Best for...
Beautiful beaches, a lively nightlife and wildly diverse scenery, Gran Canaria is a paradise for young people and families...
Boasting a variety of resorts and facilities, Gran Canaria has something to offer all ages and types of holidaymaker. Families will love the island's soft sandy beaches, warm blue waters and family-orientated activities, while couples seeking a romantic hideaway will enjoy the pretty marinas and flower-filled walkways. If bustling beach resorts are more your thing, you'll be more than satisfied with the wealth and variety of evening entertainment found in Gran Canaria's liveliest resorts, which are renowned for their party days and party nights.
What to do…
With year-round sunshine Gran Canaria is a popular winter sun destination though temperatures peak in the summer months. Five popular beach resorts - Puerto de Mogan, Playa del Ingles, Puerto Rico, Playa Amadores and Maspalomas are the highlights of the island.
Just an hour from the airport Puerto de Mogan is a picturesque working fishing village that has earned the name 'Little Venice' thanks to its tiny canals, ornate walkways and numerous waterfront restaurants. It makes a great getaway for families and couples looking for a relaxing escape with its attractive marina and quaint craft shops though for those who prefer a more bustling atmosphere there are ferries throughout the day to the livelier Puerto Rico.
With its busy sandy beaches Puerto Rico is unquestionably the most energetic area of Gran Canaria with a number of beach bars and stay-late restaurants as well as a buzzing commercial centre that is ideal for tax-free shopping. The area is extremely popular with the British and this is reflected in the restaurants and facilities available.
International dining is popular in both Playa del Ingles and Maspalomas. The island's resorts cater for every taste from Chinese to Italian, as well as many traditional dishes including fresh seafood and tapas. This is accentuated within the Yumbo Centre at Playa del Ingles, which has many mini-markets, bars, gift shops and cafes. This centre also caters heavily for the gay travel market and is known for its very lively entertainment 24hrs a day. The area also has a beautiful, golden sand beach that blends into the spectacular sand dunes of Maspalomas, which is the ideal setting for secluded sunbathing backed by the Charca da Maspalomas, a protected nature reserve and lagoon. There are also a number of fairground attractions to keep the family busy at Holiday World along with tenpin bowling, Aquasur's waterpark and an eighteen-hole golf course.
Playa Amadores is neatly situated between Puerto Rico and Puerto de Mogan and has arguably the most idyllic beach on the island as well as watersports and fishing facilities, though it should be avoided by those with walking difficulties due to its steep hills
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Guide to student banking and finance - part 1 of 2
The importance of a budget
Pre-preparing a budget may help you keep a tight grip on your finances. It's crucial to take EVERYTHING into account as money will be extremely tight. Think beyond the obvious major outlays such as rent, bills, books and food and think about the smaller expenses that will quickly add-up. Think about the costs of using your mobile phone (including texts), printing, photo-copying, using public transport and factor in those inevitable night-outs. The more you can plan for the better.
Budgeting is a vital tool not just at university, but in life. Thinking ahead and sticking closely to your plan is crucial if you are to avoid student debt.
Work out your cost of living
A little bit of mathematics can go a long way and a neat calculation can help you prepare for university life. Here is what we recommend that you consider:
Income for term - This will include parental contributions, a student loan (usually about £1,250) and a wage from a part-time job.
Term expenditure - This will include rent (usually about £800), books, clothes, CDs, etc - larger sums that you will spend over the course of a term.
Weekly expenditure - This should factor in the essentials and non-essentials, so food, leisure, travel, household bills and more.
Firstly add up the income and then add up your term expenditure. Also calculate your weekly expenditure over the course of a term - there are normally twelve weeks in a term. Once you have the three totals worked out, add the two expenditure totals together and subtract them from your income. The total will be the money you have left after all these costs are factored in. Consequently you might wish to reduce certain costs based on these results - you could decide to cut out the odd night out or spend a little less on leisure to keep yourself within a budget. Always reserve some cash for emergencies.
Part-time work
Though many like to claim that students are work-shy the opposite is often true as many young people hold down part-time jobs to ease financial worries in addition to dealing with their studies. Of course work should never come ahead of study, but if you can cope with perhaps a weekend job or even work through the holidays it is a great way to boost your income.
Pre-preparing a budget may help you keep a tight grip on your finances. It's crucial to take EVERYTHING into account as money will be extremely tight. Think beyond the obvious major outlays such as rent, bills, books and food and think about the smaller expenses that will quickly add-up. Think about the costs of using your mobile phone (including texts), printing, photo-copying, using public transport and factor in those inevitable night-outs. The more you can plan for the better.
Budgeting is a vital tool not just at university, but in life. Thinking ahead and sticking closely to your plan is crucial if you are to avoid student debt.
Work out your cost of living
A little bit of mathematics can go a long way and a neat calculation can help you prepare for university life. Here is what we recommend that you consider:
Income for term - This will include parental contributions, a student loan (usually about £1,250) and a wage from a part-time job.
Term expenditure - This will include rent (usually about £800), books, clothes, CDs, etc - larger sums that you will spend over the course of a term.
Weekly expenditure - This should factor in the essentials and non-essentials, so food, leisure, travel, household bills and more.
Firstly add up the income and then add up your term expenditure. Also calculate your weekly expenditure over the course of a term - there are normally twelve weeks in a term. Once you have the three totals worked out, add the two expenditure totals together and subtract them from your income. The total will be the money you have left after all these costs are factored in. Consequently you might wish to reduce certain costs based on these results - you could decide to cut out the odd night out or spend a little less on leisure to keep yourself within a budget. Always reserve some cash for emergencies.
