Tianjin 天津

I'm going to Tianjin! 我要去天津！

Following my recent announcement that I will be coming to China to further my studies in Chinese, I can now confirm that I have been admitted to Tianjin University (天津大学).

Tianjin is located in North East China, just a half hour express train from Beijing and is the sixth largest city in the Republic of China. It is also situated next to the coast and so seafood tends to dominate the menu. Tianjin is also famous for Eight Great Bowls (八大碗), which is a mixture of eight dishes, mainly meat and the Four Great Stews (四大扒) which is actually a very large number of stews, including seafood, mutton, beef, chicken and duck… mmmm! I will have to sample these and tell you more another time.

As for Tianjin University, it was formally known as Peiyang University which was founded in 1895 and was later renamed to Tianjin University in 1951. It was my second choice on my scholarship. My first choice was Peking University (北京大学), the top university in China which is of course very difficult to get into, but I tried. My third choice was Beijing Jiaotong University (北京交通大学), a middle rank university. As I am quite familiar with Beijing, Beijing was a city which I had hoped to study in. I also have friends in Tianjin and it’s not too far from Beijing which is why I included Tianjin in my application. I’m very excited about what awaits me in Tianjin and my adventure China.

Road2China Competition

Hi guys,


My friend and I have been working really hard over the last couple of days to build a brand new shiny site for my blog which I hope you will all enjoy. I’ll also be hosting it on a server NOT owned by Google so everyone in China will hopefully be able to access it. But, I need your help!

I need a header to go at the top of my website but I’m no wizz with Photoshop. And so I’d like to run a small competition.

Design a header for my site and email to me at road2china88@googlemail.com. The header I find most 漂亮 (beautiful) and 有意思 (interesting) will become the header for my new site. It should be themed around China and/or Chinese culture. Not only will the winning header become part of Road2China, I’ll put your name and a link to your site (if you have one) at the bottom of my site so that everybody knows that it is your masterpiece at the top of my blog!

Please email your entries by Sunday 15th August. I’m hoping to launch the new look site shortly after. All entries must be original and your own work.

Good luck, and hope to hear from you soon!

李华

Chinese Universities

For those considering applying for the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme next year, it’s important to consider which universities you will pick.


When choosing your university consider the following three things:

• Where do I want to study, which region, city

• Does the university have a good reputation

• Does the university have a good reputation for what I want to study

The Chinese Government Programme does not support all universities, although the list of universities they do accept is quite comprehensive. I have provided a list of universities which are supported by the programme by province/city. Hope this helps.

李华

Beijing

Minzu University of China

China University of Political Science and Law

THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

NORTH CHINA ELECTRIC POWER UNIVERSITY

GRADUATE UNIVERSITY OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (GUCAS)

CENTRAL CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

THE CENTRAL ACADEMY OF DRAMA

CENTRAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

RENMIN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA

CHINA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY (CAU)

CHINA UNIVERSITY OF GEOSCIENCES (BEIJING)

CHINA FOREIGN AFFAIRS UNIVERSITY

CAPITAL INSTITUTE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

CAPITAL NORMAL UNIVERSITY

CAPITAL UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS

TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

BEIJING UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE

BEIJING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE UNIVERSITY

Tianjin


TIANJIN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

TIANJIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION

TIANJIN UNIVERSITY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

TIANJIN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

TIANJIN FOREIGN STUDIES UNIVERSITY (TFSU)

TIANJIN NORMAL UNIVERSITY

TIANJIN UNIVERSITY

NANKAI UNIVERSITY


Liaoning Province


Dalian Medical University

DALIAN UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DONGBEI UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMICS

LIAONING NORMAL UNIVERSITY

CHINA MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

SHENYANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

LIAONING UNIVERSITY

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

DALIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

DALIAN MARITIME UNIVERSITY

Jilin Province

YANBIAN UNIVERSITY

JILIN NORMAL UNIVERSITY

CHANGCHUN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

BEIHUA UNIVERSITY

NORTHEAST NORMAL UNIVERSITY

Heilongjiang Province

HARBIN NORMAL UNIVERSITY

JIAMUSI UNIVERSITY

HEILONGJIANG UNIVERSITY

HARBIN ENGINEERING UNIVERSITY

HARBIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY


Shanghai


University of Shanghai for Science and Technology

SHANGHAI NORMAL UNIVERSITY

TONGJI UNIVERSITY

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

SHANGHAI CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC

SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY OF SPORT

SHANGHAI JIAO TONG UNIVERSITY

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY

SHANGHAI UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS (SUFE)

EAST CHINA NORMAL UNIVERSITY

EAST CHINA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

DONGHUA UNIVERSITY

FUDAN UNIVERSITY

Jiangsu Province

Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Soochow University

NANJING AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

NANJING UNIVERSITY OF INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CHINA UNIVERSITY OF MINING AND TECHNOLOGY

CHINA PHARMACEUTICAL UNIVERSITY

YANGZHOU UNIVERSITY

NANJING UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE

NANJING NORMAL UNIVERSITY

JIANGNAN UNIVERSITY

HOHAI UNIVERSITY

SOUTHEAST UNIVERSITY

NANJING UNIVERSITY


Zhejiang Province

Zhejiang Sci-Tech University

Zhejiang University of Technology

CHINA ACADEMY OF ART

ZHEJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

NINGBO UNIVERSITY

ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY

Anhui Province


HEFEI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA ( USTC )

