving dishes by dancing
Over 1000 dancers brought to the stage Tiaocai Dance or dancing with dishes Friday in Nanjian Yi Autonomous County in China's Yunnan Province.
PKG
Tiaocai dance has enjoyed a long history of over 1,000 years. It is staged by Yi people on important occasions like wedding ceremonies, major festivities and funerals.
The art form, combining dance and music, as well as the culture of Chinese cuisine, was listed as the country's national intangible culture heritage in 2008.
Friday's event is a celebration to observe the 50th anniversary of the founding of Nanjian Yi Autonomous County.
Zhaxidele Hotel
Zhaxidele Resort Hotel is a 4 star business and resort hotel which is located in flourishing Area of Shangri-La, only 6 kilometers to Shangri-La Diqing Airport, enjoy a convenient traffic. It has 120 guest rooms totally, including Europe style rooms and Tibetan style rooms. Each room supplies modern facilities in the guest room such as TV set, convenient IDD, DDD system. etc, conference rooms can contain about 20 -30 persons. And has a capacity of 800 persons Tibetan luxury dining restaurant, private dining rooms equipped with Tibetan style with Local specialties. when you enjoy your dining, at same time be influenced by Tibetan culture and enjoy the beautiful warm folk dance. In your leisure time, you can go to small shopping center, it is very convenient, also you can relax yourself in lobby bar, beauty salon, dance hall, etc. Welcome to our hotel. Customers should check in before 18:00 on the arrival date. Valid credit card is required to guarantee the booking. Cancel 3 days prior to arrival date through original booking agent or internet channel to avoid penalty of 1 room night No-show fee. Direct cancellation request by phone or fax will NOT be accepted. Early check-out charge-A charge may apply. Late check-out condition if customer checks out between 12 noon and 18pm-half of the daily room rate will be charged, if one checks out after 18pm-the whole day room rate will be charged. During some big events or peak time, the hotel may need the whole room rate as prepayment and hotel will not accept any cancellation, modification and no-show after the booking, or the whole deposit will not be refunded by hotel. Parking
China/Beijing (Old Beijing Hutongs in pictures 4) Part 40
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Beijing Hutongs:
Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street
Know as Yandai Xiejie in Chinese, the Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street is one of the oldest hutongs in Beijing. Located in the Xicheng District, it is close to the Shichahai which are famous attractions in Beijing. It is 232 meters (253 yards) long with its east end on the Di'anmen Street and the west to the Silver Ingot Bridge. Stepping into the street for about 50 meters, one would come to the south end of the Dashibei Hutong, which goes to the Drum Tower West Avenue (Gulou Xidajie). Passing over the Silver Ingot Bridge one can reach the Houhai Bar Street.
According to a book that was published during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street was initially named Drum Tower Xiejie and was changed into the present at the end of Qing Dynasty. It is recorded that there were many smoking pipe stores on the street in the Qing Dynasty, among which there was one named Shuangshengtai. The store owner put a 1.5-meter-high (5-feet-high) wooden smoking pipe in front of the store as a sign. As time went by, the street was known by the whole city for its giant smoking pipe, hence its name. Some people also say that the street looks like a smoking pipe.
After the 1911 Revolution, the Qing Royal Family was overthrown, the banners (Manchurians that were fed by the Qing government) lost their incomes and many of them had to sell their properties, such as antiques, to make a living. Gradually many antique markets were formed in Beijing, among which Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street was a large one. But after 1949, the antique trading on this street gradually declined.
The Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street lost its commercial position in the 1950s and many buildings were changed to residential buildings, including the Taoism Temple--Guangfu Guan. In 2007, the street was redeveloped to recover its historical features. Guangfu Guan has become a tourist site and many reproductions of classic architecture were built on the street. In the buildings are stores of Indian clothes, Miao costumes and accessories, Tibet costumes, Lijiang crafts, Shaanxi pottery, badges and quotations of Chairman Mao, etc. If you want to experience Chinese commercial culture, the best way would be to buy some souvenirs and bargain with the shopkeepers.
Besides these featured stores, there are also many restaurants along the Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street. Here you can go to traditional Chinese restaurants--roasted lamb of Master Ji, stewed pork liver (a traditional Beijing snack) of Master Yao, the Meiyuan Dairy, baked wheaten cake with donkey meat of Mr. Wang and wonton of Master Hou.
There are more than 20 cafés and bars with different styles on the Skewed Tobacco Pouch Street, among which there is the Night of Yinding, the largest café in the Shichahai area. And others like the Red Mansion, the Sea Bar, the Show Place Café, the Wenshi Café, etc. One can have a cup of coffee when tired and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Houhai Lake. Tasting the delicacies of traditional Beijing style and those of other places, shopping in the widely varying stores, one would best experience the uniqueness of the city.
Fire at Shangri-La County Turns Ancient City Into Ash
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Saturday's fire at ancient city Dukezong, Shangri-La County
of the Tibetan Area in China's Yunnan Province,
burned down more than 250 houses.
Two thirds of the ancient city turned into ashes.
Local authorities mobilized nearly 2,000 people and
took over 10 hours to get the fire under control.
Commentators pointed out that, local government was keen on
developing on the ancient site for financial gains in recent years,
yet neglected to implement procedures for hazards such as fire.
Dukezong has 1,300 years of splendid history.
