Hello China 你好 中国

Today is Mid-Autumn Day of Chinese people.It is a traditional Chinese day which is celebrated every 15th August of Chinese lunar year. It is a very important festival to Chinese people,because it is the day for family reunion: The whole family get together,eating mooncakes and enjoying the moon.Those who can not go back home are especiallly missing their families.

The key words of this day are: Mooncake and Moon.

Basiclly, mooncakes are made of “皮儿”（wrap--made from dough) and "馅儿“
“皮儿”are made from dough mixed with some seasonings and then baked.
"馅儿“ are (fillings--made of various materials.Generally some traditiaonl ones are: fruit fillings(苹果apple，凤梨pineapple and so on), 枣泥（red data paste),豆沙（bean paste),五仁（five kinds of nuts),蛋黄（egg),莲蓉（lotus paste) and so on. [see pics]


Traditionnally, mooncakes are round.
But Nowadays, there are even more various kinds of mooncakes ---any 皮儿 or 馅儿 u can imagine.


On 15th, August of Chinese lunar year, the moon is the biggest and most round of the year.

Mooncakes and moon are round. In Chinese, "round" is “圆“。“圆“ means complete,full, anyhow, it means sth good.Such words are : 团圆（reunion) 圆满（sth ends well). So, that is why Chinese people celebrate this day on 15th, August , eating mooncakes and enjoying moonlight.

In this day, we Chinese get many blessing from family members and friends; in this day, all the family members get together. In fact, it is also a day which makes a lot of people sensitive: those who can not return home, who can not stay with mom and dad will especially miss home.

Chinese poets had composed many famous poems which have been handled down from generation to generation,here are some beautiful lines:
“每逢佳节倍思亲“---i have never missed my family so much everytime when it is festival.
"月是故乡明“ ---the moon of my hometown is the brightest.
"海上升明月，天涯共此时“---we feel the same moon rising on the sea,alghough we are at every corner of the world.
Here is a poem by Su Dongpo, a great poet of CHinese Song dynasty.This poem is the most beautiful song for this festival and hope u enjoy it.
明月几时有，把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间。

转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事偏向别时圆。人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

"人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺"---in our life, we will experience sorrows and happiness, reunions and partings, just like the moon, it is not full all the time.
"但愿人长久，千里共婵娟"---hope everyone live a long life so that even we live afar, we can still get together.

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Every emblem of the Olympics tells a story. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games emblem "Chinese Seal, Dancing Beijing" is filled with Beijing's hospitality and hopes, and carries the city's commitment to the world.

Milestone

"Dancing Beijing" is a milestone of the Olympics. It serves as a classic chapter of the Olympic epic inscribed by the spirit of the Chinese nation, calligraphed by the deeper import of the ancient civilization, and molded by the character of Cathay's descendents. It is concise yet deep inside, bringing forth the city's gradual changes and development. It appears dignified yet bears a tune of romance, reflecting the nation's thoughts and emotions.

In the lead up to the Beijing 2008 Olympics, the emblem will attract more and more people from around the world to Beijing and China to join the great celebration with the Chinese people.

Commitment

"Dancing Beijing" is a Chinese Seal. It is engraved with commitment made to the Olympic Movement by a country that has 56 ethnic groups and a population of 1.3 billion. While witnessing the advocacy of the Olympic Spirit by a nation with both ancient civilization and modern culture, it also unfolds a future-oriented city's pursuit of the Olympic Ideal.

It is a symbol of trust and an expression of self confidence, standing for the solemn yet sacred promise that Beijing - the host city of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games - has made to the world and to all mankind.

"Complete sincerity can affect even metal and stone (literally meaning sincerity smoothes the way to success)." The inception of our ancestors' wisdom and the image of a seal made of metal and stone allow the emblem to present Chinese people's respect and honesty for the Olympics.

The moment we earnestly imprint the emblem with the "Chinese seal", Beijing is about to show the world a grand picture of "peace, friendship, and progress of mankind" and to strike up the passionate movement of "faster, higher, and stronger" for mankind.

Image

"Dancing Beijing" serves as the city's foremost appearance. It is an image that shows the eastern ways of thinking and the nation's lasting appeal embodied in the Chinese characters. It is an expression that conveys the unique cultural quality and elegance of Chinese civilization.

With inspiration from the traditional Chinese art form ¨C calligraphic art, the character "Jing" (the latter of the city's name) is developed into the form of a dancing human being, reflecting the ideal of a "New Olympics". The words "Beijing 2008" also resembles the vivid shapes of Chinese characters in handwriting, voicing in concise strokes of the countless feelings Chinese people possess towards the Olympics.