ANHUI NORMAL UNIVERSITY

ANHUI UNIVERSITY


Fujian Province


XIAMEN UNIVERSITY


Jianxi Province

JINGDEZHEN CERAMIC INSTITUTE

NANCHANG UNIVERSITY

Sahndong Province


OCEAN UNIVERSITY OF CHINA

SHANDONG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

SHANDONG UNIVERSITY

Huebei Province


ZHONGNAN UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS AND LAW

CHINA UNIVERSITY OF GEOSCIENCES (WUHAN)

WUHAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

HUAZHONG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

HUAZHONG AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

HUAZHONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

WUHAN UNIVERSITY


Hunan Province


Xiangtan University

Hunan Normal University

CENTRAL SOUTH UNIVERSITY

HUNAN UNIVERSITY
Guangdong Province

SHANTOU UNIVERSITY

SOUTH CHINA NORMAL UNIVERSITY

SOUTHERN MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

SOUTH CHINA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

SOUTH CHINA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

GUANGZHOU UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE MEDICINE

SUN YAT-SEN UNIVERSITY


Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region

Guangxi University for Nationalities

GUANGXI NORMAL UNIVERSITY

GUANGXI MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

GUANGXI UNIVERSITY

Sichuan Province


UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRONIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA

SOUTHWEST JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY

SOUTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMICS

SICHUAN UNIVERSITY


Yunnan Province


KUNMING UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

YUNNAN UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE & ECONOMICS

YUNNAN UNIVERSITY

YUNNAN NORMAL UNIVERSITY


Chongqing

SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY
Shaanxi Province


Xidian University

Shaanxi Normal University

NORTHWEST A&F UNIVERSITY

NORTHWESTERN POLYTECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

XI'AN JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY

CHANG'AN UNIVERSITY

Gansu Province


NORTHWEST NORMAL UNIVERSITY

LANZHOU JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY

LANZHOU UNIVERSITY

Guizhou Province

GUIZHOU UNIVERSTIY
Neimenggu Autonomous Region
INNER MONGOLIA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY

INNER MONGOLIA NORMAL UNIVERSITY

INNER MONGOLIA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

INNER MONGOLIA UNIVERSITY

Xinjiang Weiwuer Autonomous Region

Shihezi University

XINJIANG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

XINJIANG NORMAL UNIVERSITY

XINJIANG UNIVERSITY


Ningxia

Ningxia University
Henan
Zhengzhou University

Chinese Government Scholarship Programme

Hey guy’s, so I just got all my papers through from the Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union regarding my scholarship and all I can say is that it’s official. It makes it seem so real actually having something through the post rather than an email.

My letter reads:

“I have the honour to inform you that you have been selected to join the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme (EU Window) for 2010-2011 academic year.

While extending to you our warm congratulations, I hope that this will offer you an excellent opportunity to improve your Chinese language proficiency as well as your knowledge of Chinese culture and civilization, economy and trade, and people and society. Your study experience in China will not only benefit your own career development, but also to better understanding between the Chinese and European peoples…”

It is an exciting opportunity and I can’t wait to be able to focus my efforts fully on learning Chinese and increase my proficiency rapidly. Think I’ll have to do a HSK exam before and after to see how I get on.

I’ll let you know which university I have been admitted to soon and where I’ll be staying in China. In the mean time I have a lot to prepare, including visa’s, flights, time off work (if my company will let me. I also have to complete a ‘Foreigner Physical Examination’ form which I’m not even sure where to start with. I’ll have to contact my doctor. If anyone from the UK has ever had one of these examinations before let me know.

李华

How to apply for a Chinese scholarship

I’ve had many requests around the details of my scholarship to China and how to apply. I found that the information available made the application process fairly difficult. Many of those who have been awarded the scholarship are unaware of the next steps, including myself and I am awaiting materials in the post.


However, to get to my stage I thought I would blog a simple ‘to do’ list to help others in their applications for next year.

Firstly, the scholarship programme I applied for is only available to citizens of the EU; however there are many more scholarships available to wherever you are in the world.

SCHOLARSHIP SCHEMES SPONSORED BY CHINESE GOVERNMENT

I found a number of websites about the scholarship with inconsistent deadlines, some say end of April, and some say end of March. Play is safe and get your applications in before the end of March.


The earliest you can submit your application is January, but there’s nothing stopping you in getting all your material ready for then.
So, here’s what you’ll need to do for then:

Register for the following site: http://laihua.csc.edu.cn

You’ll need to select the scholarship you want, I applied for the Chinese Government Scholarship.

On the application number you’ll need to fill in an agency number. Each scholarship programme has a unique agency number, e.g. the one for the Chinese Government Scholarship is 00006.

You’ll also need to select up to three universities you wish to apply for. I’ll provide a list of universities which are supported by the scholarship on my next post.

Once you’ve completed the application you’ll need to print at least two copies.

You’ll then need to prepare a number of documents to support your application. You should submit two copies of each of these documents:

• A copy of your highest diploma or university certificate

• If you are in employment you’ll need a letter from your company to prove that you are working for them

• Academic transcripts: which show your individual grades from your degree, diploma, etc. You may need to contact your college, university for a copy

• A study plan, explaining why and what you’ll do with your scholarship (at least 400 words) This is a chance to show your personality and why you amongst all the other applicants deserve the scholarship. Watch out for a copy of mine in future posts.

• A recommendation letter. I submitted two, one from the head teacher of my Chinese school and one from a senior manager at my work. For a copy of these please see Chinese Government Scholarship Program

Also include a large stamped addressed envelope to yourself. This is so they can post material around your scholarship back to you. Since the application office is in Belgium my post office couldn’t tell me how much it would cost to post back to me, and so I bought a packet of 1st class stamps and stuck them all to the envelope!


The address which you need to post your application off to is: Office for Education and Culture, Mission of P. R. China to the European Union.

Plan ahead, as it may take time to gather all the material and to choose the university which is right for you.

