Heritage of Middle Kingdom, UNESCO, Contemporary Chinese Culture: News & Images

[ahojunk]

Ha ha. The Japanese official is being diplomatic. What he said could impact the flow of Chinese tourists into Japan. Ah, the power of the Yuan at work!
China should continue to monitor and blacklist misbehaving and unruly tourists.

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Japanese official: Chinese tourists not 'particularly unruly'
2016-06-29 14:48 | Ecns.cn | Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- A Japanese official said Chinese tourists are not a "particularly unruly" group among the range of international visitors to the country, Beijing-based newspaper Global Times reported.

The official from Kyoto's tourism department said there are uncivilized tourists from every country and while the number of Chinese tourists is very large, they do not stand out for bad behavior despite many media reports.

In recent years, Chinese tourists at home and abroad have frequently raised eyebrows for improper behavior including spitting, defacement of statues and jumping queues, prompting the nation's authorities to call for tourists to mind their manners when abroad.

In the latest scandal, a tourist suspected to be from China jumped into a spring to get water at Kiyomizudera Temple in Kyoto, a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most venerated temples in Japan.

With relaxed visa requirements and a weaker yen, the number of Chinese tourists to Japan is increasing rapidly. Kyoto ranks as the third most-popular destination among Chinese tourists to the country following Tokyo and Osaka, the report added.

 

[ahojunk]

I love the beautiful and colorful costumes.

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2016 Chinese Culture Festival kicks off in Russia
(Xinhua) 16:01, July 05, 2016

MOSCOW, July 5, 2016 -- A Chinese artist performs during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia in Moscow, capital of Russia, on July 4, 2016. The 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia kicked off here on Monday. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

MOSCOW, July 5, 2016 -- A Chinese artist performs during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia in Moscow, capital of Russia, on July 4, 2016. The 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia kicked off here on Monday. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

MOSCOW, July 5, 2016 -- Chinese artists perform during the opening ceremony of the 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia in Moscow, capital of Russia, on July 4, 2016. The 2016 Chinese Culture Festival in Russia kicked off here on Monday. (Xinhua/Evgeny Sinitsyn)

 

[TaiShang]

Forbidden City gets its own mobile game
2016-07-07 15:17:13 Xinhua Web Editor: Xu Yaqi

The file photo shows Beijing's Forbidden City. [Photo: leshangyou.com]

Chinese Internet firm Tencent will launch a new version of its most popular video mobile game themed around Beijing's Forbidden City, under a deal with the management of the historic site.

The two sides announced a promotional partnership on Wednesday night.

The tweak on the game, a Chinese hit similar to Candy Crush, will be released later this month, and Tencent said it will also encourage its game developers and other candidates to submit ideas for more games themed around the Forbidden City, officially known as the Palace Museum.

Another contest will invite social media users to submit designs of Internet meme "stickers" inspired by the attraction.
Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, said the partnership would make use of the Internet and new technology to foster a love of traditional Chinese culture among young people.

Pony Ma, founder and CEO of Tencent, said he hoped it would help promote Chinese culture abroad.

 

[TaiShang]

Book lover collects ancient Chinese copies in Japan
2016-07-08 16:47:57 CRIENGLISH.com Web Editor: Min Rui



Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]



Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]




Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]



Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]



Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]



Zhang Jing, a researcher on ancient Chinese culture and literature showing off some of the ancient books he collected from vintage bookstores in Japan. As a book lover, he travelled to Japan four times in 2014 alone, just to seek out these rare copies. Some of the editions he collected were thought to be long lost and originally printed in China during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) with others republished before the Meiji restoration in 1872. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

 

[beijingwalker]

Video games may become China's best cultural export
Date
July 10, 2016 - 6:26PM
Adam Minte

When Chinese internet giant Tencent acquired the Finnish video game developer Supercell last month for $US8.6 billion, it became the world's dominant publisher and distributor in the $US100 billion electronic games market. It was a blockbuster deal: no other Chinese entertainment company in any field – television, film, books – has ever come close to such a dominant position.

Yet the most lasting consequence of the acquisition might not have much to do with economics. It might instead be cultural.

The Chinese government has spent billions in recent years to subsidise artistic enterprises, with an eye towards wielding "soft power" beyond its borders. It hasn't been notably successful. But China's video game industry – as of last year, the world's biggest – is on the verge of becoming one of its most valuable cultural exports. It just might succeed where so much Chinese entertainment has failed in the past.

Poster for the film WARCRAFT. Photo: Supplied

Although the most popular PC games in China have generally been imports that publishers like Tencent have adapted for local audiences, games based on traditional Chinese themes and epics, such as "Journey to the West," remain popular and continue to evolve in interesting ways. Unlike film and television producers, moreover, Chinese game studios have largely avoided censorship fights (there's not much to censor in a battle between orcs and humans).

