1 . Occurring on October 31, November 1, and November 2, the Day of the Dead, a Mexican holiday held to honor those who have died, brings people from all walks of life to Mexico. But cities across the United States are also joining in on the fun. Here is where you can find this year’ s best Day of the Dead celebrations without traveling south of the border.

The Historic Olvera Street in Los Angeles

For over three decades, the businessmen of Olvera Street have annually transformed the busy outdoor marketplace into a top destination for visitors. Starting on October 25 and coming to a close on November 2,this year’s event will include a collection of live performances, face painting, and a traditional May an procession(游行).

The East Village in Manhattan

Want to get a taste of the Day of the Dead while taking a bite out of the Big Apple? Come to East yard of St. Mark’s in-the-Bowery, a church in Manhattan. Besides watching performances, you can purchase all kinds of traditional Mexican food.

San Francisco’s Mission District

San Francisco has celebrated the Day of the Day for half a century. Every November 2, people flood to the Mission District - a colorful neighborhood rich in Mexican culture. At this popular event, visitors are invited to dress up in traditional Day of the Dead clothes, and go through the neighborhood all by the candlelight.

Downtown San Antonio

This year, the Day of the Dead will arrive early in San Antonio, Texas. On October 26 and 27, people can visit Hemisfair, the city’ s popular outdoor cultural center, with craft workshops, musical performances, and live poetry.

2 . The Chong Yang Festival has a history of over 2,000 years. It comes on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, so it is called the Double Ninth Festival.

There are many kinds of activities on the Chong Yang Festival. It is a time when it’s getting cold, so Chinese people make the festival a time for sending winter clothes for the dead family members. Because autumn has a clear sky and fresh air, it is a very good time to climb a mountain. Climbing a mountain has been the tradition of the Chong Yang Festival since the Western Han Dynasty. Also, it is good for our health. On the Chong Yang Festival, people also eat Chong Yang cakes, enjoy chrysanthemum(菊花) flowers, and drink chrysanthemum wine.

Today, the Chong Yang Festival has got its new meaning —a day for showing respect to the old. On the festival day, people show their respect, care and love to old people, and they also do lots of things to help the old. Many parks, communities and organizations plan the activities for old people, such as an autumn trip, singing songs or sending presents to them. We hope the old are happy and stay healthy by taking part in these activities. Many young people accompany(陪伴) the old on outings, or make some delicious food for them.

3 . There are many classical cultures in China. All of them have a very long history. Here we introduce four of them.

	Chinese Handwriting Chinese handwriting is a special art to Asian cultures. Brush handwriting is much loved around the world. Wang Xizhi is very famous for his handwriting. He made a great difference to the development of Chinese handwriting.
	Chinese Folk Music Chinese folk music has a long history. It is connected with Chinese ancient stories. One of the classics, Shijing, includes some folk songs in 15 different areas from the West Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period. Traditional Chinese musical instruments include guqin, guzheng, pipa, erhu, xiao and so on.
	Chinese Painting Chinese painting is one of the oldest traditional painting forms in the world. Most of the Chinese paintings in ancient China were done on paper or silk. Traditional Chinese painting includes mountains and water, figures (人物), flowers and birds. The paintings show different features during the different historical periods.
	Weiqi Weiqi, called “yi” in ancient China, is a smart board game between two players with a history of over 3, 000 years. The game can be treated as the beginning of all ancient chess games. It was introduced to Korea about 2, 000 years ago and was popular among the higher classes.

7 . The world’s craziest festivals

Crazy festivals all over the world are out there just waiting to be celebrated. Join Cornelia Kumfert on a trip to the most unusual events taking place around the globe.

Burning Man Festival

Every year in Nevada (US) there is artwork and cunosities galore to marvel at when the Black Rock Desert changes into a mammoth art exhibition.

In August and September, some 70,00 people come here to celetrate the Burning Man Festival.

San Diego Comic Con

Surely superheroes don’t queue? Well, at San Diego’s Comic Convention they do. Each July hey open their dos to fans of Superman and other comic figures. More than 100,000 annual visitors have paid homage to their mythical heroes.

Crying Baby Festival, Tokyo

At the Crying Baby Festival in Tokyo (Japan), sumo wrestlers do what they can to bring babies to tears.

Sadists run riot? Certainly not! It’s a 400-year-old tradition based on a Japanese proverb, which says that crying babies grow fastest and parents believe the event brings good health to their children.

Palio Contest, Siena

Fame and honour await the winner of the Palio contest in Siena (Italy).

In July and August, ten inhabitants of different districts of the city jockey for first place in a spectacular horse race.

The trophy goes to the contestant whose horse crosses the finishing line first—whether he’s still in the saddle or not.