It is the largest and best preserved ancient Tibetan city.
It is however, a pile of ruins now.
The fire happened in the early hours of Jan. 11.
Ms Wu, owner of a hotel in the city, told NTD,
Ruyi Hotel and Restaurant, located at the lower section
of the city caught fire first.
Fire trucks arrived 30 minutes after the call.
As a result, a gas pipe explosion caused the fire to
spread more rapidly.
Ms Wu: Houses on many streets were burned.
All houses were built with wood.
With a little wind, the whole area was on fire.
There was no way to put the fire out..
There was no water in the water hydrant.
Else it would not have been on fire for so long.
People are OK though, but there is serious property damage.
According to the media, about one square kilometer of the
1.5 square kilometers of Dukezong city, was hit by fire.
Local authorities mobilized nearly 2,000 people,
over 10 excavators and 39 fire engines.
It took more than 10 hours to put the fire out.
Government officials in the Diqing Area said, preliminary
statistics indicate the fire affected 335 family's,
destroying 242 houses in the Cangfang, Jinglong and
Beiben communities.
The fire also caused economic losses of at least 100 million yuan
( approximately US$ 16,547,300), including relics,
thangkas (Buddhist deity paintings on silk) & other works of art.
Renowned Tibetan writer Woeser said, This old Tibetan town
was already destroyed due to high commercialization.
It is not really an ancient city any more.
Woeser: There is not any house with over 1,000 years history.
There are some temples around the burned area.
They were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.
Shangri-La's largest monastery Songzanling Temple, was
smashed during the Cultural Revolution and was rebuilt later.
So there is no real ancient city with over 1,000
years of history.
Woeser said, This old city was called Jietang in Tibetan,
later renamed as Zhongdian.
In 2001 local government changed it to Shangri-La,
in order to meet the needs of tourism.
Woeser: It later changed its name to Shangri-La.
This place is actually a highly commercialized area now.
I visited the area seven to eight times.
There are all kinds of buildings that are hotels, stores & bars.
In fact, all the so-called ancient cities are now like that.
Dukezong is the so-called important town along the
Tea And Horse Road.
In 2001 it was approved by the authorities as a
historical and cultural city of Yunnan.
Commentator Xing Tianxing pointed out, the Chinese
Communist Party (CCP) built a commercialized
so-called ancient city, with the banner of folk culture.
Xing Tianxing: Safety hazards, amongst others,
were not the focus of CCP.
Reportedly, it caused 100 million yuan of economic loss.
If there really were historical relics in there,
then the cost is innumerable.
Xing Tianxing: While mourning over the fire,
we should realize that Chinese culture will disappear
along with the commercialization process.
If we continue to blindly develop tourist areas instead of
protecting such places,
the true cultural heritage of over 1,000 years will be gone.
Woeser cited in her recent blog, frequent fires have occurred
in Tibet in the past year. For example:
Zere Temple fire on Dec. 29, 2012 at Longzhen Xinlong County,
also other areas in Tibet, burning over 120 rooms, including
the retreat center and classrooms.
The Buddhist Institute was totally destroyed except for the hall.
Tibetan Area that
The fire at Gatuo Temple on May 4, 2013 also in the
Tibetan area of Baiyu County,
burned dozens of shag (textiles) & other Buddhist relics.
The fire at Litang Temple on Nov. 16, 2013,
was also in the Tibetan area. It destroyed the central hall.
Some monks were injured whilst they rescued relics.
On Jan. 9, 2014 Sichuan, Ganzi, Tibetans area
La Rong, Wu Ming Buddhist Institute was also on fire.
Also,over 200 houses were burned, some monks yet again injured.
Just two days later, on Jan. 11 2014,
Yunnan Dukezong Ancient City, was on fire yet again.
《神韵》2014世界巡演新亮点
The Amazing Race 18
The Amazing Race 18 is the eighteenth installment of the reality television show The Amazing Race. The Amazing Race 18 featured eleven teams of two – each returning from a previous edition for the first time since Season 11 – in a race around the world for a $1 million prize.
The eighteenth cycle started on Sunday, February 20, 2011. It aired on CBS in the United States on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm ET/PT with the two-hour season finale on May 8, 2011. The show is hosted by Phil Keoghan.
This video is targeted to blind users.
Attribution:
Article text available under CC-BY-SA
Creative Commons image source in video
Shilin Hotel Huangshan - Huangshan - China
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The Shilin Hotel Huangshan is situated at the base of Lion Peak, in the Beihai Scenic Area. The hotel is near many tourist attractions, such as the Sunrise Observation Site and the Cloud Valley Cableway. Shopping and dining establishments are a short drive away. The airport is a long drive from the Shilin Hotel Huangshan. The rail and bus stations are just a short car ride from the hotel. A travel desk can make your transportation arrangements.
There are 122 single rooms, double rooms and suites in the Shilin Hotel Huangshan. Each room has a closed circuit TV, DDD telephone, satellite TV, air conditioning and a private bathroom.
This hotel has a large conference facility with several small meeting rooms. A business center can copy, fax, email and scan documents. There is also a currency exchange, a bar, a beauty salon, a sauna,, a gift shop and a dance hall. An onsite restaurant serves Sichuan and Huaiyang dishes at the Shilin Hotel Huangshan.
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