Make your life in china easier. Living in china for stranger can be daunting tasks, especially if you don’t speak Chinese and try to find your way around. I try to give you some advise as a native Chinese.
Living in china for stranger can be daunting tasks, especially if you don’t speak Chinese and try to find your way around. I try to give you some advise as a native Chinese.
Whether you think of do a world tour around china, or relocate to live there for a couple of years, you might have hundreds of question before you make any move. Question like:
* Is there any culture shock?
* Is English popular in China?
* How friendly are Chinese people to foreigner?
* What kind of social life does a foreigner can expect in China?
* What is public transportation in china like?
* What is the easiest way to make Chinese friend?
* Which city to live?
* Which currency should I bring to China?
* Is it better to bring the travellers Cheque or Credit card?
* Can I Live with a Chinese family while study?
* Can I teaching English (other foreign language) on Tourist visa?
* How much can I expect to earn when working in China?
* Is it easy to dating a Chinese? Or do Chinese people disapprove of mixing that way?
I have list the answer on my site.
The important thing to remember is never trust stranger, try bring cash with you as little as possible, contact is extremely important in China, have a basic Chinese goes a long way.
Author: Li zhang
Friday, December 5, 2008
Monday, September 8, 2008
Andy Lau To Sing Theme Song For Paralympics
Andy Lau (Center) of China's Hong Kong and other artists perform the song "Everyone is No.1" ahead of the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the National Stadium in Beijing, China, Sept. 6, 2008. The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games will open at 20:00 Beijing time here Saturday
China Opens Beijing Paralympic Games 2008
At the order given in Chinese by International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Philip Craven, nearly 100,000 spectators in the National Stadium, or the Bird's Nest, in north Beijing, clapped their hands simultaneously to give a unique and resounding "go" signal to the world's premier sporting event for elite athletes with disabilities.
With a dazzling and emotional show that highlighted the value, dignity and dream of life, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opened in the Chinese capital on Saturday night, rallying the world under one shared dream of "transcendence, integration and equality" for the disabled.
A record 4,000-plus athletes from 147 countries and regions, 10 times the figure at the Games' debut in Rome 1960, marched into the stadium amid thundering cheers from the stands, before Chinese President Hu Jintao declared the Games open at 22:36 Beijing time.
"These Games will have more athletes, more competing nations, and more sporting events than ever before," said Philip Craven in his opening ceremony speech, calling them "milestones in Paralympic history."
The three-hour ceremony climaxed when Hou Bin, China's triple Paralympic high jump champion with only one leg, lit the cauldron for the Games.
With a dazzling and emotional show that highlighted the value, dignity and dream of life, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opened in the Chinese capital on Saturday night, rallying the world under one shared dream of "transcendence, integration and equality" for the disabled.
Fireworks are displayed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games held in the National Stadium in Beijing, China, Sept. 6, 2008.
With the torch on his wheelchair, the 33-year-old Hou used both hands to pull himself up along a hanging rope to the rim of the steel-latticed Bird's Nest to accomplish his laborious mission. Though suspended by wires, he had to halt and gasp for several times, with the entire crowd cheering him on loudly.
The Paralympic flame, first lit at the 600-year-old Temple of Heaven in south Beijing on Aug. 28, was relayed through 11 Chinese cities -- including ancient capitals Xi'an and Luoyang and modern metropolises Shanghai and Shenzhen -- in nine days, covering a distance of 13,181 kilometers and involving 850 torchbearers.
With a dazzling and emotional show that highlighted the value, dignity and dream of life, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games opened in the Chinese capital on Saturday night, rallying the world under one shared dream of "transcendence, integration and equality" for the disabled.
Fireworks are displayed during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in the National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest, in Beijing, China, Sept. 6, 2008.
Shortly before the cauldron was set ablaze, the IPC flag, which carries the IPC logo of red, blue and green curves -- a new design adopted just in 2003 and used at a Paralympics for the first time, was escorted into the stadium by a team of eight Chinese Paralympic gold medalists, and hoisted next to the Chinese national flag.