As people ponder on the rich connotations and charms of these Chinese characters, a "New Beijing" has thus been brought forward.

Beauty

"Dancing Beijing" is a favorite color of the Chinese people. The colour "red" is intensively used in the emblem, hushing the passion up to a new level. It carries Chinese people's longing for luck and happiness and their explanation of life.

Red is the color of the Sun and the Holy Fire, representing life and a new beginning. Red is mind at ease, symbol of vitality, and China's blessing and invitation to the world.

Hero

"Dancing Beijing" calls upon heroes. Olympic Games functions as the stage where heroes are made known, miracles created and glories earned, and where every participant constitutes an indispensable part of the occasion.

The powerful and dynamic design of the emblem is a life poem written by all participants with their passion, affections, and enthusiasm. It is an oath every participant takes to contribute power and wisdom to the Olympics.

The emblem cheers for arts and for the Olympic heroes, who pass down the essence of the Olympic Spirit, which well connects sports and cultures.

Spirit

"Dancing Beijing" extends the totem of the Chinese nation. The form of a running human being stands for the beauty and magnificence of life. Its graceful curves are like the body of a wriggling dragon, relating the past and future of one same civilization; they are like rivers, carrying the century-old history and the nation's pride; they are like veins, pulsing with vitality of life.

The intrinsic values of sports ¨C athlete-centered and people-oriented ¨C are well defined and upgraded in an artistic way in "the dance of Beijing." We sing if words fail to explain it all, and we dance if the singing does not explicitly tell the meaning.

Vigorous Beijing is looking forward to the cerebration in 2008 and the Olympics wait all mankind to dance together.

Invitation

"Dancing Beijing" is a kind invitation. The open arms in the emblem say that China is opening its arms to welcome the rest of the world to join the Olympics, a celebration of "peace, friendship and progress of mankind."

"Is it not a joy to have friends come from afar?" The idiom portraits the feelings of friendly and hospitable Chinese people and expresses the sincerity of the city.

Come to Beijing, take a good look at the historical heritages of China's Capital city, and feel the pulse of the country's modernization;

Come, share every piece of its joy, and experience the vigor of the country;

Come, and let us together weave a peaceful and wonderful dream.

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Light refreshments and pastry of great variety and meticulously made have a long history in China. The origin of Chinese pastry can be traced backe to the Neolithic Age when the stone grinder was invented to make the grinding of grain possible. During the Spring and Autumn periods, there were oil-fried pastry and steamed pastries such as honey cake, Yishi, Shenshi (made of grounded grains of cereal crops) , and junu (a ring-shaped oil-fried food). Later, with the development of cooking utensile and kitchen ranges, Chinese pastry gradually enriched its raw materials, techniques and varieties, and many popular local light refreshments appeared. In North China, there are dumplings, noodles, hand-pulled noodles, pancakes and steamed stuffed buns; in South China, there are shaomai, wanton, spring roll zhongzi( pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves), yuanxiao (glutinous rice dumpling with special fillings)and youtiao (deep fried dough stick). In addition, many light refreshments with local characteristics have been created making use of particular local products and customs. Below is a list of places giving some of the most famous local pastries and light refreshments to be found there:

Beijing: jiaoquan(slightly browned dough ring), mimahua ( honeyed, twisted fried dough), wandouhuang (peaflour cake), aiwowo (steamed corn bread flavored with atomatic herbs), and quick- fried pig's liver and stomach.

Shanghai: xiekehuang(fried ovary and digestive glands of a crab) , Nanxiang steamed bread, and Shaoxing chicken porridge.

Tianjin: Gabacai(a kind of crisp cake with vegetables), Goubuli steamed stuffed buns, ear-shaped fried cake, bread stewed with minifish, Bangchui pancake, Guifaxiang twisted fried dough, and spiced donkey meat.

Taiyuan: kaolao, knife-shaved noodles, and jiupian.

Xi'an: dried bread soaked in mutton (or beef)soup, and Qianzhou cake.

Lanzhou: hand-stretched noodles, and oil-fried large pancake.

Xinjiang: roast pancake of wheat or corn flour, roast mutton ( or beef) slices, rice to be eaten with the fingers.

Shandong: oil-fried stuffed buns.

Jiangsu: baked wheaten cake with sesame and chopped scallion, steamed stuffed buns filled with three kinds of diced delicacies, shaomai with the ovary and digestive glands of a crab, and tangbao.

Zhejiang: buttered pancake, Double Ninth chestnut cake, zhongzi stuffed with fresh meat, noodles with shrimp and eel, Ninbo glutinous rice dumpling, eight treasures in black rice.