Part-time work
Though many like to claim that students are work-shy the opposite is often true as many young people hold down part-time jobs to ease financial worries in addition to dealing with their studies. Of course work should never come ahead of study, but if you can cope with perhaps a weekend job or even work through the holidays it is a great way to boost your income.
Best and Worst U.S. Housing Markets
Southern metros also boasted gains. In San Antonio, prices went up 11.2%, and Austin, Tex., prices climbed 5.4%. Charlotte, N.C., and Raleigh, N.C., rose 6.4% and 6.3%, and Richmond, Va., and Norfolk, Va., improved 6.2% and 5.9%.
"What we're seeing now are the areas which still have a strong economy, but didn't have the overheated prices [during the housing boom], are the ones holding on strong now," says Kermit Baker, a senior research fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
In the Northeast, the New York City metropolitan area turned in a steady 1% growth rate, and smaller metros like Albany, N.Y.; Trenton, N.J.; and Allentown Pa.--which improved by 6.3%, 7.1% and 5.8% respectively--helped overcome Boston's continuing slump to lift the Northeast to a 1.2% overall price growth, making it the only region in the black.
Now the bad news.
Cloudy Skies
Median home prices in Florida are down, according to NAR: Tampa by 2%, and Sarasota, Palm Bay and Daytona by an average of 9%. Overall, Florida prices plunged 25%, making the Sunshine State not so sunny. Miami, however, which had been hamstrung early in the housing downturn, improved by 2%. The rally may be tenuous however, as 23% of Miami housing loans are subprime, according to First American LoanPerformance, a mortgage data provider.
"We've had 30 subprime lenders go under, which leads to a tightening of credit," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a New York-based real estate appraisal and consultancy firm of lenders nationwide. "That adds one more barrier to transactions, something that couldn't have come at a more delicate time for the housing market. On a national level, there are a lot of markets which are going to have some problems."
The Gulf Coast, where home prices had roared back at a double-digit clip the year following Hurricane Katrina, is one such market. Biloxi, Miss., grew by 15.7%, and Baton Rouge, La., by 9.7%, but the subprime hammer came down on New Orleans, where a 20% delinquency rate on subprime loans contributed to an 11% drop in home values, the NAR reports.
Worse News To Come?
For many markets, things may get worse before they get better. Nationwide, prices fell by 6.6%, a number that makes sense at this point in the housing cycle, experts say.
"When housing prices slip, nothing really changes until you try to sell, which is what we've had happen in the last couple of months," says Miller. "I don't think the housing slowdown has fully hit the national economy yet."
Overexpansion was a problem for most metro areas. Homeowner vacancy rates stood at 2.8% in the first quarter of this year, a statistically significant rise from the 2.1% rate a year ago and the 1.7% average between 1995 and 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Those high inventory numbers flatten prices and make new development less lucrative.
"It's becoming more difficult to put together financing for new development projects," says Miller. "That'll actually provide some constraint on supply, but that's a couple years down the road. You figure the lead on new development is probably two years, so it's going to be a couple years before units stop coming off the conveyor belt."
Moving forward, there is concern surrounding the strength of the national macro economy. In the first quarter of 2007, growth came in at a disappointing 1.3%--hampered by 4% inflation--but the Federal Reserve predicts growth between 2.5% and 3% for the remainder of 2007.
"We do have a massive inventory correction, which will happen a lot easier and a lot less painfully if it continues to happen during an economic expansion," says Baker. "The fear is now that even though the direct housing hit was absorbed, the indirect hit could be serious too. We're into that now, but it doesn't look like it's enough to throw the economy into recession."
Some might disagree. Fears about the ripple effect of the housing market have traders particularly bearish.
The S&P/Case-Shiller housing futures market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is based on repeat sales of homes across 10 markets ranging from Boston to San Diego. There, traders are betting on a 4.5% decline from now until next year.
"What we're seeing now are the areas which still have a strong economy, but didn't have the overheated prices [during the housing boom], are the ones holding on strong now," says Kermit Baker, a senior research fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies.
In the Northeast, the New York City metropolitan area turned in a steady 1% growth rate, and smaller metros like Albany, N.Y.; Trenton, N.J.; and Allentown Pa.--which improved by 6.3%, 7.1% and 5.8% respectively--helped overcome Boston's continuing slump to lift the Northeast to a 1.2% overall price growth, making it the only region in the black.
Now the bad news.
Cloudy Skies
Median home prices in Florida are down, according to NAR: Tampa by 2%, and Sarasota, Palm Bay and Daytona by an average of 9%. Overall, Florida prices plunged 25%, making the Sunshine State not so sunny. Miami, however, which had been hamstrung early in the housing downturn, improved by 2%. The rally may be tenuous however, as 23% of Miami housing loans are subprime, according to First American LoanPerformance, a mortgage data provider.
"We've had 30 subprime lenders go under, which leads to a tightening of credit," says Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, a New York-based real estate appraisal and consultancy firm of lenders nationwide. "That adds one more barrier to transactions, something that couldn't have come at a more delicate time for the housing market. On a national level, there are a lot of markets which are going to have some problems."
The Gulf Coast, where home prices had roared back at a double-digit clip the year following Hurricane Katrina, is one such market. Biloxi, Miss., grew by 15.7%, and Baton Rouge, La., by 9.7%, but the subprime hammer came down on New Orleans, where a 20% delinquency rate on subprime loans contributed to an 11% drop in home values, the NAR reports.
Worse News To Come?
