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Great Wall of China

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Great Wall of China:
The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the section of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

History of the wall: Excitement abounds in the origin, vicissitude and nature of the great wall of the Qin, Han, and Ming dynasties.
The Great Wall was originally built in the Spring, Autumn, and Warring States Periods as a defensive fortification by the three states: Yan, Zhao and Qin. The Great Wall went through constant extensions and repairs in later dynasties. In fact, it began as independent walls for different states when it was first built, and did not become the "Great" wall until the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Qin Shihuang succeeded in his effort to have the walls joined together to fend off the invasions from the Huns in the north after the unification of China. Since then, the Great Wall has served as a monument of the Chinese nation throughout history. A visit to the Great Wall is like a tour through the history backwards; it brings tourists great excitement in each step of the wall.

Construction of the wall: The mystery of the construction of the wall is amazing.
The construction of the Great Wall, drew heavily on the local resources for construction materials, was carried out in line with the local conditions under the management of contract and responsibility system. A great army of manpower, composed of soldiers, prisoners, and local people, built the wall. The construction result demonstrates the manifestation of the wisdom and tenacity of the Chinese people.

Sections of the wall: Ready to show you an incredible diversity of scenery and ethnic people along its way.
The Great Wall as we see today was mostly built during the Ming Dynasty. It starts from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west traversing provinces of Liaoning, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi and Gansu.

Protection of the wall: The China Great Wall Academy has called for greater protection of this important relic.
Following a forty-five day long survey of 101 sections of the Wall in different provinces, the China Great Wall Academy reported on December 12, 2002 that the forces of nature and destruction at the hand of mankind are bringing about the gradual reduction of its extent with the result that less than 30% remains in good condition. The Academy has called for greater protection of this important relic.

Culture of the wall: Unfolding a considerable part of Chinese culture beyond the wall.
The Great Wall has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology and popular symbolism. The most beautiful of several legends is about the collapse of a section of the Great Wall caused by Meng Jiangnu, who cried bitterly over the death of her husband in the construction of the Great Wall. This legend has been spread widely through textbooks, folk songs and traditional operas. It is well-known in China

Travel of the wall: Elaborate tour plans make travel comfortable, memorable, enjoyable and informative.
If you prefer to see the wall in a relatively natural state, visit Simatai, 110km north-east of Beijing. This part of the Wall is the best choice, for it is still in its original state without being developed into a popular tourist attraction due to its distance and little public transportation options.

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Tiger Shoes
Tiger shoes are commonly found on babies' feet in the countryside of China even today. The shoes are entirely made of cloth and their toe-caps are made into tiger's head. There is a popular story behind their long history.

Long ago, in the famous old town Yangzhou lived a boatman called Big Yang, who was very generous and ready to help others. Because of his charities, he got an old drawing as a present from an old female passenger. In the picture, a beautiful girl was embroidering a pair of tiger shoes. The boatman was very pleased with the gift. He liked the picture dearly. As soon as he got home, he put it on the wall above his bed.
One evening, the girl in the picture stepped out of the picture and had a nice time with Big Yang. Since then, they met every night. Years later, they had a son who brought much happiness to the couple. But unfortunately, the magic picture was seized away by the official of the town, who had heard about the beauty in Big Yang's picture. Big Yang was angry with the evil official though he could do nothing. The greedy official put the picture on the wall above his bed and waited the girl to come down every night. To his disappointment, nothing happened.
The son was crying for his mother. The father tried to deceive him into believing that his mother had gone far away to the west. The son insisted on looking for his mother. Finally, the son went on the trip to find his mother. He traveled westwards day and night, and in the end, he saw his mother in a pool in the forest bathing together with many other fairies. "Well, my son, how have you been looking for Mum a long way here!" said the mother, weeping the tears off her son's cheeks. "Mum, let's go home. You know how I missed you." "We won't meet until you go into the official's bed room, wearing that pair of tiger shoes I made for you. My son. Shut your eyes, and I'll send you home first."
After a whirl of gale, the son was surprised to find himself already at home. He informed the official that he could call down the lady from the picture. On hearing the news, the evil official was very pleased for he was eager to find a way to get in touch with the beauty. So the boy was lead directly into the bedroom. As soon as the boy saw his mother, he spoke to the picture. "Mum, let's go!" the son said deeply. The mother got down right away and walked out with the support of her son. But the evil official stopped them right away. He wanted to detain the beauty as his concubine forcefully, but he was refused. The official became angry and thrust at the mother and son. The boy fought back bravely. While they were fighting, the tiger shoes shook off from the boy's feet and turned into a large tiger. It jumped up quickly over to the sinful official. The calls for help from the poor man and the roars from the fierce tiger were mixed together, which was heard by the whole town. It was the tiger shoes that saved the mother and son, and the family united again. Since then, people made tiger shoes for their own babies hoping the family and their babies well protected.