On behalf of all athletes and officials, Chinese athlete Wu Chunmiao and goalball referee Hao Guohua, holding a corner of the IPC flag, took the Paralympic oath, vowing to keep the Games competition fair and clean.
"Over the next 11 days, the heroines and heroes will undoubtedly be the athletes," said the IPC president.
The Paralympians, many in wheelchairs or on crutches and often seen supporting each other on the track, were ushered into the stadium minutes after the opening ceremony began at 20:00 Beijing time sharp.
All smiling broadly, they waved hands, hats and flags to the stands, and posed for pictures with team guides or volunteers.
The parade sequence was decided by the number of strokes of the first character of the delegations' Chinese names, and Guinea, whose name begins with a two-stroke character, became the leader.
As is customary, the host delegation entered last. Having surprisingly topped both the gold and overall medal tally at the Athens 2004 Paralympics with 63 golds, 46 silvers and 32 bronzes, China sent in the largest delegation of 547 members and 332 athletes to these Games.
Members of the Paralympic Delegation of China parade into the National Stadium during the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China, Sept. 6, 2008.
Wang Xiaofu, a 20-year-old amputee swimmer who won three golds with three world records at the Athens Paralympics and will compete in seven events this time, carried the flag and spearheaded the team.
While the Chinese Paralympians, who will compete in all the 20 sports and 295 of the total 472 events at these Games, are eager and set to deliver on the home field and repeat their glory four years ago, they will meet strong contest from traditional Paralympic powerhouses like Britain, Canada, the United States and Australia.
Throughout the 1.5-hour march-in, the athletes were constantly applauded and saluted by the enthusiastic crowd, in which sat all top leaders of China and dozens of foreign dignitaries, including German President Horst Koehler, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and International Olympic Committee Honorary President Juan Antonio Samaranch.
Seated on the floor of the stadium, the athletes joined the spectators to enjoy an hour-long art performance titled "Flying with the Dream."
The show, carefully prepared over nearly two years, was staged in a fairy-tale setting which had the entire stadium floor draped in blue and placed a glittering "white jade plate," 72 meters in diameter, in the center.
A young man who sings in a magnetic voice, an angel-faced 12-year-old girl who has a crazy love for ballet, and 320 pretty young women dressed in pure white silk gowns who float on the stage like fairies ... all looked so perfect and romantic until the large screens in the stadium revealed the cruel truth: the singer was born into total darkness, the ballet girl lost her left leg in the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake, and the 320 dancers are all with hearing impairment.
But sadness and sympathetic tears were the least things the artistic directors desired, and the spectators would simply marvel at the miracle of life and the undying power of dreams, when they hear the blind singer say "If I could see for only three days, the people I want to see most are my dad, my mom and all of you", see the girl in wheelchair keep practicing ballet with her arms and the remaining leg and pose beautifully on the shoulders of an able-bodied danseur, and witness the deaf dancers whirl and swing gracefully and in clockwork precision under the guidance of 50 sign language teachers.
There were some 420 disabled artists among the 5,000-strong performers at the opening ceremony, according to Zhang Jigang, the executive artistic director. "In them you could only find the beauty of dreams, joy of participation and sharing, and the happiness and dignity of being."
"Flying with the dream, flying to the heaven of love," sang Chinese pop singers Han Hong and Andy Lau, when they jointly presented the Games' theme song "Flying with the Dream."
Pushing the festive atmosphere to culmination, some 2,000 kids, all in lovely animal cartoon costumes -- including the Games' cow-image mascot "Fu Niu Lele" -- swarmed into the Bird's Nest and danced in wild ecstasy. Some excited spectators cooperated by imitating the animal sounds, particularly the cow moos.
"The Beijing Paralympic Games is a grand gathering for people with a disability from across the globe," said Liu Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), at the opening ceremony.
"It educates people to the power of love, and encourages people to devote more understanding, respect and support to people with a disability," he said. "Through the Paralympic Games, the humanitarian spirit is raised to new heights, and the cause for people with a disability is promoted far and wide."