Hope this all helps and there’ll be more on Chinese scholarships soon.

李华

Chinese Government Scholarship Program

So this morning when I logged onto my email I got a big surprise:
“Dear Scholarship Recipients,
Congratulations!
It's very pleasure to inform you that you have been selected to joint the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme(EU Window) for 2010/2011 academic year.


The admission notice will be sent to your mailing address by post very soon.


Kindly acknowledge the receipt by e-mail once it reaches you.
(please find you name on the below website: http://www.chinamission.be/eng/sthd/t716817.htm)
With best wishes,
Office for Education & Culture
Mission of the People's Repubilc of the China to the European Union”

I was wowed; receiving a scholarship from the Chinese government is something I have only dreamed of until now. When I travelled to China earlier this year for the spring festival I met a random guy in a bar who told me of his tale of how he got a scholarship to study Chinese and now works in a PR firm in Beijing.

As soon as I returned from my trip I started searching for scholarships, I found it hard to find what I was looking for. There are a number of scholarships out there but none of which I would meet the criteria. I almost gave up until I found the Chinese Government Scholarship Programme which is in association with the European Union. However by the time I found out about the scholarship I had just one week left to apply!

I immediately started to gather all the documents I needed for the application. I contacted my former university (Brunel) for a transcript of my grades.

I needed references to support my application. I tried to find the most influential people who would be able to provide an excellent reference. In this instance I contacted my Mandarin teacher who is also head of the school, and a senior manager from my firm.

My reference from my Mandarin teacher reads below:

“This is to certify that Ben has been enrolled at the Waltham Forest Chinese Association Sunday Chinese School since September 2007. He came to the school with a good background in spoken Mandarin already and wished to learn Chinese writing. He was enrolled in Infant Class Three, during the academic year 2007/2008, beginning to learn written Chinese, and has obtained very good results with year prize. In the following year he was enrolled in Class Lower One, which equivalent to semester one of primary one in China, and has topped the class again with year prize. With his good results the Sunday Chinese School proposed that he should progress to Class Upper Two, which he has jumped two levels, by the end of the academic year 2009/2010. He has jumped two levels, including Class Upper One and Class Lower Two. His result in Class Upper Two so far has been excellent. He is able to recognise many traditional fonts and has been practicing simplified fonts in all his work. His spoken Mandarin and written Chinese have improved tremendously since he joined the school.

Ben is interested to study Chinese in China and wishes to apply for a scholarship allowing him to fulfil such commitments. I fully support his application and wish him all the best.”

Reference from senior manager in my firm:

It's been my pleasure to work with Ben and mentor him on corporate communications for the last 18 months.

I believe that the experience Ben has gained by working in a large organisation has seen him mature and grow in stature - and also helped him to understand more about what he wants from his career.

The chance to study at a University in China sounds like a dream come true for him. It's the perfect opportunity for someone who has proven his prowess in academia, embraced a new language very quickly, gained real experience in a business environment, and who is now demonstrating the confidence to take control of his life to set himself in a new direction with fresh ambitions.

Working with Ben, it is clear that he has an appetite for knowledge and a desire to broaden his horizons. Ben's easy to work with - he's extremely approachable, helpful, good-natured, and quick-to-learn. And he's motivated by new challenges, new technology and new ideas.

It was quite mind-blowing when I first learned of Ben's passion for the Chinese language. At a team meeting each person had to reveal something new about themselves and Ben chose to speak in Mandarin. It was one of those moments when all in the room were hushed and taken back!

It would be a shame to see him leave the company but I firmly believe he would be a great asset to any University.


I genuinely wish Ben every success in his application for a scholarship.”

I’d like to thank both my teacher and my co-worker who supported me in my application for the scholarship. Without it I believe the scholarship would not have been a success.

I was lucky enough to get all the documents I needed for the application in time and sent it next day delivery to the Mission of the People's Republic of the China to the European Union in Brussels. However I was mortified when the application arrived at my home the next day due to the Post Office making a mistake! I got my application sent off again immediately and it arrived in Brussels with one day to go before the deadline.

I’ve been waiting to find out if my application was successful or not since March and finally the waiting is over! There are still a few more things to do before I go to China such as a medical check and arrange my visa. I still don’t know which university I got into. On the application you are allowed to apply for three and I applied for: Peking University, Tianjin University and Beijing Jiaotong University
I first considered applying to the top three universities in China, however I then thought that the competition may be too fierce and so I spread my risk. The universities I have applied to are the 1st, 7th, and 57th best universities in China.

I’ll let you know how I get on however the following link provides more information about the Chinese Government Scholarship Program.

Chinese Cinema

Films were first came to China in 1896 and the first Chinese film was made in 1905 which was ‘The Battle of Dingjunshan’ (not a kung fu movie). In the 1920-30’s Shanghai was the Hollywood of the East, it was a new and exciting era and people had money to spend on entertainment.

Films around in the 1920’s were down-to-earth and about people’s lives. In 1940 things heated up and the government used the film industry as a form of propaganda (it didn’t take them long). Films pre 1940 were banned and films produced from then on needed to be ‘politically correct.’

Nowadays Chinese cinema has mastered the art of movie making and boasts an archive of fantastic films that can bring tears to the eyes, To Live (秋菊打官司) being one of them.
Chinese cinema is also having a big impact in the West as Chinese directors such Zhang Yimou target western audiences. Film’s you may have seen by Zhang Yimou include The House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Curse of the Golden Flower. However, as great a director he may be, many Chinese feel he has sold out and lost site of the traditional Chinese cinema.
A blog on Chinese cinema isn’t complete without mentioned Jackie Chan (成龙) who is probably one of the most famous and most respected Chinese actors in both the East and the West.