For many markets, things may get worse before they get better. Nationwide, prices fell by 6.6%, a number that makes sense at this point in the housing cycle, experts say.
"When housing prices slip, nothing really changes until you try to sell, which is what we've had happen in the last couple of months," says Miller. "I don't think the housing slowdown has fully hit the national economy yet."
Overexpansion was a problem for most metro areas. Homeowner vacancy rates stood at 2.8% in the first quarter of this year, a statistically significant rise from the 2.1% rate a year ago and the 1.7% average between 1995 and 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Those high inventory numbers flatten prices and make new development less lucrative.
"It's becoming more difficult to put together financing for new development projects," says Miller. "That'll actually provide some constraint on supply, but that's a couple years down the road. You figure the lead on new development is probably two years, so it's going to be a couple years before units stop coming off the conveyor belt."
Moving forward, there is concern surrounding the strength of the national macro economy. In the first quarter of 2007, growth came in at a disappointing 1.3%--hampered by 4% inflation--but the Federal Reserve predicts growth between 2.5% and 3% for the remainder of 2007.
"We do have a massive inventory correction, which will happen a lot easier and a lot less painfully if it continues to happen during an economic expansion," says Baker. "The fear is now that even though the direct housing hit was absorbed, the indirect hit could be serious too. We're into that now, but it doesn't look like it's enough to throw the economy into recession."
Some might disagree. Fears about the ripple effect of the housing market have traders particularly bearish.
The S&P/Case-Shiller housing futures market on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is based on repeat sales of homes across 10 markets ranging from Boston to San Diego. There, traders are betting on a 4.5% decline from now until next year.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
WITTY ANSWER TO 'HOW ARE YOU?' MAKES SOME PEOPLE FEEL FINE
So, I make a game of it. Unlike the greeter who blurts out the salutation without thinking, I listen and am prepared with several responses. For "How ya doin'?" I answer, "Not so good. My wife and oldest son and I just got out of three months in rehab for peanut butter addiction. I was a two-jar-a-day man myself. My boy had it even worse -- three jars of the hard stuff, crunchy!"
When asked, "What's up?" I'm inclined to respond, "My blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index!" -- DAVE IN MARSHALL, WIS.
DEAR DAVE: Many readers who wrote to comment on that letter said they were perplexed at how "How are you?" has essentially replaced the greeting "Hello." And they were eager to share the quips they use to answer that rhetorical question. Read on:
DEAR ABBY: I have an alternative to the answer you gave to "Fine, Thank You" that I often use.
I'm a recovering alcoholic. When someone who knows I'm in AA asks me how I'm doing, my favorite reply is, "I'm walking, breathing and sober -- anything beyond that is gravy."
Another favorite I often use with people who don't know I'm in AA is, "Well, I woke up on this side of the grass, so I must be doing pretty well!" -- SHIRLEY IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR ABBY: I have been having a lot of fun with this response to the "How are you?" question. I say, "I can't answer that." Expecting the worst, most people ask me why. That's when I say, "Because of the Medical Privacy Act!" Everyone has a good laugh and is relieved not to have had to listen to a list of my ailments. -- HAPPY BOB IN KIMBOLTON, OHIO
DEAR ABBY: I learned some years ago the power of a positive attitude. When an acquaintance asks how I am, I set the tone for my own day by answering, "I'm fabulous, thanks! How are you?"
You know the old "fake it 'til you feel it" philosophy? That's why I originally started doing it, but it has paid off for me because I receive positive energy in return. Not only do I actually feel happier after the interaction, but it's difficult for someone else to respond negatively to your smile. -- COLLEEN IN PORT COQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA
DEAR ABBY: My reply? "I'm better on the inside than I look on the outside!" -- JOYCE IN CONVERSE, TEXAS
DEAR ABBY: I once heard this response: "Vertical and ventilating!" I still laugh when I think of it. -- DOC IN CHARLESTON, S.C.
DEAR ABBY: My favorite response is one I get from a friend: "All monitored systems are functional." -- ED IN SAN JOSE
When asked, "What's up?" I'm inclined to respond, "My blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index!" -- DAVE IN MARSHALL, WIS.
DEAR DAVE: Many readers who wrote to comment on that letter said they were perplexed at how "How are you?" has essentially replaced the greeting "Hello." And they were eager to share the quips they use to answer that rhetorical question. Read on:
DEAR ABBY: I have an alternative to the answer you gave to "Fine, Thank You" that I often use.
I'm a recovering alcoholic. When someone who knows I'm in AA asks me how I'm doing, my favorite reply is, "I'm walking, breathing and sober -- anything beyond that is gravy."
Another favorite I often use with people who don't know I'm in AA is, "Well, I woke up on this side of the grass, so I must be doing pretty well!" -- SHIRLEY IN PENNSYLVANIA
DEAR ABBY: I have been having a lot of fun with this response to the "How are you?" question. I say, "I can't answer that." Expecting the worst, most people ask me why. That's when I say, "Because of the Medical Privacy Act!" Everyone has a good laugh and is relieved not to have had to listen to a list of my ailments. -- HAPPY BOB IN KIMBOLTON, OHIO
DEAR ABBY: I learned some years ago the power of a positive attitude. When an acquaintance asks how I am, I set the tone for my own day by answering, "I'm fabulous, thanks! How are you?"