Among the world's disabled population of over 600 million, some 83 million live in China.
At a welcoming luncheon of the Beijing Paralympics earlier on Saturday, President Hu of China pledged that the country would take the Games as an opportunity to better protect the rights and interests of the disabled, and ensure they share the benefits of economic and social development as equal members of the society.
Though the Paralympic Games and the Olympic Games have been taking place in the same year ever since 1960, and using the same venues in the same host city since Seoul 1988, it is the first time that one same organizing committee with exactly the same personnel has taken charge of the preparations for both Games.
"The Beijing Paralympic Games is testimony to the trust the world has rested on China. The Chinese government and people have supported the preparatory work of the Beijing Paralympic Games with immense enthusiasm," said Liu, adding that the BOCOG has spared no efforts to achieve the goal of "Two Games, Equal Splendor."
In the seven-year run-up to the Games, tens of thousands of barrier-free facilities, including ramp, blind walkway, voice prompt system and guidance handrail, were put in place, while parking lots, public transit stations, elevators and public toilets were renovated to improve accessibility for the disabled. The changes took place not only at Games venues, but also tourist attractions such as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.
And less than two weeks from the closing of the Beijing Olympic Games on Aug. 24, 44,000 volunteers, more than 80 percent of whom had served the Olympics, were ready for the Paralympics. Some 1 million others in the city also chose to stick to their Olympics-period duty -- helping the Games organizers in security, transport, information and lodging services.
With stunning speed and amazing efficiency, the Chinese capital completed a near perfect conversion from the Olympic host to the Paralympic host, changing Games logos, emblems, slogans and mascot patterns in almost every noticeable corner -- Games venues, media centers, roadside banners and posters, reserved traffic lanes, and even flower arrangements on the Tian'anmen Square.
While IOC President Jacques Rogge reserved his judgment of the Beijing Olympics -- "These were truly exceptional Games!" -- for the last sentences of his closing speech, his Paralympic counterpart foresaw the success of the Beijing Paralympics even before the cauldron started to burn.
The Beijing Olympic Games were "marvelous," and the Paralympic Games would sure be "stupendous," the IPC chief told the world in his opening speech.
And he told China and the Beijing Organizing Committee: "I would like to thank you all for this great work."
Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Pictograms Unveiled
(BEIJING, May 23) -- The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) unveiled the pictograms for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games at the Beijing Olympic Media Center on Wednesday, on the occasion of the Month for the Publicity of the 17th National Help-the-Disabled Day.
The pictograms will be widely used in the road signal system, in the symbols and decorations in and outside the venues, as well as in the guides for athletes and spectators. They will also be used in TV broadcasting, in promotion, in advertising and in marketing, to enrich the public experience of the Paralympic Games. Being important components of the image of the Paralympics, the pictograms must reflect the Paralympic sports clearly and in keeping with the other visual elements of the Beijing Paralympics such as the emblem and the color system, and act as carriers of the concepts of the Paralympic Games and of the culture of the host county.
The pictograms of the Beijing Paralympic Games have adopted the creative concepts and design styles of the pictograms of the Beijing Olympic Games, while taking into account the characteristics of the Paralympic sports and the experience of the previous editions of the Paralympic Games. They have done so to maintain the continuity of the image design style, which is a crucial consideration because of the limited time interval between the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The pictograms of the Beijing Paralympic Games use the structure of the Chinese seal script as their basic form, while incorporating the pictographic charm of the oracle bone writing (jia gu wen) and the bronze-ware script (jin wen) with the simplification of modern graphics. The design not only features the particular movement and dynamism of each sport, but is also easy to recognize, remember and use. Through the skillful application of the striking contrast between white and black, the pictograms of the Beijing Paralympic Games demonstrate distinct features of movement, graceful charm of dynamism and rich cultural connotations, and arrive at a harmony and unity of "form" and "content".