One thing to mention about Western films in China is that officiously only a limited amount of films are allowed to be shown in cinema per year and they are hand picked by the government for their content. In fact Disney was banned in China for many years until they released Mulan and made their way into China’s good books.

Chinese Evolution

I just read this article and wanted to share it with you. A study has been undertaken and its results show that Tibetans have developed an unusual gene which helps them survive at high altitudes. This is one of the fastest evolutions the mankind has ever experienced.


Usually in high altitudes where the air is thinner, people get tired quicker and have frequent headaches, but the Tibetans do not. Their DNA has adapted and formed a gene known as “EPAS1” which makes Tibetans more sensitive to oxygen and may also increase their metabolism.

More on the article can be found here

Chinese Culture – Table Manners II

Following my previous post on Chinese table manners I thought I’d share with you a few more do’s and don’ts while dining in China. Food is a massive part of Chinese culture; in fact unless you’re busy bustling around the tourist attractions you’ll probably find most of your time spent round the dinner table. So, here are a few more do’s and don’ts while dining in China:

Do

Put your own chopsticks into the communal dishes. In the west this may be considered as unhygienic. I for one cannot stand people double dipping at a buffet and in some sense this is quite similar. However, in China this is one thing that you cannot avoid and will have to get over. Also note that it is considered impolite to separate your food from the rest of the communal dishes.

Treat others and be treated yourself. In China the bill is never split the bill so be ready to be treated and be prepared to treat others.

Drink bai jiu 白酒when someone makes a toast to you, and try to drink the whole cup… or at least pretend! This will show respect and give the person who is toasting you face.


Don’t

Try to order your own dish for yourself. All dishes will be put onto the middle of the table and shared with everyone. Sometimes you may order something and not even get a bite if it goes fast. In fact usually the person paying the bill will tend to do all the ordering anyway so sit back and relax.

Tip. Tipping isn’t something usual in China so put your loose change back in your pocket.　The waiters tend to be paid on a monthly wage and tipping is not apart of Chinese culture. If you do tip some people may be a little confused.

Eat everything on your plate. Finishing all the food on your plate is a sign that you are still hungry, where as in the west it is a sign of politeness to finish all the food on your plate. If you do finish all your food your host will continue to top up your plate, so unless you are still pretty hungry try to leave something on your plate.


Also remember to visit part 1 of Chinese Table Manners

Dragon Boat Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival or also known as duan wu jie (端午节) is a major holiday in China and Taiwan. It is also known as double fifth day as it falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

How to Celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival – 怎么庆祝端午节

A must do activity during the dragon boat festival is to eat zongzi (粽子), a traditional Chinese dumpling, rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves usually prepared in triangular shapes, 好吃！

Of course let’s not forget about the dragon boat race itself. Dragon boats are brightly decorated canoes, ranging from about 40 – 100 feet long and the front is in the shape of a dragon’s head. Before any boat can enter the competition the boat must be brought to life which involves painting the eyes in a ceremony. Dragon boat races can now be seen from all over the world during端午节.

Where did the Dragon Boat Festival come from? 端午节从来那里？！

One of the most popular theories is that the dragon boat festival derived from the story of Qu Yuan, a poet known throughout China. Legend has it that Qu Yuan drowned and that fishermen raced to where he drowned. When they couldn’t find the body people started to throw zongzi into the river so that the fish didn’t eat him to save the body.

Chinese Culture – Table Manners

Eating is a big part of Chinese culture and a lot happens around the dinner table from business, to family get together’s and most if not all national holidays. If you go to China to visit a friend or on business here a couple of tips on what you should do when you dine and also what you shouldn’t do!


Do

Shout loud to call the waiter. Fuwuyuan! 服务员！Yelling for a waiter in the west is considered rude, however if you don’t yell in China then it’s likely that you’ll be waiting a long time before anyone comes to see you.

Wait for whoever’s paying the bill or the oldest person on the table to take the first bite. Chinese pay high attention to status or age. So do try to restrain yourselves from digging in to those succulent spare ribs until your host or elder diner begins to eat.

Don’t

Stick your chopsticks in the rice. Sticking your chopsticks in rice is something that often happens when you offer food to the spirits of your ancestors, so sticking chopsticks in rice represents death and which is not something you want to bring up at the dinner table, especially when trying to secure that multi million dollar sales contract.

Blow your nose. In fact this is something you should try to avoid in public all together. Although this is something that probably no one in the world finds pleasant, the Chinese tend to find this more rude and disgusting than westerners.

李华

Mandarin Distance Learning

As the importance of spoken Mandarin increases along with the availability of broadband it’s no wonder that more and more schools are offering Mandarin Chinese via distance learning. Brush High School is the first school is Ohio USA to offer Mandarin Chinese through distance learning.


The school can now offer its Mandarin program across the country. This year five students from Brush High School will travel to China on a school trip to learn about Chinese culture and to practice what they have learnt.

It's estimated that around 500 elementary, middle and high schools in the USA offer Mandarin as a taught language.

Learn Chinese - Easy mistakes to make

The difference between 了 (le) and (guo) 过

Foreigner’s often get these two words mixed up when learning Chinese. 了 and过 both indicate something that happened in the past but they are both used differently.

The easiest way to remember it is that了 is used to illustrate that an action is complete such as：

我去了 – I went

我吃了 – I’ve eaten

The word 过 is used to talk about an experience, for example:

我去过 – I’ve been (I’ve been there before)

我吃过 – I’ve eaten (I’ve eaten this before)

过 does not apply to a specific event, but simply means you have experienced something in the past. This is an easy rule to remember. It does not apply 100% to the Chinese language but is a good rule to use to help you good by.