You know the old "fake it 'til you feel it" philosophy? That's why I originally started doing it, but it has paid off for me because I receive positive energy in return. Not only do I actually feel happier after the interaction, but it's difficult for someone else to respond negatively to your smile. -- COLLEEN IN PORT COQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA
DEAR ABBY: My reply? "I'm better on the inside than I look on the outside!" -- JOYCE IN CONVERSE, TEXAS
DEAR ABBY: I once heard this response: "Vertical and ventilating!" I still laugh when I think of it. -- DOC IN CHARLESTON, S.C.
DEAR ABBY: My favorite response is one I get from a friend: "All monitored systems are functional." -- ED IN SAN JOSE
Miss Japan crowned Miss Universe 2007
Dressed in a black, red and purple Japanese-style gown, Riyo Mori nervously grabbed the hands of first runner-up, Natalia Guimaraes of Brazil, just before the winner was announced. Then she threw her hands up and covered her mouth, overcome with emotion.
But she gathered herself together enough to catch the diamond-and-pearl-studded headpiece valued at $250,000 as it slipped off her head when Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned her. Mori immediately placed it back on her head.
The last time Japan won the pageant was in 1959 when Akiko Kojima became the first Miss Universe from Asia.
"She is an amazing champion, an amazing woman and I hear that they go totally insane in Japan, so that's good," said Donald Trump, who co-owns the pageant with NBC.
Miss USA Rachel Smith, who slipped and fell to the floor during the evening gown competition and was jeered by the Mexican audience during the interview phase, was the contest's fourth runner-up.
Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying 'Hola, Mexico!'
"I learned how to always be happy, be patient and to be positive, and this is what I want to teach to the next generation," she said during the interview competition.
The daughter of a dance school operator, Mori said her grandmother told her as a child that she wanted her to be Miss Japan before she turned 20.
"From the very beginning, I entered the competition with high hopes and an unswerving determination to make this dream a reality," she said in a pre-competition interview.
She wants to someday open an international dance school in Tokyo.
"Right now I am only 20 years old, so I'm really excited about what I'm going to be able to do at this age to benefit society," Mori said after winning.
Smith was booed during her interview and several audience members chanted "Mexico! Mexico!" until she spoke in Spanish, saying "Buenas noches Mexico. Muchas gracias!" which earned her applause. Mexico has a fierce rivalry with its northern neighbor.
Also finishing in the top five were second runner-up Ly Jonaitis of Venezuela and third runner-up Honey Lee of Korea.
The winner travels the world for a year on behalf of charities and pageant sponsors.
The 15 finalists from a field of 77 contestants were announced early in Monday's show. They were picked last week during preliminary judging in the contest's swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories. Their names were not announced until Monday, allowing all 77 to be introduced to the television audience.
As soon as the final 15 had been selected, they immediately strutted across the stage in animal-print bikinis for the swimsuit competition. After the evening gown competition, five contestants were eliminated, and the judges chose the winner from the five remaining.
Missing from this year's contest was Miss Sweden, whose country is one of the few to win the crown three times. Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, 20, dropped out because many Swedes say the competition does not represent the modern woman.
Hours before the pageant began, dozens of protesters held a mock ceremony in downtown Mexico City that featured "Miss Marijuana," "Miss Sexual Health," "Miss Human Rights" and other candidates with obscenities written across their sashes. The group yelled "Neither ugly nor beautiful, should a woman be considered an object!"
But she gathered herself together enough to catch the diamond-and-pearl-studded headpiece valued at $250,000 as it slipped off her head when Miss Universe 2006 Zuleyka Rivera of Puerto Rico crowned her. Mori immediately placed it back on her head.
The last time Japan won the pageant was in 1959 when Akiko Kojima became the first Miss Universe from Asia.
"She is an amazing champion, an amazing woman and I hear that they go totally insane in Japan, so that's good," said Donald Trump, who co-owns the pageant with NBC.
Miss USA Rachel Smith, who slipped and fell to the floor during the evening gown competition and was jeered by the Mexican audience during the interview phase, was the contest's fourth runner-up.
Mori, from the small town of Shizuoka at the base of Mount Fuji, won the cheers of the Mexico City audience when she opened her interview, saying 'Hola, Mexico!'
"I learned how to always be happy, be patient and to be positive, and this is what I want to teach to the next generation," she said during the interview competition.
The daughter of a dance school operator, Mori said her grandmother told her as a child that she wanted her to be Miss Japan before she turned 20.
"From the very beginning, I entered the competition with high hopes and an unswerving determination to make this dream a reality," she said in a pre-competition interview.
She wants to someday open an international dance school in Tokyo.
"Right now I am only 20 years old, so I'm really excited about what I'm going to be able to do at this age to benefit society," Mori said after winning.
Smith was booed during her interview and several audience members chanted "Mexico! Mexico!" until she spoke in Spanish, saying "Buenas noches Mexico. Muchas gracias!" which earned her applause. Mexico has a fierce rivalry with its northern neighbor.
Also finishing in the top five were second runner-up Ly Jonaitis of Venezuela and third runner-up Honey Lee of Korea.
The winner travels the world for a year on behalf of charities and pageant sponsors.
The 15 finalists from a field of 77 contestants were announced early in Monday's show. They were picked last week during preliminary judging in the contest's swimsuit, evening gown and interview categories. Their names were not announced until Monday, allowing all 77 to be introduced to the television audience.
As soon as the final 15 had been selected, they immediately strutted across the stage in animal-print bikinis for the swimsuit competition. After the evening gown competition, five contestants were eliminated, and the judges chose the winner from the five remaining.
Missing from this year's contest was Miss Sweden, whose country is one of the few to win the crown three times. Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, 20, dropped out because many Swedes say the competition does not represent the modern woman.