The pictograms of the Beijing Paralympic Games cover all 20 individual sports, namely archery, athletics, boccia, cycling, equestrian, football 5-a-side, football 7-a-side, goal-ball, judo, power-lifting, rowing, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, volleyball (sitting), wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.
BOCOG started the research, creation and appraisal of the pictograms for the Beijing Paralympic Games in May 2006.The Central Academy of Fine Arts, a member of the Design Group for the Pictograms of the Beijing Olympic Games, was responsible for their design, creation and testing. Numerous design experts, Paralympics specialists and representatives of disabled athletes offered their valuable opinions and suggestions during the process. In December 2006, the BOCOG Executive Board officially approved the design scheme of the pictograms and submitted them to the international sports federations (IFs). As of the end of February 2007, all IFs reviewed and approved the pictograms and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) officially approved them in April 2007.
China Unveils More Olympic Coins
China's central bank unveiled on Wednesday a second set of gold and silver coins to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The second set consists of eight commemorative coins, two made with a third ounce of gold, one with five ounces of gold, four with an ounce of silver, and one with a full kilogram of silver.The brass-alloy coins, which are legal tender and can be used as normal currency, were put on the market by the China Gold Coin Incorporation the same day.
All the coins carry the logo of the Beijing Olympics on one side. Images on the other sides vary from Olympic mascots, dragons, the Great Wall to the Summer Palace, as well as martial arts scenes and dragon boat racing.
China released the first set of Beijing Olympics gold and silver commemorative coins in September 2006, and a third set will be issued in 2008.Finland began the practice of Olympic Game hosts issuing commemorative coins back in 1952
China's central bank unveiled a second set of gold and silver coins to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics June 20, 2007. This photo shows a coin made from five ounces of gold.
China's central bank unveiled a second set of gold and silver coins to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics June 20, 2007. This photo shows a coin made from from a kilogram of silver.
China's central bank unveiled a second set of gold and silver coins to commemorate the 2008 Beijing Olympics June 20, 2007. This photo shows two coins made from a third ounce of gold and four made from an ounce of silver
Athletics Day 1 Evening Session Review: Ups And Downs At The National Stadium
Diane Roy celebrates.
(BEIJING, September 8) -- Just like the morning session, the evening had 22 heats along with six finals which included the first track final of the Athletics competition. World and Paralympic records were set in the National Stadium and the Women's 5000m - T54 was marred by an accident.
Unfortunately for some participants of the Women's 5000m - T54 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations), a collision in the last lap, less than 100m from the finish line, caused six athletes to fall and abandon their race. The accident involved all three medalists from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Wakako Tsuchida of Japan, Edith Hunkeler of Switzerland and Cheri Blauwet of the United States. Only five athletes finished the race and Diane Roy of Canada appeared to have taken the first Track gold medal in 11:54.03, setting a new Paralympic record. A close second was Shelly Woods of Great Britain with 11:54.29, while American Amanda McGrory came in third with 11:54.84. It was later announced that these results may not hold and the race is expected to be rescheduled on Tuesday.
Karim Betina of Algeria stole the show early in the Men's Shot Put - F32 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy) when he broke the world record (9.92m) with just his second attempt (9.94m). It was just no stopping him after that as his throws kept improving and he landed the gold medal with a world record-breaking throw of 10.65m. Tunisia's Mourad Idoudi threw to a distance of 10.40m and picked up the silver, while third place went to Betina's teammate Mounir Bakiri with 9.37m.
China had to settle for fifth place in the Women's Long Jump - F42 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres) when Zhang Haiyuan, former world record holder, failed to repeat her winning performance of 2004 (Athens, Paralympics) and only managed a jump of 3.44m. Poland's Ewa Zielinska came in third with 3.62m, behind Annette Roozen of the Netherlands who secured the second spot with 3.63m. The gold medal went to Australian Christine Wolf who set a world record with her jump of 3.73m.