Good luck Chinese learners,

李华

Learning Chinese is becoming more important

Learning Chinese is becoming more important due the ever growing economy of China. As its importance grows, more and more schools adopt Mandarin as part of their curriculum. Last year Rumson Fair-Haven Regional High School launched a Mandarin class with just a handful of students but has now increased by popular demand.


For further information read this article: http://www.app.com/article/20100527/LIFE/5270318/1006/LIFE/Mandarin-Chinese-class-breaking-down-language-barriers

Dangers of Chinese Takeaway

A survey has shown that eating Chinese takeaway is more likely to give you food poisoning that a dodgy kebab or blow me away vindaloo curry house. More than 55% of Chinese takeaway’s inspected failed a basic hygiene test, while 54% of kebab shops and 48% of curry houses failed to clean properly.

Hold a thought; isn’t 10% of them failing enough let alone in the 40-50% range? I’m surprised they are still in business!

The problem largly stems fron cultural differences and different practices and standards in foreign countries. Many Chinese and Indian staff failed to understand the instructions to maintain hygene standards as instructed by their council.

On the other end of the spectrum, McDonalds and KFC are the cleanest restaurants you can find, with just 4% of McDonalds and 1% of KFC failing the test.

In December the Tai Pan Chinese Restaurant in Manchester was fined £70,000 for serving rice contaminated by cockroaches.

In the UK over 850,000 people fall victim of food poisoning from nasty unhygienic restaurants.

All in all, writing this article has made me hungry and I’m about to go out and buy some crispy shredded beef, my favourite!

Or maybe it's best to stick to your own kitchen? Simple Chinese Cooking

iPad copy already hits Chinese stores

Apple currently has no launch date for the iPad in China in fear that the market will be unprofitable. A copy of the iPad which is called the iRobot has already been seen in one of Shanghai’s top computing outlets. They are selling the iRobot as the iPad’s identical twin.


The iRobot is on shelves in the Shanghai store, surrounded by other “Apple” products including three iPhones (?).

The iRobot is selling for $400 where as the cheapest iPad is $500. Although the iRobot has attributes of a typical fake product including cheap plastic and non-Apple features such as memory card slots and USB ports.

Piracy and cheap alternatives an ongoing problem for large Western firms struggling to compete in the China market. However, with high quality and a superior product Apple should be able to enter the market successfully just as it did with the iPhone.

I haven’t got an iPad or iRobot yet, but for an extra $100 I think it’s worth the extra spend for a high quality product. Now if only they were both a little cheaper?

Check out this video to have a look at the iRobot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YgVFWNh078

For more information visit: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE64R1HH20100528

Learn Chinese – Make no mistake

There are tricks to learning Chinese. There are some commonly made mistakes by learners of Chinese, one of the mistakes is the word order when asking questions. English doesn’t translate perfectly into Chinese, the grammar and word order is different.


In English when we make a question we’d usually put there “where” or “what” first. Such as “what would you like to eat?” But in Chinese you need to put that question word at the end, so you need to say “you would like to eat what?” “你想吃什么?” If you said “什么你想吃” That would be completely wrong and you would get some strange looks.

So remember with questions, the word order changes. Another example might be if you were in China and had your hotel address and were asking “where is my hotel?” you would like to say “my hotel is where?” which is “我的酒店是在哪里？” and not “哪里我的酒店?” Oh just reading it makes me cringe! Lol

李华

Recommended reading:

Easy Peasy Chinese is fun book to help learn some of the concepts in learning Mandarin. It also has some interesting incites into Chinese culture and is pretty cheap too! Chinese isn't easy peasy, but this book makes it fun.

Mandarin and Taiwanese Speaking Contest

170 foreigners took part in the first round of the Mandarin and Taiwanese speaking contest on 8th May in Taipei. The contest is held each year by Radio Taiwan International for non-native Mandarin and Taiwanese speakers living in Taiwan.


This year’s topic was on “Save the Earth” to help raise awareness of global warming. Participants has to speak for three minutes about their efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.

The final round will be held on 22nd May, for more information visit http://www.rti.org.tw/

Learn Chinese Reading a Diary

At Chinese school this week we learned a number of characters from 饲料 (fodder) to 敬意 （surprised）.The characters can be found in the following text which we had to recite. It’s a diary with three entries. It’s about a child’s father buys two rabbits, and several weeks later the female rabbit gives birth to four rabbits!


Check out my video where I read Chinese. A transcript and translation is below so you can follow. Hope you enjoy.

利华



日记三则

10月2日 星期四 有雾

爸爸买了一对兔子。小兔子红眼睛，长耳朵，雪白的毛，真可爱。爸爸好似我，兔子一天吃五百克饲料，要分三次喂，还要喂些水。我一定要把他们喂好。

11月3日 星期一 晴

今天，爸爸说：“母兔块生小兔了。”我惊异地问：“真的吗？”爸爸说：“真的。•我真希望早点儿看见兔子生出来啊。

11月7日 星期五 阴

小兔生下来了，一共四只，可爱极了。小兔小兔你们快快长大吧。

English Translation


Three diary entries

October 2nd Thursday Foggy

Dad bought a pair of rabbits. The small rabbits have red eyes, long ears and snowy white fur. Dad ttold me, a rabbit eats five grams of fodder three times a day, and also has water. I will defiantly feed them well.

November 3rd Monday Bright day

Today father said "the female rabbit will soon have a baby rabbit.” Surprised I asked: “Really?” Father said “Really.” I really wish I can see the baby rabbits born sooner.

November 7th Friday Cloudy

The baby rabbits have been born, four in total, they’re so cute. Little rabbits little rabbits grow up quickly.