Birthday Customs of the Newborn and Elderly

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Chinese people put their family in a very important position as they regard it as a means to keep the family blood stream continuously running. And the running family blood stream maintains the life of the whole nation. That is why children production and breeding in China becomes a focus of all members of families. It is even accepted by them as an essential moral duty. There is a Chinese saying that of all who lack filial piety, the worst is who has no children.
The fact that Chinese people pay great attention to children production and breeding can be supported by many customary practices. Many traditional customs about preproduction of children are all based on the idea of children protection. When a wife is found to be pregnant, people will say she "has happiness," and all her family members will feel overjoyed about it. Throughout the whole period of pregnancy, both she and the fetus are well attended, so that the fetus is not hurt in any way and the new generation is born both physically and mentally healthy. To keep the fetus in a good condition, the going-to-be mother is offered sufficient nutritious foods and some traditional Chinese medicines believed to be helpful to the fetus.
When the baby is born, the mother is required to "zuoyuezi" or stay in bed for a month in order to recover from the fatigue. In this month, she is advised to stay at home and not to go outdoors. Cold, wind, dirty air, and tiredness are said to exert bad effect on her health and thus her later life.
A good name for a child is considered equally important. The Chinese think a name may somehow determine the future of the child. Therefore, all possible factors must be taken into account when they are naming their children.
Traditionally, two parts of a name are essential, the family name or last name and a character showing the generation order of the family. Another character in the first name is chosen as the namer pleases. The generation signing characters in the names are usually given by the forefathers, who chose them from a line of a poem or found their own and put them in the genealogy for their descendents to use. For this reason, it is possible to know the relationships between the family relatives by just looking at their names.
Another custom is to find the newborn baby's Eight Characters (in four pairs, indicating the year, month, day and hour of a person's birth, each pair consisting of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch, formerly used in fortune-telling) and the element in the Eight Characters. It is traditionally believed in China that the world is made up of five principal elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. A person's name is to include an element that he lacks in his Eight Characters. If he lacks water, for example, then his name is supposed to contain a word like river, lake, tide, sea, stream, rain, or any word associating with water. If he lacks metal, then he is to be given a word like gold, silver, iron, or steel.
Some people even believe that the number of strokes of a name has a lot to do with the owner's fate. So when they name a child, the number of strokes of the name is taken into account.
Some parents prefer to use a character from an eminent person's name, hoping that their child inherits that person's nobility and greatness. Characters with noble and encouraging connotations are also among the first choices. Some parents inject their own wishes into their children's names. When they want to have a boy, they may name their girl Zhaodi meaning expecting a brother.
The first important event for the newly born baby is the one-month celebration. In Buddhist or Taoist families, on the morning of the baby's 30th day, sacrifices are offered to the gods so that the gods will protect the baby in his subsequent life. Ancestors are also virtually informed of the arrival of the new member in the family. According to the customs, relatives and friends receive gifts from the child's parents. Types of gifts vary from place to place, but eggs dyed red are usually a must both in town and the countryside. Red eggs are chosen as gifts probably because they are the symbol of changing process of life and their round shape is the symbol of harmonious and happy life. They are made red because red color is a sign of happiness in Chinese culture. Besides eggs, food like cakes, chickens and hams are often used as gifts. As people do in the Spring Festival, gifts given are always in even number.
During the celebration, relatives and friends of the family will also return some presents. The presents include those which the child may use, like foods, daily materials, gold or silver wares. But the commonest are some money wrapped in a piece of red paper. Grandparents usually give their grandchild a gold or silver ware to show their deep love for the child. In the evening, the child's parents give a rich feast at home or a restaurant to the guests at the celebration.

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