This has given them a degree of creative freedom that other art forms don't always enjoy. A multiplayer battle game called "300 Heroes", for example, is stocked with copyrighted characters such as Shrek (whose weapon of choice is a projectile donkey) along with figures from classical Chinese epics. The result is a hilarious gaming analogue to copyright-testing musical mashups – as well as a subtle bit of subversion in a country where censors frown on lampooning traditional culture.

Thus far, Chinese game makers have mostly focused on the rapidly growing domestic market and ignored overseas audiences. But with that superfast growth coming to an end, they'll need to look abroad if they want to expand their market share. And that's where things get interesting.

With the acquisition of Supercell, the world's most popular developer of mobile games, Tencent will control about 13 per cent of the global gaming industry. The plan is for Supercell – which already has 100 million daily players – to put its titles in front of the 300 million gamers who use Tencent's products. Tencent's expansive social media platforms, in turn, should offer new opportunities for interactive play in Supercell games.

But that's not all. Bloomberg News recently speculated that Tencent might try pushing some of Supercell's globally popular game characters into movie theatres, creating a vertically integrated, video-game-based Disney for the 21st century.

It could do the same with its own creations, such as the sexed-up anime characters who battle robots for control of the planet in Tencent's forthcoming "Name of the Nature" game. There's already a good model for this: A few weeks ago, "Warcraft," the cinematic spin-off of a PC game, enjoyed a $US157 million opening weekend – the biggest opener in Chinese box office history, and the biggest video game movie ever.

Of course, the general failure of Chinese films, television and musical acts to catch on overseas doesn't offer much reason for optimism. But video games, unlike TV shows, are easily adapted for foreign audiences. And Tencent – which has been collaborating with the world's top game developers for years – knows how to do it as well as anyone. WeFire, the company's new first-person shooter game, is already a hit in South Korea and Taiwan, and is now being tailored for a big push in the Americas.

Meanwhile, just as Disney profits from sports via its ownership of ESPN, Tencent is prospering from the soaring popularity of online gaming competitions. Some 36 million people streamed the Tencent-owned League of Legends World Championships between two South Korean teams last year.

It's too early to say just how Chinese video games will affect global culture. That would be like trying to predict the impact of Disney in the 1920s, or Marvel Comics in the 1940s. It's possible that Chinese epics might yet become globally popular. But it's more likely that game makers will export contemporary Chinese values and concerns – including ambivalence about the advance of technology (a key concern of "Name of the Nature"), fear for the ecological future and a Kardashian-like embrace of materialism in its gaudiest forms. China's e-sports competitors, already famous in East Asia, could become icons for frustrated desk jockeys worldwide.

In other words, the reset button is being pressed on global culture. And it's China's turn to play.

Bloomberg


http://www.smh.com.au/business/medi...nas-best-cultural-export-20160710-gq2ee2.html

 

[ahojunk]

@AndrewJin
Have you been to this cafe?

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The highest cafe in the world
By Huang Jin (People's Daily Online) 10:14, July 12, 2016

There is a cafe located at an altitude of 4,860 meters on Mount Dagu in Sichuan province. The cafe has a stunning view of Dagu Glacier National Park located in the district of Heishui, and it also boasts the title of highest cafe in the world.

The cafe was built last June and opened for business in October. All building materials were delivered by cable car.

Enjoying the scenery from within the cafe.

 

[ahojunk]

‘The greatest palace that ever was’: Chinese archaeologists find evidence of the fabled imperial home of Kublai Khan’s Yuan dynasty
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 09 June, 2016, 11:01am
UPDATED : Friday, 10 June, 2016, 2:56am
Laura Zhou

For centuries the imperial palace of Kublai Khan’s Yuan dynasty was shrouded in mystery.

After the dynasty collapsed, there were no clues as to where it was and it lived on only in legend through writings such as those of 13th century Venetian merchant Marco Polo.

If Polo is to be believed, the walls of “the greatest palace that ever was” were covered with gold and silver and the main hall was so large that it could easily seat 6,000 people for dinner.

“The palace was made of cane supported by 200 silk cords, which could be taken to pieces and transported easily when the emperor moved,” he wrote in his travel journal.

It was a vision of grandeur but the palace disappeared, seemingly without trace.

The Yuan dynasty lasted for a less than a century, spanning the years from 1279 to 1368, and it is widely believed that the capital of the empire was Beijing.

But in the centuries since, one question has dogged historians and archaeologists in China: just where was the dynasty’s palace?

Now experts at the Palace Museum in Beijing believe that they have some answers, clues they stumbled upon during upgrades to the heritage site’s underground power and fire-extinguishing systems.