In the Men's Javelin - F35/36 (ambulant athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy), the clear favorite was China's Guo Wei. Cheered on by his home crowd, Guo Wei's first attempt at 54.92m broke his own world record in the F35 class and he did it again in his second throw with 56.07m which won him the top spot. Through the multi-classification event point system, Guo Wei was crowned gold medalist with 1283 points. In second place was Pawel Piotrowski of Poland who also got pass the old world record mark but his throw of 42.88m and 1158 point only earned him a Silver medal while Nicholas Newman of South Africa came in third with 42.48m and 1147 points.
Jackie Christiansen of Denmark won the gold and created a world record in the Men's Shot Put F44 (ambulant athletes with different levels of amputations and other disabilities including les autres). Christiansen blew away the competition with his throw of 17.89m and earned himself 1117 points. The second spot went to Australian Paul Raison with 15.83m and 988 points while Gerdan Fonseca of Cuba took bronze with 15.65m and 977 points.
Men's Discuss F33/34/52 (wheelchair athletes with different levels of cerebral palsy and different levels of spinal cord injuries and amputations) was the first final to begin and the last to end with a stellar display of strength and skill from all the athletes. In this multi-classification field event medals are awarded according to a point system. A new F52 world record (20.47m) ensured Aigars Apinis of Latvia the gold, with 1097 points. Chris Martin of Great Britain set the F33 Paralympic record with 28.37m (1074 points) and Roman Musil of the Czech Republic came in third with 27.11m (1026 points).
"Blade Runner" Oscar Pistorius competes at the Bird's Nest
Records were broken in some of the heats as well. In the Men's 100m - T11 heats, Lucas Prado of Brazil bettered his own world record of 11.26s when he sprinted to the finish line in a quick 11.19s, while Kurt Fearnley of Australia qualified for the finals of the Men's 5000m - T54 setting a Paralympic record of 10:13.21. South African Oscar Pistorius, better known as the "Blade Runner" also set a Paralympic record in the Men's 100m - T44 heats in 11.16s.
Paralympics New Focus Of International Media
Media accreditation for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, which is being billed as a "Games of Equal Splendour" and is expected to attract an unprecedented degree of media coverage, is under discussion for those who want to cover the September 6-17 event next year.
"Some 4,000 journalists, in comparison to 3,000 or so who covered the recent editions of the Paralympics Games, will come to cover the 2008 Paralympics and many of them are from the domestic media," said Zhang Qiuping, director of the Paralympics Games Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).
At previous Paralympics, the media did not need to register in order to cover the Games, but this time BOCOG is making it a necessity.
In recent years, China has become more aware of the needs of people with disabilities due in part to the country's rapid economic growth and the success of athletes at international events such as the Paralympics. This has led to more interest in the Games from Chinese media.
Since China first participated in the 1984 Paralympics, co-hosted by Stoke Mandeville, UK, and New York, the world has seen China's dramatic rise at the sporting event.
It finished 16th in the overall medal tally at the Barcelona Paralympics in 1992, then rose steadily over the years to lead the tally in Athens with 141 medals, including 63 golds.
The recently hosted 7th National Games for the Disabled in Yunnan Province saw 91 new world records broken and packed stadiums at marquee competitions like wheelchair basketball, swimming and athletics.
"We will send our largest delegation, maybe larger than that of any other country, to the 2008 Paralympics," said Jia Yong, director of the Sports Department at the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF).
"Now we are not sure how many gold medals we can get, because after the Athens Games, things have changed a lot. Our goal is not to get the most medals, but to take part in more sports."
China is strong in swimming, table tennis and power lifting, which do not require much in the way of training resources, Jia said, but lags in more sophisticated sports like equestrian and sailing.
Related sports organizations are trying new ways to develop these sports. Guangdong Province and Qingdao city are now helping train athletes for equestrian and sailing events, respectively.
A comprehensive training center for the disabled athletes will be completed in July in Beijing.
To make sure more Chinese disabled athletes can qualify for the 2008 Games, China has already sent some 1,500 people to participate in international events and some 400 have already secured Olympic berths.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)