Hours before the pageant began, dozens of protesters held a mock ceremony in downtown Mexico City that featured "Miss Marijuana," "Miss Sexual Health," "Miss Human Rights" and other candidates with obscenities written across their sashes. The group yelled "Neither ugly nor beautiful, should a woman be considered an object!"
Top 9 Things To Do in Miami, Florida
1) Everglades
With 1.5 million acres of swamps, saw-grass prairies and sub-tropical jungles, Everglades National Park is one of the most unusual public parks in the United States. Located on the southern tip of Florida, the park is home to 14 rare and endangered species, including the American Crocodile, the Florida Panther and the West Indian Manatee. A large portion of the park is primitive, explored only by adventurists and researchers – but visitors have ample opportunity to walk, camp and canoe.
2) South Beach
South Beach is the quintenssential Miami hot spot. From shopping to partying, this area of Miami Beach is well-known for being a trendy locale. In the linked article, we outline a weekend trip to this fabulous destination
3) Miami Metrozoo
Miami MetroZoo is fast becoming one of the best zoos in the nation. Its climate allows it to keep a wide variety of animals from Asia, Australia and Africa like no other zoo in the country. One of the first free-range zoos in the country, the exhibits are entirely cageless. Animals are grouped according to their geographic territory and animals that live together peacefully in the wild are placed in exhibits together.
4) Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is located right in the middle of the tourist area, on the causeway between downtown Miami and Miami Beach. It's a fabulous stop where you can witness an outdoor aquarium experience that's only possible in our tropical climate. Be sure to budget enough time to spend at least half a day there!
5) Coral Castle
Coral Castle is truly a monument to the uniqueness of Miami! This attractions was built by a Latvian-born Miami resident named Ed Leedskalnin as a monument to his lover. After 28 years of effort, he introduced his 1100-ton coral creation to the world. It's a bit of a trip from downtown, but well worth the time.
6) Parrot Jungle Island
Parrot Jungle offers visitors a fun, educational opportunity to get an up-close look at tropical birds in replicas of their natural habitats. The attraction routinely hosts field trips and offers frequent educational programs.
7) Miami Children's Museum
If you have kids (or just like to act like them!), the Miami Children's Museum is a must-see destination. Their motto of "Play, Learn, Imagine, Create" shines through in the wide variety of interactive exhibits that allow children to explore everything from a supermarket to a television studio, picking up valuable lessons along the way.
8) Miami Museum of Science
Check out the latest kid-friendly exhibits at the Miami Museum of Science. You're bound to find a learning adventure for the whole family. The museum is home to the Bird of Prey Research Center and the Weintraub Observatory.
9) Vizcaya
No visit to Miami is complete without a stop at the historical 50-acre Vizcaya estate. This European-style mansion offers a glimpse at life in turn-of-the-century South Florida. It's also an extremely popular venue for galas, weddings and other entertainment events.
With 1.5 million acres of swamps, saw-grass prairies and sub-tropical jungles, Everglades National Park is one of the most unusual public parks in the United States. Located on the southern tip of Florida, the park is home to 14 rare and endangered species, including the American Crocodile, the Florida Panther and the West Indian Manatee. A large portion of the park is primitive, explored only by adventurists and researchers – but visitors have ample opportunity to walk, camp and canoe.
2) South Beach
South Beach is the quintenssential Miami hot spot. From shopping to partying, this area of Miami Beach is well-known for being a trendy locale. In the linked article, we outline a weekend trip to this fabulous destination
3) Miami Metrozoo
Miami MetroZoo is fast becoming one of the best zoos in the nation. Its climate allows it to keep a wide variety of animals from Asia, Australia and Africa like no other zoo in the country. One of the first free-range zoos in the country, the exhibits are entirely cageless. Animals are grouped according to their geographic territory and animals that live together peacefully in the wild are placed in exhibits together.
4) Seaquarium
The Miami Seaquarium is located right in the middle of the tourist area, on the causeway between downtown Miami and Miami Beach. It's a fabulous stop where you can witness an outdoor aquarium experience that's only possible in our tropical climate. Be sure to budget enough time to spend at least half a day there!
5) Coral Castle
Coral Castle is truly a monument to the uniqueness of Miami! This attractions was built by a Latvian-born Miami resident named Ed Leedskalnin as a monument to his lover. After 28 years of effort, he introduced his 1100-ton coral creation to the world. It's a bit of a trip from downtown, but well worth the time.
6) Parrot Jungle Island
Parrot Jungle offers visitors a fun, educational opportunity to get an up-close look at tropical birds in replicas of their natural habitats. The attraction routinely hosts field trips and offers frequent educational programs.
7) Miami Children's Museum
If you have kids (or just like to act like them!), the Miami Children's Museum is a must-see destination. Their motto of "Play, Learn, Imagine, Create" shines through in the wide variety of interactive exhibits that allow children to explore everything from a supermarket to a television studio, picking up valuable lessons along the way.
8) Miami Museum of Science
Check out the latest kid-friendly exhibits at the Miami Museum of Science. You're bound to find a learning adventure for the whole family. The museum is home to the Bird of Prey Research Center and the Weintraub Observatory.
9) Vizcaya
No visit to Miami is complete without a stop at the historical 50-acre Vizcaya estate. This European-style mansion offers a glimpse at life in turn-of-the-century South Florida. It's also an extremely popular venue for galas, weddings and other entertainment events.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
America's Top 50 Restaurants 2006
This list is proof that American food as served in all 50 of our top restaurants has never been so exciting. Or so new: More than half of these restaurants are making their debut on the list — you'll recognize them by the star.