According to historical records, the Yuan palace in Beijing was abandoned by its last emperor, Toghon Temür, who was overthrown by rebel troops that established the Ming dynasty in the 14th century.

Some experts believe the palace was razed by Ming soldiers who took over the city, while others insist the buildings were removed by Ming workers on the site of what was to become the Forbidden City.

The foundations for the sprawling Forbidden City were laid in 1406 and construction continued for another 14 years. It was the imperial palace for the Ming rulers and then the Qing dynasty until 1912.

The complex has been built up, layer by layer, but researchers sifting through the sands of archaeological time said last month that they had found evidence that at least part of the Yuan palace was beneath the site.

The researchers from the museum’s Institute of Archaeology said the proof was a 3 metre thick rammed earth and rubble foundation buried beneath the layers of Ming and Qing dynasty construction.

Institute deputy director Wang Guangyao said the foundation unearthed in the central-west part of the palace was in the same style as one uncovered in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, in the ruins of Zhongdu, one of the four capitals of the Yuan dynasty.

Some of the rubble in the newly discovered Yuan foundation dated back even further to dynasties such as the Liao (907–1125) and the Jin (1115–1234), Wang said.

Wang said a foundation of such size was rare in Yuan buildings and could have been used to support a palatial hall.

At the very least, the find proved that the Yuan palace was built on the same site as the Ming palace, though it was still too early to say these two completely overlapped.

“At least we now know that the palace was not built somewhere else but here,” Wang said.

“From a historical perspective, it gives us evidence that the architectural history runs uninterrupted from the Yuan, to the Ming and Qing dynasties.”

The discovery has also revived debate about the Central Axis of Beijing – a 7.8km strip that runs from Yongding Gate to the Drum and Bell towers and included the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and Zhongnanhai, the Communist Party leadership compound.

Many Chinese believe the axis has been the city’s “sacred backbone” since the Ming dynasty but others argue that it goes back further to the mid-13th century.

Wang said it was still too early to conclude whether the Yuan, Ming and Qing were built along the same axis.

“As archaeologists, we can only define what we have found,” Wang said. “But it gives us a direction for future exploration.”

Wang said it wasn’t easy to excavate in one of the country’s most important cultural sites and more work was still to be done.

“Even if we think a certain site is important for an archaeological finding, we can’t just dig the ground up because it is not allowed,” Wang said.

“All we can do is to wait and collect as much evidence as we can until sometime later, probably in a generation or two, work is done in those places and we can put all the finds together to see if they are all connected.”

The new discovery would be open to the public soon, Wang said.

 

[Mangus Ortus Novem]

For me the potential of the Chinese cultural industry, commercially that is, is hughe. IT can become one of the great export. Games, comics and classical litrature...of course films and animations...

The exotic mystery of China is still gloabl craze... we must capture this full gusto.

 

[ahojunk]

We associate flash mob with music and dance. This is unique, it has a Qipao fashion show!

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MEET CHINA-Chinese Qipao Flashmob show

SHOW CHINA
Published on 18 Sep 2015
Qipao,unique Chinese style of attire,is regarded as"national costume" of Chinese people and becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Our event aims to introduce the fashion of qipao,inproving colthing and culture exchanges between American and Chinese people.

 

[ahojunk]

Light finally shed on some of the wonders of Beijing’s Forbidden City

Protective lighting system installed to illuminate areas once bathed in near darkness at the former imperial palace in the centre of China’s capital

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 19 May, 2016, 12:08pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 19 May, 2016, 12:08pm
Nectar Gan

The grand but usually dim halls in the Forbidden City in Beijing woke up to beams of sparkling, warm light on Wednesday morning when a new lighting system was installed to give visitors a better view of the interior of the former imperial palace, according to a newspaper report.

A ceremony to launch the new lighting system was held at the Palace Museum on Wednesday as scores of tourists watched halls with nearly 600 of years history be illuminated, the Beijing Daily reported.

The halls were kept dim in the past to protect the paintings, furniture and antiques from light and heat.

They used to be so dark that tourists often had to press their faces onto the windows in order to have a better view of indoor exhibits, leaving cleaners busy to wipe off fingerprints on the glass, the report said.

But heritage preservation experts have worked out a solution to avoid potential damage to artefacts. The newly-installed lights were all cold, LED lights, with special ultraviolet and infrared proof filters, according to the report.

After analysing data on sunlight in and outside the halls collected throughout 2014, the experts came up with a design that makes artificial light look as similar to natural light as possible.

A total of 120 lights were installed in the three main halls in the outer court at the palace, which were used to hold ceremonies, as well as in three back palaces in the inner court, which was mainly the centre of daily affairs of state.

