2 . Each time Chinese New Year is approaching, preparations are underway around the world. Here are some Chinatowns for those outside of China wishing to mark the day.

London

Although it may not be as large or as long-built as others, having only become a center for the Chinese community during the 1950s, London’s Chinatown is a perfectly formed little firework that knows how to see in the year with a bang. Decorated with red lanterns (灯笼), previous years have seen shows with acrobatics (杂技), martial arts (武术), dance and opera nearby.

San Francisco

San Francisco’s Chinatown is perhaps the most famous in the United States. The city was the main entry-point for Chinese who had crossed the Pacific to the USA during the early 19th century. Between the Grant Avenue and the Stockton Street, this historic area is a local treasure, attracting more visitors per year than the Golden Gate Bridge.

Bangkok

With an about 100-year-old history, the Thai capital’s Chinatown contains complex streets offering all kinds of tasty treats, clothes, toys and antiques. Sunday market days are such a good time to get the full atmosphere of the neighborhood. The area is also known for its gold dealers, whose shops line the road.

Mauritius

Found in Port Louis, this Mauritian Chinatown shows the island nation’s rich multicultural diversity. Established in the early years of the 20th century by settlers from China, its tiny shops and restaurants serve locals and visitors. During the Chinese Spring Festival, the most exciting sight is the Dragon Dances on Rue Royale when Chinese musicians and dancers perform the traditional Lion dances through the streets.

3 . Yangzhou paper cutting, with a history of 2000 years, can be dated back to the Sui Dynasty, making Yangzhou one of the places where paper cutting first became popular.

In the Sui Dynasty, the people of Yangzhou would cut colourful paper or silk and satin (缎子) to celebrate festivals. It is said that Emperor Yang came to Yangzhou three times. In winter, the flowers and trees in the garden became dry and weak. The emperor ordered the girl servants to cut fine silk and satin into flowers and leaves and use them to decorate the trees and lakes, copying nicely the looks of spring and summer. Since then, “colorful cutting” has become a popular art in Yangzhou.

In the Tang Dynasty, the paper cutting industry was highly developed and a large amount of high­quality paper was made as presents to the Court (宫廷).

In the Qing Dynasty, because of the economic development, the people of Yangzhou became interested in wearing fine clothing, especially embroidered (刺绣的) clothing. The embroidered designs were based on paper­cuts, the most well­known of them was from Bao Jun, a paper cutting master. He won a high reputation (名声) as Magic Scissors for his wonderful cutting skills.

After the People’s Republic of China was started, the Chinese government accepted the importance of paper cutting like many other arts and skills. In 2007, China Paper­cuts Museum opened to the public in the back garden of the Wang’s Residence (住所), Yangzhou, greatly helping the development of Yangzhou paper cutting.

4 . The traditional Chinese solar calendar divides a year into 24 solar terms. The Spring Equinox, the fourth term of the year, signals the equal length of the day and night time.     1    . After the equinox, the sun moves northwards, resulting in gradually longer daytime in the Northern Hemisphere and longer night in the South. Here are things you may not know about the Spring Equinox.

The ancient Chinese people divided the fifteen days of the Spring Equinox into three “hou’s,” or five-day parts. As the old saying goes, “swallows fly back to the North in the first hou; thunder cracks the sky in the second hou; lightning occurs frequently in the third hou.”     2    .

Standing an egg upright is a popular game across the country during the Spring Equinox. It is an old custom that dates back to 4,000 years ago.     3    . Furthermore, there is a general perception that good luck for the future will be generated in this way.

In ancient times, people did not have good medical resources. So to pray for health, they wrote their medical issues on paper kite. When the kite was in the air, people would cut off the string to let the paper kite float away, symbolizing the flying away of diseases.     4    . On the Spring Equinox, people write a blessing on the kite, hoping that the gods in the sky would see it.

    5    

This practice is popular in the southern area of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As the Spring Equinox comes, farm work starts and both the farmers and the cattle start to become busy. Farmers will reward cattle with sticky rice balls to express their gratefulness.

Yours

Li Hua

Yours,

Li Hua

9 . Different Cultures

The cultures of the East and the West really distinguish each other a lot.     1    .

The origin of the Eastern culture is mainly from two countries: China and India. Both of the two cultures are developed by rivers—the Yellow River in China and the Hindu River in India.     2    .

When the two mother rivers gave birth to the Eastern culture, another famous culture was brought up on the Mesopotamian Plain—the Mesopotamian Civilization. This civilization later on developed into the cultures of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.     3    Like the Chinese culture, the European culture also crossed waters. When the British settled down in America, their culture went with them over the Atlanta Ocean. So the American culture doesn’t distinguish from the European culture a lot.

At the same time, some other differences add to the cultural differences. Take the language system for example. In the East, most languages belong to the pictographic language while the Western languages are mostly based on the Latin system. Other causes like human race differences count as well. But what’s more, due to the far distance and the steep areas between the East and the West, the two cultures seldom communicate until recent centuries.     4    

The differences are everywhere.     5    But different cultures make the world of 21st century more colorful. The cultural gap should not be the obstacle to the civilization of human being. It ought to be the motivation of our going farther.