Anhui: Nuts and dried fruit laba porridge, Dajiujia, Huizhou cake, and rice with bean curd peel.

Fujian: oyster pancake, noodles to be eaten with the fingers, spiced pork trotters, and Dingbian thick paste.

Taiwan: Du Xiaoyue Danzai noodles, noodles with sliced eel, and jinzhao rice-flour noodles.

Hainan: jiandui, and rice cooked in bamboo.

Henan: bread with jujube, bread browned with white sugar, budai with egg, xue tea, and shredded chicken roll.

Hubei: bean curd peel with three delicacies, Yunmeng fried noodles with fish flavor, hot dried noodles, and Dongpo cake.

Hunan: new rice, brain roll, rice-flour noodles, eight treasure soup with tortoise and mutton, and Huo Palace strong smelling bean curd.

Guangdong: chicken cake, preserved egg shortbread, a-thousand-layer shortbread with frozen meat, Guangdong mooncake, lotus seed paste in crisp pastry, steamed hedgehog stuffed bun, fenguo. dumpling with fresh shrimp filling, examination success porridge, steamed shaomai with the ovary and digestive glands of a crad, and white rabbit shaped dumpling.

Guangxi: Guilin rice-flour noodles with horse meat, pyramid shaped meat dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves, and fried earthworm-shaped noodles.

Sichuan: roast cake with egg, Long's chaoshou, Dandan noodles (a kind of noodles with peppery sauce), Lai's tangyuan (glutinous rice dumpling) , cold noodles with shredded chicken, transparent shaomai, Yibing ran-noodles, Fuqi(meaning "hushand and wife", the inventor of this dish being a couple) sliced pig's lung, steamed beef with corn powder, and Dengying(meaning "shade of a lamp")beef.

Guizhou: noodles with intestines, siwa wa, Yelang dough fish, and steamed ( or fried) glutinous rice paste wrapped in lotus leaves.

Yunnan: Guoqiao rice-flour noodles, pot stewed beef with pastry.

Apart from those enumerated above, many light refreshments with national minority characteristics have been introduced into the daily food of the ordinary Chinese to greatly enrich the contents of Chinese culinary science.

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Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is inhabited by many ethnic groups, and Xinjiang-style food is characterized by roast mutton, kebabs, roast fish and rice to be eaten with the hand.

Roast Meat

Xinjiang roast mutton is as famous as roast duck is in Beijing and crispy suckling pig is in Guangzhou. A two-year-old sheep is slaughtered and skinned, daubed with salt inside and outside, and then coated with a mixture of eggs, chopped ginger and scallions, and pepper. The sheep is put into a stove to roast for about an hour until it turns golden brown.

Xinjiang kebabs are a snack which is popular nationwide in China, Kebabs can be found in the streets and bazaars throughout Xinjiang. Chunks of mutton are strung on a skewer and roasted over charcoal. The kebabs are turned continually, and when they are almost done, salt, pepper and other seasonings are sprinkled on them. Kebabs are crispy outside and tender inside, slightly salty and hot. They are not greasy and have no unpleasant smell.

Meat is also roasted in an oven pit 120-150 degrees Centigrade. Cubes of mutton coated with a mixture of eggs, ginger, pepper, salt and flour are placed in the pit, and the firewood is removed. The mutton is left for 30 minutes.

Stewed Mutton Cubes

This is a Xinjiang dish prepared especially for festivals. Cut mutton into cubes of 500 grams apiece and boil them in a big pot. When they are half done, remove the foam; and when they are 80 percent done, ass onions, pepper, ginger slices, carrots, turnips and tomatoes. Then remove and place on a big plate. Put some salt in the stock and remove to a bowl. Before eating the mutton, dip it in the stock.

Roast Dumplings

First chop the mutton, beef and sheep's-tail fat into small cubes. Add chopped onions, salt and pepper to make the stuffing. Wrap the stuffing in dough, and put in an oven to roast for 20 minutes. The dumplings are thin-skinned, with tender meat stuffing and very delicious. The Uygurs often eat these together with nang (crusty pancakes) and rice to be eaten with the hands.

Rice Eaten with the Hands

The materials are fresh mutton, carrots, onions, vegetable oil, melted sheep's fat and rice. There are more than 10 kinds of this rice dish, mainly mutton, chicken and vegetarian, but the most common is the one using mutton. This food is soft, delicious and nutritious. It is a feature of festivals, funerals and weddings.

