Chinese tea culture is the culture of making and drinking tea in China. China is the hometown of tea.     1    . It is said that it began in the Shen Nong era, more than 4,700 years ago.

Tea is a drink that can excite people and is also one of the symbols of Chinese culture. In China, tea is not only a drink, but also a display of lifestyle and cultural spirit.     2     including green tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, yellow tea, etc. Each kind of tea has its own unique characteristics and taste, and different varieties are suitable for different people and occasions.

    3    , they pay attention to the quality, color, taste and other aspects of the tea. The process of tea tasting is also a cultural activity, which requires a special tea set.

It is believed that tea was taken to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries.     4    , but less than 100 years later it had become its national drink. The tea trade from China to Western countries reached its height in the 19th century.

This helped to spread the popularity of tea and the tea plant to many places around the world.     5    , the Chinese are without doubt the ones who best understand the nature of tea.

Falling on March 21 this year, Spring Equinox, also called Chunfen in Chinese, is the fourth of the Twenty-four Solar Terms. It marks the same length of the day and night.

    1     It is said that a long time ago, as there was not enough sunlight, it was almost impossible for people to grow crops. One day, Emperor Yandi decided to fly to Penglai Island on a five-colored bird to search for the sun so that his people could enjoy a better harvest.     2     From then on, there were plenty of crops on Earth and people lived happily and peacefully. This day is called Chunfen.

    3    

Chunfen is the best time to fly kites. The wind for kite flying can’t be too strong or too gentle. The gentle wind on the day of Chunfen perfectly satisfies those needs, so it is easier for kites to go up. It is usually a wonderful time for people, both old and young, to go to the open spaces to fly kites.     4    

Chunfen also means hope and growing up, just like the plants. Since ancient times, people ate food based on the changes of seasons. In southern China’s Fujian and Guangdong provinces, people living in villages dig wild vegetables and cook them in soup to clean their stomachs.

    5     During Chunfen, wheat grows and flowers come out. Leek (韭菜) is delicious and fresh. It’s the best time to cook food with it, although cooking styles are quite different between northern and southern China.

When Chunfen comes, remember to have fresh vegetables on your table. Also, don't say no if you are invited to take part in different activities to enjoy the good weather.

【推荐1】People read books less often these days. With the invention of TVs, computer games, the Internet and mobile phones, it seems that reading books is no longer a popular activity. However, I believe that books are an important part of our lives.

Books offer a great wealth (财富) of learning and are at a cheaper price than taking a course (课程). Books can make people cleverer, because heavy readers have greater knowledge of how things work and who or what people are.

Everything requires reading. Imagine trying to do something as simple as reading the notes on a medicine bottle without good reading skills. Someone may not understand them and become very sick.

Even something as simple as walking or driving through the city could become very dangerous without enough reading. Sometimes you must be able to understand what is written and explain the meaning of them.

Some people say that reading is a waste of time and we can do better things with our time. Even if we don’t read books, we still read every day and reading books can strengthen our abilities (能力). Reading is one of the greatest things we can do in our free time.

With a book, you can travel anywhere you want, do anything you want, and talk to anyone you want. Reading is very important in our lives, no matter how old you are. So I think people should read books.

【推荐2】Everybody can suffer from stress (压力). No matter what your age is, you can feel stressed out by things that are happening in your life. Teenagers, however, have many more opportunities to get stressed than people in any other age group. Being a teenager is hard. You are not a child any more, but you are not an adult, even though you have to deal with some very grown-up problems and decisions. Families can be one of the biggest causes of stress, such as problems with parents arguing at home or problems with brothers and sisters. Teenagers also have a lot of stress from school, either from their teachers or from their friends.

Some teenagers also feel stressed about choosing their education after high school. Getting a place at university can be very difficult and some cannot afford to go to university. The stress about getting a job when finishing school is hard for some teenagers. There are so many young people finishing school and not enough jobs for them. Sadly, there is nothing we can do to remove these causes of stress from the lives of teenagers, but you can learn the best way to deal with it.

Talking to people is one of the best ways to deal with stress. It may sound simple, but it is true.

A problem shared is a problem halved.

【推荐3】In Pontevedra, Spain, people don’t shout. Since cars are not allowed in the city, there are no horns（喇叭）or noises from car engines. People don’t have to try hard to make themselves heard. What you hear in the street, instead, is the singing of birds.

“Listen,” says Miguel Lores, the mayor（市长）, opening the windows of his office. From the street below rises the sound of human voices. More than 14,000 cars used to pass along this street every day. There were more cars passing through the city in a day than people living here.

Lores became mayor in 1999. He spent months walking around the city. “The historical city is dead,” he said one day. “It is full of cars. It is heavily polluted. There are a lot of traffic accidents. The elderly and children aren’t able to use the streets because of cars. People who had a chance to leave have done so.”

At first, Lores thought of improving traffic conditions. However, he couldn’t come up with a good plan. After lots of discussions, the government finally decided to get rid of cars.

The change has brought Pontevedra many benefits. Traffic accidents are now rare. CO₂ emissions（排放物）are down by 70%. Many people are moving to the city, making it lively again.

Most local people like the change. Ramiro Armesto, a mother of two young children, said, “In the past, the first thing to see in the morning was traffic jams. Now, the city is cleaner, quieter and safer.” Raquel Garcia, another parent, said she had stayed in many cities around the world. However, she had never lived in a city as “easy to live in” as Pontevedra. “Even if it’s raining, I walk everywhere. The feeling is wonderful,” she added.

【推荐1】John Smith is an exchange student from New York. Here is a letter to his friend in his hometown.

How time flies! It’s been 3 months since I came to China. I’m having a great time on my student exchange program here. So far, I’ve completely got used to the life here and have known a lot about traditional Chinese culture. I’d like to share some with you.

In China, there are many different kinds of traditional art forms, such as paper cutting, Chinese clay art and so on. Among them, the kite interests me most. The first ancient Chinese kite appeared more than 2,000 years ago. Then flying kites was spread into Japan, Korea and Malaysia during the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Kites are regarded as the earliest craft (飞行器). They played an important role in the process of inventing the plane.

Tea culture is important in China. Tea was discovered as a kind of drink by accident about 5,000 years ago. It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. It didn’t appear in England until around 1660. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. Now tea has become one of the most popular drinks around the world.

Lastly, I’d like to tell you something about one of the traditional Chinese festivals — the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar (阴历). Chinese people have been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying mooncakes for centuries.

If you’d like to know more about traditional Chinese culture, I will talk about it in the next letter.

Best wishes!

Yours,

John