Visit Beijing

Beijing, Pekking, 北京- The capital of China for over 850 years is probably one of the most travelled cities in China with over 150 million visitors each year. Beijing or 北京 stands for ‘northern capital’ has to be one of my favourite cities in China. While Shanghai is an amazing city, I personally find that Beijing is so much richer in Chinese culture and has more to offer from a tourist perspective.

In Beijing you’ll find plenty to see from the Forbidden City （故宫）, the Summer Palace （颐和园）and the hutongs (胡同).

Tiananmen Square (天安门) is just off of the Forbidden Palace and is the largest public square in the world. Honestly it’s huge and takes roughly twenty minutes to walk from one end to the other.

From JingShan park(景山公园) you can get a spectacular view of the rooftops of the Forbidden City. Make your way across to Temple of Heaven (天坛) early in the morning to see the locals performing their morning thai chi and make your way to the Silk Market in the afternoon which is famous for its knock-off goods (how I love the Silk Market!)

Lastly a trip to Beijing isn’t complete without a trip to quan ju de（全聚得）the home of Peking duck (mmmmm). If you love Peking duck then you have to go to quan ju de to try the original recipe.

I’ll write more about each of these places later. If you want to know more about visiting China post a reply and I’ll get back to you.

Me at the Temple of Heaven


Recommended reading:

The Rough Guide to Beijing 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)

Chinese Hot Pot 火锅

I’m addicted to Chinese hot pot. Most famous is the Schezuan hot pot which is extremely spicy, but regions in China having their own also. Hot pot is as it suggests a hot pot. It’s served as a broth which is boiling, and is kept at boiling on your table. All the food is also served raw and so you have to cook it yourself in the broth. It’s a very social way of eating and is very similar to fondue in Europe.


In Chinese hot pot is pronounced as huo guo (火锅) which stands for fire pot as I guess in the good old days it used to be served on top of hot coals.

Most hot pots tend to be similar with the raw meats, vegetables and sauces served, however the broth varies from region to region. You can also get a pot split into two so you can get two flavours, so why not try one spicy and one mild.

Still hungry after you’ve eaten? The broth at the end is fantastic! It’s a soup that has absorbed all the flavours from your meal. So, all of the crap, meat, and vegetable flavours are in the soup. So when you do go for a hot pot, try to save some room for the soup.

Here are a few hot pots I ate earlier :-）

Bai Jiu - Chinese Alcohol - 白酒

Bai jiu – 白酒。Well where can I start? Bai Jiu is an infamous drink across China in business, family celebrations and holidays.


Bai jiu literally means ‘white alcohol and that’s exactly what it is, the Chinese version of vodka. To me it tastes slightly sweeter and so it can go down easier. It tends to have a higher alcohol volume than vodka so once you stand up you will feel it! Bai jiu has a really strong flavour too, so if your drinking it it may be a good idea to have something to chase it down to ease the flavour.

Bai jiu comes out at all special occasions, unfortunately for me when I visit China it is a special occasion for my friends in and dinner can end up leading to a headache the following morning.

Business in China is done in restaurants not the boardroom and bai jiu plays an important role. Bai jiu breaks barriers and creates bonds and relationships with one another and relationships are key to business in China. So to get business done, you need to be able to hold your drink, otherwise you may be too drunk to seal the deal!

干杯!

Bai jiu can also come in very pretty bottles. Here are a few I drunk earlier.

China’s One Child Policy

Since 1979 china has had a one child policy and has had a huge effect on the China’s society. However the policy is misunderstood in the west, assuming that all Chinese are restricted to just one child. In fact due to exemptions and loop holes only around 35% of the Chinese population are restricted to the one child policy.

Some of the exemptions include rural areas, parents with no siblings, and ethnic minorities. Those living in rural areas are allowed to have a second child if their first child is a girl or has a physical or mental disorder. Those who have a second child who are not exempt are fined and can also lose out on their bonus from the workplace.

China is a very male dominated population. Chinese often prefer a boy to carry on the family name - 重男轻女, zhòngnánqīngn ("favouring male offspring over female"). Favouring males led to an increase in abortions and so there is an unbalanced population in males and females. The oldest generation form the one child policy are now in their 30’s and with more males than females people are concerned of being lonely and having no one to take care of them.

The one child policy has also led to what is known as ‘Little Emperor Syndrome.’ Children who are born into a wealthy family and by policy are an only child. The children are spoiled by parents and grandparents who want to give theme everything and the children expect them to give them everything. Families often throw money (or invest) in the children to go on and live their dreams through education, music classes and so on which can often be a lot of pressure for the children also.

I was always confused when my Chinese friends would refer to their (哥哥) older brother or (妹妹) younger sister as they didn’t have any relatives. These terms are now loosely used and family extends further. What westerners call their cousins the younger Chinese generation call their brothers and sisters.

As much as over populated China is, it is estimated that the one child policy has restricted the birth of around 250 million. That’s a lot of Chinese babies!

北京一夜 One Night in Beijing

What can I say, I love KTV. In china Karaoke is so different. It’s not something that happens in a groggy old pub where every Tim, Dick and Harry watches and has to put up with your singing. No, KTV in China is more than that and is a national passed time.

I was amazed when I went into my first Karaoke bar in TianJin. We went into a tower block, and went up onto the 20th floor. Stepping out of the elevator there were corridors upon corridors of doors with rooms, just like a hotel. But, unlike a hotel, behind each door was your very own karaoke lounge, complete with a coffee table to place your beers and snacks down on.

