4 . There is more of a connection between food and culture than you may think. On an individual level, we grow up eating the food of our culture. It becomes a part of who we are. Many associate food from our childhood with warm feelings and good memories and it ties us to our families, holding a special and personal value for us. Food from our families often becomes the comfort food we seek as adults in times of frustration and stress.

On a large scale, traditional food is an important part of culture. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. Immigrants bring it wherever they go, and it is a symbol of pride in their culture and means of coping with homesickness.

Many immigrants open their own restaurants and serve traditional dishes. However, the food does not remain exactly the same. Some materials needed to make traditional dishes may not be readily available, so the taste and flavour can be different from what they would prepare in their home countries. Additionally, immigrants do not only sell dishes to people from the same countries as them, but to people from different countries. Therefore, they have to make small changes in the original dishes to cater to a wider range of customers. Those changes can create new flavours that still keep the cultural significance of the dishes.

We should not only embrace our heritage (传统) through our culture’s food, but also become more informed about other cultures by trying their food. It is important to remember that each dish has a special place in the culture to which it belongs, and is special to those who prepare it. Food is a window on culture, and it should be treated as such.

5 . The “24 solar terms” (节气) originated and was first used in China. It was created thousands of years ago on the basis of practical needs of agricultural. Ancient Chinese people used it to guide agricultural production, explain special climate signs and even come up with healthy living tips. Last year, the 24 solar terms was added to UNESCO's world cultural heritage list(联合国教科文组织世界文化遗产名录). Now, it has been brought to life thanks to a creative designer from Southwest China's Guizhou Province.

On the eve of this year's Qingming Festival, Shi Changhong released (发布) his version of reproduced and packaged characters for each solar term in the form of “moving art” of gifs. Since their first release on Zcool on March 29, the gifs have won great praise among the general public and quickly flooded the social media with millions of hits during the festival period.

To maximize publicity, Shi released his work in three forms: the video, the animation and pictures. The background sounds add to the brilliance.

“When I watch the short video, I can strongly feel the Chinese-style elements hidden in it. And it is really cool to liven up traditional Chinese culture in such a unique way.” WeChat user Xiao Feifei said.

“It is really a comfort to me to see so many people like my latest work. To be honest, it would really surprise me if the work had not aroused great interest among Chinese people. The 24 solar terms is a deeply rooted concept that covers the essence of Chinese wisdom. However, only a small portion of people know all the names or the correct order of those terms. My intention is to increase Chinese people’s self-awareness to learn more about our traditional fine culture. Actually, the 24 solar terms work is only a part of my whole design program ‘Charm China’, which I started a year ago.” Shi told China Daily.

6 . A British friend told me he couldn’t understand why Chinese people love eating sunflower seeds(嗑瓜子) as a snack so much.“I’ve met a lot of older Chinese and many have a crack in their front teeth, I believe that’s from cracking the seeds,”he said.

I had never noticed the habit, but once he mentioned it, I suddenly became more aware, I realized that whenever I’m watching TV or typing a report, I always start mindlessly cracking sunflower seeds. My friend doesn’t like sunflower seeds, and, to him, it seems unnecessary to work so much just to get one small seed.

When we were young, the whole family would usually get together for Chinese New Year. Then, we all lived close to one another, usually in a small city, and sometimes even neighbors would go door-to-door on Chinese New Year’s Eve to check out what every household was making.

I remember my parents would be in the kitchen cooking. Out in the living room, a large table would already be laid out, complete with fancy tablecloth, ready-made dumpling fillings, and dishes full of candy, fruits and sunflower seeds. Some of the dishes were to be offered to our ancestors later, while others were for neighbors and children to eat before the evening feast. I must have learned how to crack sunflower seeds back then.

I don’t think it’s right to criticize one’s choice in food or eating habits, no matter how strange they may seem.

It’s not only in China. When I went abroad, I found people had all sorts of strange habits when it came to food. In Denmark, they put salted red fish on bread and eat it for dinner, no matter how much it ruins your breath. They think it’s a delicacy(美味佳肴), and it’s connected to their certain culture. I think it’s a wonderful tradition.

