Three Rising Consumer Trends In China - China Tracker - What a superpower wants - Forbes

Three Rising Consumer Trends In China - China Tracker - What a superpower wants - Forbes

Nobel Peace Prize Given to Jailed Chinese Dissident - NYTimes.com

Nobel Peace Prize Given to Jailed Chinese Dissident - NYTimes.com

Chinese Rock and Roll

 

Rock music tunes into rock and roll

A Frog In a Well

A frog lived in an abandoned well all his life. Little bugs, small fish, and tiny shrimps were his only companions. Everything in the well-the water, the mud, the cylindrical brick wall, and the moss on it- were all he knew about the world. He had no idea what the real world looked like.

One day, a big sea turtle wandered near the well and caught the attention of the frog, who happened to look up to enjoy the little, circular, blue sky. The frog would not let this opportunity to brag about his knowledge of the world pass.

"Look! How happy I am! I know everything about the world: the bugs that can walk on the surface of the water in the well, the little fish that swim beneath them, and the tiny shrimps that eat dirt at the bottom," the frog rumbled along, not giving the turtle a chance to speak. He continued, "I am living the happiest life in the world. When I am in a good mood, I jump up and down in the well shaft; When I am tired, I lie down on that brick sticking out from the wall; and when I'm hungry, I catch the little fish, shrimps, and bugs. The thing I enjoy the most, you know, is to swim beneath the water, raising my mouth out of the water to breathe from time to time. Sometimes, I even take a deep breath and dive to the bottom to take a walk on the soft sand...."

"Hey, listen! Have you ever been to the sea?" The sea turtle had had enough of the frog's babble and stopped him short.

"What? What do you mean by the "C"?

"No, it has nothing to do with the alphabet. It is S-E-A, a large body of water," the turtle raised his voice and explained patiently.

"But why do I have to bother since I have a large body of water here in the well?" asked the frog.

"Let me tell you what a large body of water is," replied the turtle. "You can never imagine how vast the sea is. It is I don't know how many times larger than the body of water in our well. Let me put it this way, then years of flood and another eight years of drought would have little impact on the level of the sea waters. Living in a body of water life that will give you a real sense of happiness."

"...?!" His big mouth wide open, the frog was at a loss for words. Knowing that there was a much larger world outside his well, the frog never bragged again. His descendants simply moved out of the well. However, unable to find the big sea they had been told about, they settled in farmers' rice fields, above which the sky was as extensive as their big, raised eyes could see.

This story was used to describe people who are closed-minded and refuse to see the big picture of the world.

Qing Ming

QING MING:
Tomb Sweeping day/All Souls Day

(April 5th 2010 was the day this year)

Highlights:
-People enjoy the outdoors and "clean" their relatives graves
-They offer food and beverages, and now have started to offer items in order to "comfort" the dead in the afterlife
-They don't cook on this day (they only eat cold food)
-Premier Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kai-shek are two deaths that occurred on/around this day and are celebrated.


Interesting (& Sexy) Side Note:

To mark the day, Chinese traditionally tend the graves of their departed loved ones and often burn paper money, model houses, cars, mobile phones and other goods as offerings to honor them and keep them comfortable in the afterlife. But paper lingerie has become an increasingly popular offering for dead female relatives, Tan Lay Nah, owner of a paper model shop in the northern island state of Penang, told the Star daily.

"Most customers find them cute and would usually add a few sets to go with other paper clothing and items such as dresses, bags and shoes for their female family members to use in the other world," she said.

Food - Tradition vs. American

Chinese Food In China

China has always had a large, growing population. Because China has always had such a large population, it has been difficult to feed everyone. Throughout China's history, they have had to constantly adapt their eating habits. Meat has always been a scarce item. China's solution to this was to use small amounts of meat and mix it with either noodles or rice. Then they started adding vegtables. Stirfrying became the most common method of cooking within China. Not only did it conserve on meat, it conserved fuel by cooking the food more quickly.

The type of food that the Chinese eat are not what North American's consider Chinese food. The Chinese eat things like shark fins, seaweed, frogs, snakes, and even dog and cat meat. The Chinese add balance into all of their meals. While making their meals, the Chinese strive to balance color, texture, and even types of food they are eating.

Rice is China's most popular food; it can be served with any meal. Other traditional foods include; scallions, bean sprouts, cabbage, and gingerroot. Soybean curd is also a common source for protien. The Chinese do not typically eat a lot of meat with their meals. However, the most common are pork and chicken.


Chinese Food In The United States

In Aamerican, the typical Chinese dishes are listed below:
- Hot & Sour Soup
- Egg Drop Soup
- Wanton Soup
- Seafood Soup
- Egg Rolls
- Fried Dumplings
- Sesame Chicken
- Orange Chicken
- Lemon Chicken
- Chicken/Beef/Shrimp/Pork Fried Rice

If you were to order any of these in China, they will look at you like you were crazy. These are not typical entrees in China; these are Americanized Chinese foods. They have the basic idea; small pieces of meat with rice or noodles. However, they have been greatly modified, and are not what you see in China.



http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/China.html

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080217181254AAEXS7J

Food: Delicacies and Traditional Food of China

Zong Zi Jai

Traditional:

Jai: A traditional Chinese cuisine, mostly comprised of root vegetables. An example of a traditional Jai dish inculdes: cabbage, tofu, tang hoon noodles, black mushrooms, and mock duck.
Jiaozi Dumpling: Crescent shaped dumplings with pleated edges, normally filled with meat or vegetables. The filling ingredients are enclosed in a thick flour and water dough and then boiled. Usually served with a ginger dipping sauce.

Zong Zi: Another traditional Chinese dumpling made with glutinous rice and dates, wrapped with bamboo or reed leaves.

Fa Gao: Traditional Chinese cake, made with rice flour, yeast and sugar, and is steamed instead of baked. "Fa Gao" literally means "Prosperity Cake", and are usually eaten during the Chinese New Year celebration.

Delicacies

Sea Cucumber: Sea Cucumbers can be found on the bottom of the Sea and must be cleaned first before eating. Sometimes the cleaning process can take all day.

Fried Grasshoppers: One of China's most interesting delicacies. They are often used for protein sources. Although Americans are often put off by the thought of eating a bug, the people of the Eastern world, including China and Korea, see the grasshopper as being delicious, healthy, and even healing in some aspects.

Snake Meat: The breed of snake varies form city to city but water snake and python are the more popular choices. At many restaurants, the customer is able to pick out their own live snake to be prepared.

Starfish fried in Shark Oil: Exactly what is sounds like. Usually popular in more expensive restaurants.