The selection of English songs was quite poor, so I’ve been learning a few Chinese songs so I can smash up the karaoke floor next time I go. Here’s a video of me singing along to one of my favourites 北京一夜 One Night in Beijing

李华

Chinese Tattoo's Gone Wrong

What’s the most obscure Chinese tattoo you’ve ever seen on a Westener？

Chinese characters are fashionable to have as a tattoo. But some have gone horribly wrong. If you’re thinking of getting a tattoo with Chinese characters, be sure that you understand what it says or that you take a friend along who does. Chinese tattoos on a westerner are sometimes a bit like Chinglish and don’t quite translate, others are just absolutely ridiculous.

How about this one? “My abusive husband pimps me out”

But it doesn’t work just one way. Here’s a tattoo on a Chinese guy who was told that this means “old soul with young spirit.” For all those non-native English speakers reading my blog, “Frunk” has no meaning in English. In fact it is not used in the English language at all.

And lastly “at the end of the day, this is an ugly boy”
 

大家小心一点 :-)

Simplified and Traditional Chinese Characters

The written Chinese language evolved over the years however today there are two main written versions of the characters in use today, traditional and simplified. Personally I only learn how to write simplified character, but there are certain rules which you can learn to recognise traditional characters. Traditional characters can be important to learn, especially when you go to KTV (karaoke). Most KTV bars use traditional characters and if you wanna sing along, you best get used to the traditional characters, only if it’s to read and recognise them.


Simplified is the more common written form in Mainland China where as the traditional form you will find in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although the simplified form with fewer strokes can be quicker and easier to learn, the traditional form can also be easier to understand from a different perspective. This is because the traditional characters still maintain all of the radicals and meaning within the character, therefore if you were to look at a traditional character for the first time and you just understood the radicals, you could probably piece them together to get a rough understanding of what the characters meaning.

Simplified or traditional, which do you understand and which do you prefer?

龙 - Dragon - simplified character
龍 - Dragon - traditional character

Shanghai Expo 2010

China today opened their world Expo in Shanghai; the opening featured a fantastic fireworks display overHuangpu river, a fireworks display which rivalled the display at the Beijing Olympics 2008. In fact, China spent over $48 billion dollars on the event which is more than they devoted to remaking Beijing for the Olympics. The event is a showcase of how the China economy is continuing to grow and a strong rate. The Expo is expected to bring over.

The event will last for six months and it is expected that over 70 million will visit the event, that will break the existing record of 64 million currently held by the Tokyo.

The Chinese Writing System

Chinese characters or hanzi (汉字) to many are a form of art and are an incredibly important part of the Chinese language and culture. The Chinese are very proud of their culture and with over 3,000 years of history the Chinese language is the oldest language that is still in use today. In fact, artefacts from around 1,500 BC have been found to have Chinese characters scripted onto them.


The original characters were very simple with characters such as person (人) and mouth (口) but even though these characters were very simple, they form the foundation of the Chinese written language and when broken down form many more complicated characters that are used today.

Nowadays there are over 50,000 Chinese characters, each of them unique. However most of them you will never have to use in a lifetime. The most you need to get by is approximately 4,000 to 5,000, but some characters are used more frequently than others. For example, you will see the 500 most commonly used characters over and over again. So start with the most common and bit by bit you will reach your goal.

Here’s a picture I took while I was in TianJin this Chinese New Year.

Chinese Story – Monkey’s Wear Straw Hats -猴子戴草帽

Short stories are a great way to learn Chinese. It can put your existing knowledge into a different context, helps you remember and of course you may learn a few new characters along the way. I’ve just posted this story on YouTube and wanted to share it with you.



猴子戴草帽

爷爷在树林里休息，旁边放着十几草帽。一群猴子从树上救下来抢草帽，一个`一顶，戴上就跑。爷爷急得满头大汗。他摘下帽子，一边擦汗，一边想办法。猴子看见了，也摘下帽子擦汗。爷爷笑了。他把草帽仍在地上，猴子看见了，就把草帽也仍了下来。

English Translation

Monkey’s Wear Straw Hats

An old man was relaxing in the forest, he put beside him ten straw hats. A gang of monkeys came down from the trees, each grabbed a hat, just put it on and ran. The old man was so worried his head was full of sweat. He took off his hat, he wiped away the sweat while thinking of a solution. The monkeys saw and also took off their hats and wiped away their sweat. The old man laughed. He grabbed his hat and threw it on the floor, the monkey’s saw, they just grabbed their hats and threw them down.

I love this story, it’s filled with Chinese wisdom. Hope you like the video.

李华

Bonjour and Ni Hao!

The president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni are both in China on a visit to build better a better international relationship.


Sarkozy has been in Xian, and has also visited the Terracotta Army, a part of China’s historical heritage. This afternoon he will be making his way over to Beijing and on Friday he will be in Shanghai to see the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo.

Learn Chinese through Poem - 悯农

Poems are a great way to learn a new language are also a good incite into culture. I’ve just learned a new poem called Min Nong (悯农) which means to have pity on agriculture. Chinese history goes back around 3,000 years, this poem itself is around 2,000 years old and as I state on my YouTube video its “ancient ancient pop music!”

悯农
锄禾日当午，
汗滴禾下土。
谁知盘中飧，
粒粒皆辛苦。

English Translation

Have pity on agriculture

At noon they weed with hoes,
Their sweat drips onto the soil.
Each bowl of rice, who knows?,
Every single grain is exhausting.


And there we have it, remember to check out the YouTube video and let me know how my pronunciation is like.

Thanks,
李华

Top five reasons to learn Chinese

Chinese is such as beautiful language. It may sound like to most of us a bunch of “chings,” “wangs” and “wolla’s” but once you get into it, you begin to hear the words and understand the musical language that is Chinese.

