In Chinese culture, people believe that lucky numbers can bring them good luck. So, it is important for Chinese people to choose a good number for important things. For example, they choose lucky numbers for wedding (婚礼) dates and dates of moving into a new house.

The number 6, 8 and 9 are the favorite lucky numbers of most Chinese people. Combinations of the above are thought as lucky numbers too, such-as 66, 88, 168. Of all the individual numbers, 8 is surely the luckiest number in China.

“8” is associated with wealth. “8” in Chinese is pronounced ba and sounds similar to fa. The traditional Chinese word facai means “wealthy” or “becoming rich in a short time”.

There are many phrases or expressions associated with “8”, such as “Bamian laicai”, meaning “wealth” comes from eight sides and “Bamian chunfeng”, meaning “spring wind comes from eight directions”, expressing the wish that/someone gets luck wherever she/he goes, or whatever she/he is working on.

Chinese people like to choose “8” as the time or date of important events. For example, the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games started exactly at 8 minutes and 8 seconds past 8 pm on the 8th of August 2008.

Chinese’s love for 8 can be seen in many other cases, such as house numbers, phone numbers, number plates, wedding dates and the date for opening a business. 8 is considered lucky and favored by Chinese because it holds meaning in both traditional and modern cultures.

Birth celebrations in ancient China include a lot of customs and traditions. Officially formed in Zhou Dynasty and spread from the rich to the    1    , people would hold celebrations for a newborn on the birthday, three days after     2    , one month, a hundred days, and one-year-old birthday. Today, a full month and a hundred days of celebrations, besides birthdays, are still common in China. On the baby’s     3     birthday, Draw Lots or One-Year-Old Catch, in Chinese named Zhua Zhou, is an     4     activity. Formed no later than Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Draw Lots celebration has been believed to show the baby’s future, personality     5     hobby.

On the newborn’s one-year-old birthday, after showering and putting new clothes on the baby, the parents would    6     him or her in the Draw Lots place, a big room with Draw Lots objects set in circle. Those objects should usually have similar sizes and should be things    7     the baby has ever played with or never seen before to ensure it’s fair. Then, the baby will be put     8     to see which one he/she would catch.

Typical Draw Lots objects include books, pens, seals, money, food, rulers, fabric, instruments, painting brushes,     9    , and sports goods, and some parents also add modern things like a smart phone. After this celebration, a dinner is usually held to celebrate the baby’s first birthday, when some people would let the baby     10     a little bit of grown-ups’ food, representing the taste of life. Till then, the whole celebration process of a newborn is really finished.

6 . Summer in Japan can be difficult. Temperatures often go above 30℃, and it’s also very wet. Of course, many buildings have air conditioners, but people do need to go outside sometimes. So how do Japanese people stay cool?

While some use traditional fans, these days it’s common to see people carrying small handheld electric fans to keep themselves cool. One company has even made work jackets with electric fans inside to keep the wearer cool.

And now another Japanese company has created an air conditioner that you can just wear around your waist. The “WearCool”, which was created by the company Gloture, is a belt that uses five small fans to blow cool air up the front and back of your body at up to 5 meters a second. The inside of the belt is also made of a material that absorbs (吸收) heat, so it’s comfortable to wear. The belt can be adjusted for different waist sizes too. And while Gloture’s pictures show models wearing the belt like a fashion accessory (配饰), you can actually wear it under your clothes.

WearCool comes with a powerful battery that lets it be used without stopping for up to 17 hours, the company says. And by using an app—which can be used in English or Japanese—you can adjust both the speed and the direction of the air flow.

WearCool is now available from Gloture’s online store and costs around $230. But will it become as popular as those handheld electric fans?

7 . Recently cunchao has become a hot topic in China!

Rongjiang is a small county in Guizhou Province, with a population of 385, 000. However, it has welcomed over 1 million tourists since the village football tournament (联赛), or cunchao in Chinese, began on May 13.

The tournament is organized by the county’s football association (协会), with 20 teams competing The players include farmers, small business owners, construction workers and taxi drivers. Divided into two groups, the teams compete on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with the final scheduled for July 29.

The event has drawn the attention from all over the world. Football star Michael Owen from England recorded a video message expressing his support for the competition, while former Asian Footballer of the Year, Fan Zhiyi, led a team to play with the local players. Media, both in China and overseas, have been fascinated by the event.

The locals are really moved and feel proud about the attention from all over the world. Many villagers offer to help, distributing (分发) free bottled water and snacks. People here are united as one family. Yang, 49, is the headmaster of a local primary school. He is director of performances, and also plays for his village team. “I am really busy, but I don't feel tired. We are playing not for the prize but for the honor of our villages. I feel as if I were 20 years younger,” Yang said.

It’s reported that over the three-day Dragon Boat Festival holiday alone, the county received 350, 000 tourists and tourism income reached 444 million yuan about five times the amount for the same period last year.

9 .

Tea eggs are one of the traditional Chinese foods. These hard-boiled eggs have a little taste of star anise (八角) and a deep brown color from black tea.

Here is the recipe (食谱) for tea eggs.

Ingredients (配料)

·3 cups of water

·2 tablespoons of black tea leaves

·1 tablespoon of thin soy sauce

·1 tablespoon of black soy sauce

·1 (2 inch) piece of cinnamon (肉桂) stick

·2 pods (英) of star anise

·1¼ teaspoons of salt

·8 large eggs

Directions

Step 1 Mix 3 cups of water, tea leaves, thin soy sauce, black soy sauce, cinnamon stick, star anise, and ¼ teaspoon of salt in a large cooking pan; bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the lid (盖子), and simmer (文火慢煮) for 1 hour.

Step 2 Meanwhile, place eggs and 1 teaspoon of salt into a medium pot; cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and cool. Tap cooled eggs with the back of a spoon to crack (使开裂) shells; do not remove shells.

Step 3 Remove the pan from heat. Add the eggs and steep (泡) for at least 8 hours.

Tips

√You can steep the eggs for up to 1 and a half days for a richer flavor.

√The unpeeled eggs can be stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days if they are tightly sealed.