Pulled noodles are liked very much by people of various ethnic groups. To go with the noodles, deep-fried mutton, stir-fried eggs and tomatoes, and stir-fried chillies and mutton are prepared. The noodles are pliable and tough, smooth and delicious. Another method is to cut the noodles into four-cm sections after boiling, and then stir fry together with fat, mutton, tomatoes and chillies. The taste is totally different from that of boiled noodles.

Oily Pyramids

This food is a favorite of the Uygurs. First, add lukewarm water to flour to make dough, and mix in a little yeast. After one hour, add some water, knead the dough and let it stand for a while. Then divide the dough into several pieces, daub some vegetable oil on the outside, and roll it out piece by piece. Then daub some sheep's tail fat and sprinkle a little salt and pepper on it, and roll the dough. Cut it into sections, and twist the sections into pyramid shapes. Steam the pyramids are eaten together with soup or noodles in soup.

Nang (Pancake)

Nang is a staple food for the Uygurs, just like steamed buns in northern China, rice in southern China and bread in Western counties. Making a nang is similar to making a pancake. The materials include wheat flour, corn flour or sorghum flour, with such seasoning as sesame seeds, onions, eggs, vegetable oil, butter, milk, salt and sugar. With a golden yellow surface, nang are crispy and delicious.

Sanzi (Deep-Fried Dough Twists)

Sanzi is one of traditional snacks of the Moslems. To make sanzi, use wheat flour mixed with vegetable oil and juice of the Chinese prickly ash. Knead the dough repeatedly, and then divide it into several pieces. Pull the dough into thin noodles and deep-fry in oil until golden yellow. During festivals, every Uygur family makes sanzi to treat guests.

Ququ (Boiled Dumplings)

Ququ is similar to huntun, but is unique in materials. First, chop up the mutton. Then mix onion, salt, pepper and a little stock to make the stuffing. Wrap the stuffing in dough wrappers in the shape of squares. After boiling, add some coriander. Ququ have thin skins and tender stuffing. They are delicious and nutritious.

Roast Fish

Remove the internal organs and cut the fish into two halves. Use several wooden skewers to penetrate the fish horizonatally, and then use a wooden skewer slightly longer than the fish to penetrate the fish vertically. Roast the fish in a semi-circle over firewood. While they are roasting, sprinkle them with salty water, pepper, and other seasonings. When one side is done, turn them around to roast the other side. Then put the fish on a plate and eat them with the fingers.

Flour-Filled Lungs and Rice-Filled Sausages
These are traditional snacks of the Uygurs, using sheep's internal organs as raw materials. Since the materials are uncommon and the cooking is time-consuming, this dish is a rare delicacy.

Noodles are a form of staple food very popular among the Chinese. They can be made either by hand or by machine and, by the way they are made, are divided into "cut noodles" or "dried noodles." Made in whatever way, they may be of different widths, varying from ribbons to threads. As a prepared dish, they can be served warm or cold, dressed with chilli oil or not, eaten with fried bean sauce, port or chicken sauce, duck chops, soup of any concoction and what not.

There is also a variety of "instant noodles", which are precooked, dried and commercially packed. Before eating, all one has to do is to soak them in hot, boiled water for a few minutes. They are very handy for a quick lunch in the office or on a journey.

As noodles are always in the form of long strings, they are symbolic of longevity and are therefore indispensable at Chinese birthday parties.

Two types of noodles stand out among the rest and require professional skill. The "hand-pulled noodles" are probably unique to China and can be made only by a trained cook. He prepares the paste by stretching it in his hands and, holding it stretched and shaking it gently up and down four or five times, lets down the middle of the long paste and swings it in such a way that it twists around itself. He repeats the stretching, shaking and twisting many times until he feels the paste is firm enough. Then, on a work board he starts pulling the paste with his arms stretched. He folds the thick string of paste into two, pulling again. This he repeats many times over and the strings of paste become longer, more numerous, thinner and thinner, turning finally into very fine noodles. The whole process of making "hand-pulled noodles" is done with such magical dexterity that to watch an experienced cook at it is like enjoying a juggler's show.

Another speciality that one cannot make at is longxu mian (dragon beard noodles). Commercially they are available fried, so they are golden in colour, crisp to the bite and with a distinctive flavour. "Dragon beards" are also hand-pulled but are made extraordinarily fine. It has been calculated that a piece a paste prepared with 1.5 kilograms of wheat flour can make 144,000 hair-thin noodles, each 0.17 metres long, which means a total length of 2 kilometres.

At the beginning "dragon beards" were simply called "beards," but since they caught the fancy of an emperor and as the dragon was the symbol of all emperors, they have come to be known as "dragon beards."