Below, the top 50, in order:
1. Alinea – Chicago, IL*
2. Chez Panisse – Berkeley, CA
3. The French Laundry/Per Se – Yountville, CA; New York, NY
4. Spago – Beverly Hills, CA
5. Joël Robuchon at the Mansion – Las Vegas, NV*
6. La Rêve – San Antonio, TX
7. Masa – New York, NY*
8. Alan Wong's Restaurant – Honolulu, HI
9. Daniel – New York, NY
10. Le Bernardin – New York, NY
11. Magnolia Grill – Durham, NC
12. Michel Richard Citronelle – Washington, D.C.
13. Charlie Trotter's – Chicago, IL
14. Arrows – Ogunquit, ME
15. Cyrus – Healdsburg, CA*
16. Striped Bass – Philadelphia, PA*
17. Babbo – New York, NY
18. Locke-Ober – Boston, MA*
19. Canlis – Seattle, WA
20. L'Auberge Carmel – Carmel, CA*
21. Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare – Las Vegas, NV*
22. Restaurant August – New Orleans, LA*
23. The Inn at Little Washington – Washington, VA
24. The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead – Atlanta, GA*
25. Vetri – Philadelphia, PA*
26. Fore Street – Portland, ME
27. Jean Georges – New York, NY
28. Higgins – Portland, OR*
29. Da Marco – Houston, TX*
30. La Belle Vie – Minneapolis, MN*
31. Parker's New American Bistro – Cleveland, OH
32. Michy's – Miami, FL*
33. Frasca – Boulder, CO*
34. Gramercy Tavern – New York, NY
35. Providence – Los Angeles, CA*
36. Restaurant Guy Savoy – Las Vegas, NV*
37. Zuni Café – San Francisco, CA
38. Urasawa – Beverly Hills, CA*
39. Bacchanalia – Atlata, GA*
40. Sanford – Milwaukee, WI
41. York Street – Dallas, TX*
42. Manresa – Los Gatos, CA*
43. No. 9 Park – Boston, MA*
44. Trattoria Nostrani – Santa Fe, NM*
45. Cafe Juanita – Kirkland, WA*
46. Paley's Place – Portland, OR*
47. Lantern Restaurant – Chapel Hill, NC*
48. L'Etoile – Madison, WI
49. Herbsaint – New Orleans, LA*
50. Nana – Dallas, TX*
— Gourmet, October 2006
Below, the top 50, in order:
1. Alinea – Chicago, IL*
2. Chez Panisse – Berkeley, CA
3. The French Laundry/Per Se – Yountville, CA; New York, NY
4. Spago – Beverly Hills, CA
5. Joël Robuchon at the Mansion – Las Vegas, NV*
6. La Rêve – San Antonio, TX
7. Masa – New York, NY*
8. Alan Wong's Restaurant – Honolulu, HI
9. Daniel – New York, NY
10. Le Bernardin – New York, NY
11. Magnolia Grill – Durham, NC
12. Michel Richard Citronelle – Washington, D.C.
13. Charlie Trotter's – Chicago, IL
14. Arrows – Ogunquit, ME
15. Cyrus – Healdsburg, CA*
16. Striped Bass – Philadelphia, PA*
17. Babbo – New York, NY
18. Locke-Ober – Boston, MA*
19. Canlis – Seattle, WA
20. L'Auberge Carmel – Carmel, CA*
21. Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare – Las Vegas, NV*
22. Restaurant August – New Orleans, LA*
23. The Inn at Little Washington – Washington, VA
24. The Dining Room in the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead – Atlanta, GA*
25. Vetri – Philadelphia, PA*
26. Fore Street – Portland, ME
27. Jean Georges – New York, NY
28. Higgins – Portland, OR*
29. Da Marco – Houston, TX*
30. La Belle Vie – Minneapolis, MN*
31. Parker's New American Bistro – Cleveland, OH
32. Michy's – Miami, FL*
33. Frasca – Boulder, CO*
34. Gramercy Tavern – New York, NY
35. Providence – Los Angeles, CA*
36. Restaurant Guy Savoy – Las Vegas, NV*
37. Zuni Café – San Francisco, CA
38. Urasawa – Beverly Hills, CA*
39. Bacchanalia – Atlata, GA*
40. Sanford – Milwaukee, WI
41. York Street – Dallas, TX*
42. Manresa – Los Gatos, CA*
43. No. 9 Park – Boston, MA*
44. Trattoria Nostrani – Santa Fe, NM*
45. Cafe Juanita – Kirkland, WA*
46. Paley's Place – Portland, OR*
47. Lantern Restaurant – Chapel Hill, NC*
48. L'Etoile – Madison, WI
49. Herbsaint – New Orleans, LA*
50. Nana – Dallas, TX*
— Gourmet, October 2006
Introduction to New York City, NY
The most beguiling city in the world, New York is an adrenaline-charged, history-laden place that holds immense romantic appeal for visitors. Wandering the streets here, you'll cut between buildings that are icons to the modern age – and whether gazing at the flickering lights of the midtown skyscrapers as you speed across the Queensboro bridge, experiencing the 4am half-life downtown, or just wasting the morning on the Staten Island ferry, you really would have to be made of stone not to be moved by it all. There's no place quite like it.