7 . More than 10 million Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas, lots of which were stolen and illegally shipped out of China during the times of war before 1949. About 1.67 million pieces are housed in no more than 200 museums in 47 countries, which accounts for 10 percent of all lost Chinese cultural relics, and the rest are in the hands of private collectors.

Most of these treasures are owned by museums or private collectors in the United States, Europe, Japan and Southeast Asian countries. There are more than 23,000 pieces in the British Museum, most of which were stolen or bought for pennies more than 100 years ago.

The major method to recover these national treasures was to buy them back. In some cases, private collectors donated the relics to the government. Also, the government can turn to official channels to demand the return of relics.

In 2003, a priceless bronze pig’s head dating from the Qing Dynasty was returned to its home in Beijing after it was removed by the Anglo-French Allied Army over 140 years ago. Macao entrepreneur Stanley Ho donated 6 million yuan to buy it back from a US art collector and then donated it to the Poly Art Museum in Beijing.

Although buying-back is the most feasible way to recover the lost treasures, limited funding is always a big headache.

In recent years, the Chinese government has improved efforts to recover the precious cultural relics lost overseas. It has started a national project on the recovery of the treasures and has set up a database (数据库) collecting relevant information. It has signed several international agreements with many countries on this matter, and is also looking for international cooperation to recover the relics by working closely with several international organizations.

8 . 5 things you may not know about Grain Rain

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Grain Rain, as the last term in spring, starts on April 20 and ends on May 4.

Grain Rain originates from the old saying, "Rain brings up the growth of hundreds of grains," which shows that this period of rainfall is extremely important for the growth of crops. The Grain Rain signals the end of cold weather and a rapid rise in temperature.     1     .

Key time for agriculture

Grain Rain brings a marked increase in temperature and rainfall and the grains grow faster and stronger. It's a key time to protect the crops from insect pests.

    2    

Grain Rain falls between the end of spring and the beginning of summer, with infrequent cold air moving to the south and lingering cold air in the north. From the end of April to the beginning of May, the temperature rises much higher than it does in March. With dry soil, an unsteady atmosphere and heavy winds, wild winds and sandstorms become more frequent.

Drinking tea

There is an old custom in southern China that people drink tea on the day of Grain Rain. Spring tea during Grain Rain is rich in vitamins and amino acids,     3     . It is also said that drinking tea on this day would prevent bad luck.

Eating toona sinensis

People in northern China have the tradition to eat the vegetable toona sinensis during Grain Rain. An old Chinese saying goes ”toona sinensis before the rain is as tender as silk”. The vegetable is nutritious and can help to strengthen the immune system.     4     .

Grain Rain Festival

The Grain Rain festival is celebrated by fishing villages in the coastal areas of northern China.     5     . The custom dates back more than 2,000 years ago, when people believed they owed a good harvest to the gods, who protected them from the stormy seas. People would worship the sea and stage sacrifice rites on the Grain Rain festival, praying for a bountiful harvest and a safe voyage for their loved ones.

9 . International tourism is becoming interestingly popular, and large numbers of people from all over the world come to visit famous places such as the Great Wall of China and the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.     1     They've thrown rubbish everywhere, brought more traffic and even done serious damage to ancient relics.

As for the damage, there are many different causes. For example, the paintings in the Sistine Chapel are being damaged by people breathing onto them when they visit.     2     That may raise the humidity (湿气) of the air and damage the paintings. Damage in other places such as the Great Wall is because of tourists climbing on delicate (脆弱的) areas. Besides, roads have also been built to help visitors climb the Wall easily. These activities can cause a lot of damage to the area.

    3     Firstly, we have to cut down tourist numbers, because fewer visitors will result in less damage. Secondly, we should make strict rules about which areas people can visit and what they can do when they get there.     4     People will not be allowed to walk off the paths. Visitors to indoor places can be asked to wear masks to protect the paintings.

In short, it is necessary to control tourism at famous places.     5     And people who live hundreds of years later will have no chance to see these great places.

10 . If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He'd need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It's nothing personal. Most Americans don't even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

But this doesn't mean that Americans don't care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and

philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks(缺陷)of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

So the old thinker's ideas are still alive and well.

Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.