The rest of the halls in the Forbidden City will be lit by 2020, the report said.

“This upgrade on the lighting system not only allows spectators to see the original furnishings in the palace halls more clearly, but also presents the halls’ architectural structure, painting and antiques in their true colours,” the deputy head of the Palace Museum was quoted as saying.

The Forbidden City was home to emperors from the 15 century to the beginning of the 20th century.

 

[Three_Kingdoms]

Flash mobs over Greater China

Southwest University of Science and Technology

National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra

Beijing

Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Hong Kong

Macau Orchestra

 

[ahojunk]

Put these vandals in jail.

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China to crack down on damage to Great Wall
( Xinhua )Updated: 2016-07-28 10:39:34

Screenshot from an online video shows a man vandalizing the Great Wall.
[Photo/Screenshot from online video]


The State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) will launch a campaign to crack down on criminal damage to the Great Wall.

The campaign will involve regular inspections and random checks on protection efforts by authorities in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities.

The SACH will open a special tip line for information about violations and damage to the Great Wall from the public.

Built from the third century BC to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall stretches over 21,000 kilometers from the northwestern province of Gansu to North China's Hebei province.

According to SACH statistics, about 30 percent of a 6,200-km section of the wall built in the Ming Dynasty has disappeared, and less than 10 percent is considered well-preserved.

The Great Wall has faced threats from both nature and humans. Earthquakes, rain, wind and other natural elements have left the wall with many decayed and crumbling bricks.

Human activities, such as reckless development by some governments and theft of bricks by local villagers for use as building materials, as well as agriculture near the wall, have damaged the landmark, according to research by the China Great Wall Society.

A lack of protection efforts in remote regions and a weak plan for protection have also contributed to the damage, the society added.

In 2006, China released a national regulation on Great Wall protection. However, Great Wall experts have urged local authorities to draw up more practical measures to better implement the regulation.

This year, Inner Mongolia autonomous region included Great Wall protection expenditures in its budget. The government of Fangcheng city, Henan province, began a campaign for conservation experts and local residents to work together to protect the wall.

 

[ahojunk]

Huge investment to protect Tibetan cultural heritage
Source: Xinhua 2016-07-29 15:09:06


LHASA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China has invested 1.6 billion yuan (240 million U. S. dollars) to protect ancient artifacts, cultural heritage and to build museums in Tibet Autonomous Region over the past five years, according to government figures released Thursday.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage invested one billion yuan in protecting cultural artifacts and establishing museum exhibits in Tibet from 2011-2015.

Over the same period, the National Development and Reform Commission invested about 600 million yuan in museum construction and protecting cultural heritage.

The figures represent an 180 percent increase on the previous five year period (2006-2010).

Liu Yuzhu, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that during the past two decades,the central government has invested three billion yuan in protecting Tibetan cultural heritage.

The region has 4,277 key cultural sites including ancient ruins, buildings and tombs. Fifty-five of these sites are on the state's priority protection list.

 

[Mangus Ortus Novem]

Huge investment to protect Tibetan cultural heritage
Source: Xinhua 2016-07-29 15:09:06


LHASA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China has invested 1.6 billion yuan (240 million U. S. dollars) to protect ancient artifacts, cultural heritage and to build museums in Tibet Autonomous Region over the past five years, according to government figures released Thursday.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage invested one billion yuan in protecting cultural artifacts and establishing museum exhibits in Tibet from 2011-2015.

Over the same period, the National Development and Reform Commission invested about 600 million yuan in museum construction and protecting cultural heritage.

The figures represent an 180 percent increase on the previous five year period (2006-2010).

Liu Yuzhu, head of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage said that during the past two decades,the central government has invested three billion yuan in protecting Tibetan cultural heritage.

The region has 4,277 key cultural sites including ancient ruins, buildings and tombs. Fifty-five of these sites are on the state's priority protection list.

A good share this report.

China has always protected the cultural heritage of all of Chinese people, all ethnic groups that is.

By doing the same in Tibet China is just following its national policy.

Great the protect Chinese heritage for future generations for all Chinese.

Good going!

 

[ahojunk]

Beauty contest for Yi ethnic group held in SW China
(Xinhua) 20:13, July 29, 2016

The following pictures show the Yi ethnic group beauty contest in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday.

This beauty contest is gender neutral. Men also participate. The Yi costumes are very colourful and beautiful.

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- A contestant in a costume show during a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- Male contestants in a costume show during a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- Contestant Jiang Xin during the awarding ceremony of a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- Contestants in a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- Contestants in their costumes during a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

XICHANG, July 28, 2016 -- A contestant performs a folk dance during a beauty contest for Yi ethnic group in Xichang, Sichuan Province. A total of 73 contestants from Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan took part in the contest on Thursday. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)