1. China right now has one of the fastest growing economies in the world and there are so many opportunities. Many of which are untapped and speaking the language can reveal these. There are also many jobs for Mandarin speakers outside of China. This could be in international relations, tourism, and there is a shortage of qualified Chinese language teachers.

2. When you learn Chinese you also learn about their culture and how the Chinese think (possibly a good reason for business men!).

3. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, Chiense grammer is easy. There are no verbs to remember!

4. Chinese are very proud of their written language, which a lot of people consider an art. Traditional Chinese characters have been simplified over the years. Chinese is the only language where its history has been written in the same language for more than 3,000 years.

Although there are thousands of Chinese characters don’t be put off. There are in fact only around 400 syllables or sounds which you only need to learn in Chinese. These sounds tend to have their own characters and to make new words these characters are combined. So when looking to a new character for the first time you can actually begin to understand it’s meaning.

5. Chinese is an ancient language and has survived through the ages. Over one billion people speak Chinese which is a 5th of the world’s population. According to Wikipedia 850 million of the speaking Mandarin. That’s a lot of people you can speak to if you speak Chinese.

Any other reasons to learn Chinese? Post them in the comments

The Tasty Jiaozi – 好吃饺子

Little puffs of pork with chopped vegetables wrapped in thin pastry, sealed boiled, dipped in soy sauce and enjoyed by the masses at Chinese New Year, it can only be the one, the only, it’s the JiaoZi (饺子).

I’ve been feeling peckish all Sunday evening, I guess my appetite is getting bigger these days and all I’ve been able to think about is jiaozi. So here’s my view on the dumpling. For our friends over in the states, jiaozi are probably known to you as pot stickers.

Jiaozi can be eaten all year round, but are also a holiday dish eaten on Chinese New Year’s Eve (CNY). The jiaozi actually look like golden ingots yuan bao, and so eating them at CNY is supposed to give you good luck and good fortune for the year to come. In some households they put a clean coin in one of the jiaozi for extra luck to the finder. It’s funny when you find similarities between Chinese and Western culture. It doesn’t seem too far off from the coin hidden in the Christmas pudding.

Jiaozi can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as a side or a main. When I first went to China for CNY I couldn’t belive the amount of jiaozi that was cooked… and that we ate! Although these little dumplings are a tasty treat, after CNY I was pretty jiaozi’erd out! But nevertheless, a tradition is a tradition and I can’t wait for CNY 2011 where I’m sure jiaozi will be back on the menu.

Why not pick up a cookery book and try it yourself. Learn the secrets to Chinese cooking: Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories: 15 Secrets from a 3,000-Year-Old Food Culture

Chinese Homework - 小熊掰玉米

I’m so far behind with my Mandarin homework. I just finished the homework from two weeks before. But I haven’t even started this week’s home work because I had a university lecture, so I was unable to go. My homework’s due this Sunday and I think I have quite a few Chinese characters to learn!

Anyway I thought I might share with you the homework I just completed. It’s a story about a silly Bear:

小熊掰玉米

一天熊妈妈叫小熊到玉米田里去掰玉米。小熊没有拿篮子就跑去了。

它来到玉米地一看，啊，玉米真多啊！小熊想：我可以掰好多玉米。妈妈一定会夸奖我能干。

于是，它伸出右手掰下一个玉米，把玉米挟在左胳臂下。又伸出左手掰下一个玉米，挟在右胳臂下。然后，又伸出右手去掰第三个玉米，伸出左手去掰第四个玉米。。。 小熊掰呀掰，掰了一天。

你知道小熊掰了多少玉米回家吗？

English Translation

One day, Mama Bear called Little Bear to go to the corn field to break off some corn. Little Bear didn’t take a basket, he just ran.

When he saw the corn, ah, there’s so much corn! Little Bear thought: I can break off lots of corn. Mama will defiantly praise my efforts.

Thereupon, he stretched out his right arm and broke off a corn; he took the corn and held it in between his left upper arm. Again he stretched out his left arm and broke off a corn, and held it in between his right upper arm. Then, again he stretched out his left arm to grab the third bit of corn, stretched out his left arm to grab a forth piece of corn… Little Bear broke off for a whole day.

Do you know how many corns he took home?

Well, I thought I would read this one out and bring it to life – check out my YouTube video

Chinese language changing

Language is changing constantly, and while it used to be cool in China for internet users to say “Oh my God!” in English, the newest fad is to say “Oh my Lady Gaga!”

Oh My Lady Gaga has swept across the digital nation in China in internet chat rooms, instant and text messages. Lady Gaga, don’t we just love you!

However Chinese academics are worried about such slang will poison Chinese culture and that the English language will slowly alter Chinese.

Chinese authorities are discreetly banning slang phrases from various broadcasts and are replacing it with proper Chinese. A number of banned English include acronyms NBA (National Basketball Association) and GDP (Gross Domestic Product), which by the way China’s GDP grew by almost 12% in the first three month’s of 2010… China certainly is an economy on steroids!

Unusual Chinese Food - Baby Birds

I’ve eaten a lot of strange things on my visits to China, and each time I seem to find another unusual dish. It’s not that I order it, it’s what my friends order and it’s rude to refuse or not even try it. Some things I like or learned to like and others I don’t. Surprisingly baby birds are one of the things I really like, and one of the things I was most squeamish to try at first.

These baby birds taste like BBQ, are soft and slightly crunchy. They are eaten whole, and while most people might find that strange I was in an Italian restaurant the other day and we ordered white bate – which is also eaten whole and so I thought it’s not that so much different after all.

I think our culture can often make us blind and quick to judge others without truly understanding each other, the meaning or what BBQ baby birds taste like. So next time something’s on the table that you’ve never tried before give it a go, you may discover something wonderful.