While the events of September 11, 2001, which demolished the World Trade Center, shook New York to its core, the populace responded resiliently under the composed aegis of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Until the attacks, many New Yorkers loved to hate Giuliani, partly because they saw him as committed to making their city too much like everyone else's. To some extent he succeeded, and during the late Nineties New York seemed cleaner, safer, and more liveable, as the city took on a truly international allure and shook off the more notorious aspects to its reputation. However, the maverick quality of New York and its people still shines as brightly as it ever did. Even in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's collapse, New York remains a unique and fascinating city – and one you'll want to return to again and again.
You could spend weeks in New York and still barely scratch the surface, but there are some key attractions – and some pleasures – that you won't want to miss. There are the different ethnic neighborhoods, like lower Manhattan's Chinatown and the traditionally Jewish Lower East Side (not so much anymore); and the more artsy concentrations of SoHo, TriBeCa, and the East and West Villages. Of course, there is the celebrated architecture of corporate Manhattan, with the skyscrapers in downtown and midtown forming the most indelible images. There are the museums, not just the Metropolitan and MoMA, but countless other smaller collections that afford weeks of happy wandering. In between sights, you can eat just about anything, at any time, cooked in any style; you can drink in any kind of company; and sit through any number of obscure movies. The more established arts – dance, theater, music – are superbly catered for; and New York's clubs are as varied and exciting as you might expect. And for the avid consumer, the choice of shops is vast, almost numbingly exhaustive in this heartland of the great capitalist dream
While the events of September 11, 2001, which demolished the World Trade Center, shook New York to its core, the populace responded resiliently under the composed aegis of then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Until the attacks, many New Yorkers loved to hate Giuliani, partly because they saw him as committed to making their city too much like everyone else's. To some extent he succeeded, and during the late Nineties New York seemed cleaner, safer, and more liveable, as the city took on a truly international allure and shook off the more notorious aspects to its reputation. However, the maverick quality of New York and its people still shines as brightly as it ever did. Even in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's collapse, New York remains a unique and fascinating city – and one you'll want to return to again and again.
You could spend weeks in New York and still barely scratch the surface, but there are some key attractions – and some pleasures – that you won't want to miss. There are the different ethnic neighborhoods, like lower Manhattan's Chinatown and the traditionally Jewish Lower East Side (not so much anymore); and the more artsy concentrations of SoHo, TriBeCa, and the East and West Villages. Of course, there is the celebrated architecture of corporate Manhattan, with the skyscrapers in downtown and midtown forming the most indelible images. There are the museums, not just the Metropolitan and MoMA, but countless other smaller collections that afford weeks of happy wandering. In between sights, you can eat just about anything, at any time, cooked in any style; you can drink in any kind of company; and sit through any number of obscure movies. The more established arts – dance, theater, music – are superbly catered for; and New York's clubs are as varied and exciting as you might expect. And for the avid consumer, the choice of shops is vast, almost numbingly exhaustive in this heartland of the great capitalist dream
Ad Track: Marketers bet on lucky 777; that's July 7, 2007
Hotels, casinos and even Wal-Mart Stores have seven-centric promotions for the seventh day of the seventh month of 2007.
Consumers love numerological lore, says consumer-behavior expert Michael Solomon, and that gives marketers an opportunity.
The number seven has significance in many religions (such as the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic faith). It also has more playful, longtime cultural and superstitious associations with all things lucky, including gambling.
"Casinos and lotteries should be big beneficiaries that day," says Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University. He also expects "this is your lucky day" sales by retailers.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: TV | Las Vegas | Venetian | Saks | Wedding Chapel | Laura Petrecca
Wal-Mart's take is a 777-themed contest promoting wedding wares. For its "Lucky in Love Wedding Search," Wal-Mart will give seven couples a July 7 wedding ceremony and reception valued at $5,000 in the garden and lawn area of their local Supercenter.
"The cost of a wedding these days is astronomical," says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk. The promotion "is a way for us to show the value of our products for a wedding — and how you can keep costs down."
Wal-Mart will set up a tent and serve buffet-style food, such as cheese, sandwich and veggie platters from its deli, as well as wedding cake from its bakery. Stationery company Gartner Studios partnered in the promotion, which had more than 400 entries, to provide invitations, decorations and favors, says head of business development Kathi Mishek.
Others seizing the day:
•Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
The Las Vegas hotel will host a huge group wedding at 7 p.m. that Saturday. The $1,777 package includes a buffet, an open bar and a KC and the Sunshine Band concert for the happy couple and two guests. "It became pretty clear to us that the date was special and we needed to try to take advantage of the demand," says Scott Voeller, the hotel's head of marketing. So far, more than 100 couples bought in, but Voeller hopes for more: "How fun would it be to get 777 couples?"
•Ritz-Carlton hotels.
The company's New York City Central Park location has a Lucky Number 7 July 7 wedding package with a reception for 77, a seven-tier wedding cake and a seven-night honeymoon at any Ritz in the world for $77,777. No takers yet.
The Ritz in Henderson, Nev., has a Seven Ways of Wonderment package for $7,707 that includes two nights on the seventh floor, seven hours of spa treatments and a $777 credit at Neiman Marcus.
It also has a Savory Sensations of Seven package, beginning at $777, with an overnight stay, a seven-course dinner and a 70-minute spa treatment for two. "We wanted to capitalize on the kitsch of this auspicious date," says spokeswoman Marina Nicola. It has had bookings for the $777 deal, but no $7,707 packages have sold yet.
•The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.
The Las Vegas hotel hosts about 20 weddings on a typical Saturday, but for July 7, says wedding services manager Darlene Wilson, "Seventy-seven weddings is our goal."
More than 50 couples have signed up for the $800 to $7,500 weddings. The Venetian is adding new ceremony sites and will extend hours at its existing venues.
