CHINESE NEW YEAR
The Chinese New Year - Spring Festival is the most important event in all of China. There are some steps to follow that every family takes before the new year. The first phase is cleaning, where you clean the houses and throw away what is old. After that there is he "shopping" stage (during the party and the first day after the tradition wants to use new clothes). It is very important to buy decorations, which can vary from lanterns to paintings rapresenting the animal symbol of the new year. The new years's eve families visit the graves of their relatives and symbolically offer them food and wine, before returning home and starting dinner. Dinner is an important moment for tradition, because even relatives who are away all year try to be with their families for the occasion.
After dinner the children receive red envelopes that contain money, they are lucky that luck, health and success at school. many families during the dinner light the television to follow live a national program, a gala, which shows the greatest singers in the country performing and makes the countdown to the arrival of the new year. At the arrival of midnight the bells can be heard and the sky is filled with fireworks. Another characteristic element is the dragon dance that is often performed during Chinese New Year. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China's culture, and they are believed to bring good luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon dance, more luck it will bring to the community. On the second day of the new year people go to visit their families and their friends, and they do that until the 8th of the new year, the day when they return to work. The end of the spring festival takes place on day 15, and ends with the festival of lanterns. According to the Chinese tradition every year is connected to an animal, this year for example (2019) is the year of the pig. Chinese people thnik that the year of our sign would bring us bad luck. |
Sport in China
Chinese people practices a lot of different sports such as football, badminton or curling. There are also sports practiced by minority groups (mongolians, tibetans or kazaks), for example riding, climbing or shooting.
But the National sport is Table tennis (or ping-pong). Its first appearence was in Shangai (1904). Apart from the national team, the table tennis community continues to produce many world-class players, and this depth of skill allows the country to continue dominating recent world titles since 1960s and after a short break during the 1990s. Ma Long is currently one of the highest-ranked Chinese table tennis players, and he was ranked the 11 in the world (2018) by the International Table Tennis Federation. At the Olympics Games of 2016 in Rio de Janeiro he won the gold medal as single player and another one with his team. |
Food
CHINESE FOOD
The Yin and the Yang, fundamental pillars of Chinese religion and philosophy, are the masters also in the kitchen. With the first, the Yin, feminine and refreshing foods such as fruit and vegetables are identified; while between Yang foods, male and heating, there are meat, fried foods and spicy foods. In Chinese cuisine and in the main meals that mark the day there is always a search for balance, between flavors and between heat and cold.
A typical Chinese cuisine meal is also characterized by the sharing of dishes, shared and often placed at the center of the table available to diners: the dishes are already cut and ready to be eaten with the help of chopsticks or spoons, utensils typical of China, almost always of wood or porcelain, as happens on formal occasions or festivals. In China, cow milk products are little used because of widespread lactose intolerance and sweets are consumed on special occasions, such as banquets and ceremonies.
According to a study conducted by South China Morning Post, the estimate of the Chinese who have decided to give up eating meat is set to increase so as to represent the fastest growth rate internationally. Although vegans in China represent only 5% of the population, it is necessary to remember the vastness of this country: it means that there are about 50 million people who have joined this movement
Among the most popular and popular recipes of Chinese cuisine we find:
Spring rolls, crispy pasta wrappers that enclose a tasty vegetable filling. Spring rolls are one of the most famous Chinese appetizers. Why are they called that? They were prepared in China in correspondence with the Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival.
Cantonese fried rice, Peas, carrots, scrambled eggs, shrimp ... The Cantonese one is the most popular fried rice in Chinese cuisine. It can be a great first course or a single dish and doing it at home is really simple!
Noodles, If you think they are simple spaghetti, you are wrong. Noodles differ a lot in terms of ingredients and type of preparation. I can be soft, thick, chewy or transparent and I prepare them with the most different flours: from wheat flour to rice flour, passing through bean flour. Their origins are lost in the mists of time: legend has it that their length represents a wish for long life.
Ravioli (jiaozi), Hard to find someone who doesn't love them. Grilled or steamed, braised or simply boiled, these dumplings stuffed with meat, shrimp or vegetables are the most requested dish in European Chinese restaurants.
other very famous dishes are Peking Duck, Almond Chicken and Fried Ice Cream.
The Yin and the Yang, fundamental pillars of Chinese religion and philosophy, are the masters also in the kitchen. With the first, the Yin, feminine and refreshing foods such as fruit and vegetables are identified; while between Yang foods, male and heating, there are meat, fried foods and spicy foods. In Chinese cuisine and in the main meals that mark the day there is always a search for balance, between flavors and between heat and cold.
A typical Chinese cuisine meal is also characterized by the sharing of dishes, shared and often placed at the center of the table available to diners: the dishes are already cut and ready to be eaten with the help of chopsticks or spoons, utensils typical of China, almost always of wood or porcelain, as happens on formal occasions or festivals. In China, cow milk products are little used because of widespread lactose intolerance and sweets are consumed on special occasions, such as banquets and ceremonies.
According to a study conducted by South China Morning Post, the estimate of the Chinese who have decided to give up eating meat is set to increase so as to represent the fastest growth rate internationally. Although vegans in China represent only 5% of the population, it is necessary to remember the vastness of this country: it means that there are about 50 million people who have joined this movement
Among the most popular and popular recipes of Chinese cuisine we find:
Spring rolls, crispy pasta wrappers that enclose a tasty vegetable filling. Spring rolls are one of the most famous Chinese appetizers. Why are they called that? They were prepared in China in correspondence with the Chinese New Year, also called Spring Festival.
Cantonese fried rice, Peas, carrots, scrambled eggs, shrimp ... The Cantonese one is the most popular fried rice in Chinese cuisine. It can be a great first course or a single dish and doing it at home is really simple!
Noodles, If you think they are simple spaghetti, you are wrong. Noodles differ a lot in terms of ingredients and type of preparation. I can be soft, thick, chewy or transparent and I prepare them with the most different flours: from wheat flour to rice flour, passing through bean flour. Their origins are lost in the mists of time: legend has it that their length represents a wish for long life.
Ravioli (jiaozi), Hard to find someone who doesn't love them. Grilled or steamed, braised or simply boiled, these dumplings stuffed with meat, shrimp or vegetables are the most requested dish in European Chinese restaurants.
other very famous dishes are Peking Duck, Almond Chicken and Fried Ice Cream.