"We've received such a high demand for 777 that we're already preparing for 888," Wilson says.
Ditto for Ritz. That date could be big for Las Vegas, which attracts many Asian visitors. Eight is strongly associated with prosperity in many cultures.
Both dates should be luckier for marketers than June 6, 2006: 666 is the "number of the beast" or anti-christ in the Bible's Book of Revelation. Says Nicola, "We didn't have any weddings" that day.
Ask the Ad Team
Q: Does someone own the famous ad phrase "As Seen On TV" or the familiar logo that has that phrase in a TV-shaped red box?
A:
The words and red logo are in the public domain. Anyone who wants to put it on a package or use it in their business, can without a fee or infringing on someone's trademark.
Hundreds of independent stores around the USA use the name or logo. They generally offer goods also sold via what's called "direct response TV" — ads and infomercials with "1-800" sales numbers.
Many websites also sell such merchandise, but the name AsSeenOnTV.com is owned by SeenOnTV of Rochester, N.Y. Daniel Fasano bought the domain name 10 years ago for $5 million. The site, which had sales of $5 million last year, offers 1,400 products from his firm and others. Not all actually have been "seen on TV." Among those that have: SeenOnTV's Pasta Pronta, a tubular pasta cooker, and Clever Clasp, a magnetic necklace clasp, made by Idea Village.
To Saks, with love:
A giant shoe floor opening in August at Manhattan's Saks Fifth Avenue will have a chocolate cafe, an on-site cobbler, a VIP room — and its own ZIP code, 10022-SHOE. Saks will use the custom ZIP code, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, in its marketing, spokeswoman Lesley Langsam Kennedy says.
But who'd actually correspond with a shoe department? "People write all the time," Kennedy says. "They send thank-you notes."
Even a caveman could watch:
Bud.TV
ABC's Caveman is based on the characters from the Geico ads.
Trade magazine TelevisionWeek has posted on its website teaser clips of many new fall TV shows, including ABC's Caveman, a series based on Geico's ad characters. Its clip shows the hairy humanoids debating the politically correct use of Cro-Magnon. See it at TVWeek.com.
Airing grievances:
Looking to draw attention to the dismal state of air travel, Virgin Atlantic posted oversize air-sickness bags in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Washington.
Copy on the 3-foot "barf bags" describes shoddy service (except on Virgin!) and states: "Flying shouldn't make you sick. Or tired. Or sick and tired. Unless you had a long night out at the pub."
City dwellers have a taste for the gag. "People are stealing the bags … and put them in their apartments. It's like art," says Jeff Steinhour, a partner at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which created the bags.
Rock on (not):
British shoemaker Dr. Martens booted Saatchi & Saatchi, London after an agency employee leaked on the Web unauthorized ads showing dead rock stars Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Sid Vicious and Joey Ramone wearing angel robes and Docs.
Consumers love numerological lore, says consumer-behavior expert Michael Solomon, and that gives marketers an opportunity.
The number seven has significance in many religions (such as the seven sacraments in the Roman Catholic faith). It also has more playful, longtime cultural and superstitious associations with all things lucky, including gambling.
"Casinos and lotteries should be big beneficiaries that day," says Ken Bernhardt, a marketing professor at Georgia State University. He also expects "this is your lucky day" sales by retailers.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: TV | Las Vegas | Venetian | Saks | Wedding Chapel | Laura Petrecca
Wal-Mart's take is a 777-themed contest promoting wedding wares. For its "Lucky in Love Wedding Search," Wal-Mart will give seven couples a July 7 wedding ceremony and reception valued at $5,000 in the garden and lawn area of their local Supercenter.
"The cost of a wedding these days is astronomical," says Wal-Mart spokeswoman Karen Burk. The promotion "is a way for us to show the value of our products for a wedding — and how you can keep costs down."
Wal-Mart will set up a tent and serve buffet-style food, such as cheese, sandwich and veggie platters from its deli, as well as wedding cake from its bakery. Stationery company Gartner Studios partnered in the promotion, which had more than 400 entries, to provide invitations, decorations and favors, says head of business development Kathi Mishek.
Others seizing the day:
•Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
The Las Vegas hotel will host a huge group wedding at 7 p.m. that Saturday. The $1,777 package includes a buffet, an open bar and a KC and the Sunshine Band concert for the happy couple and two guests. "It became pretty clear to us that the date was special and we needed to try to take advantage of the demand," says Scott Voeller, the hotel's head of marketing. So far, more than 100 couples bought in, but Voeller hopes for more: "How fun would it be to get 777 couples?"
•Ritz-Carlton hotels.
The company's New York City Central Park location has a Lucky Number 7 July 7 wedding package with a reception for 77, a seven-tier wedding cake and a seven-night honeymoon at any Ritz in the world for $77,777. No takers yet.
The Ritz in Henderson, Nev., has a Seven Ways of Wonderment package for $7,707 that includes two nights on the seventh floor, seven hours of spa treatments and a $777 credit at Neiman Marcus.
It also has a Savory Sensations of Seven package, beginning at $777, with an overnight stay, a seven-course dinner and a 70-minute spa treatment for two. "We wanted to capitalize on the kitsch of this auspicious date," says spokeswoman Marina Nicola. It has had bookings for the $777 deal, but no $7,707 packages have sold yet.
•The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.
The Las Vegas hotel hosts about 20 weddings on a typical Saturday, but for July 7, says wedding services manager Darlene Wilson, "Seventy-seven weddings is our goal."
More than 50 couples have signed up for the $800 to $7,500 weddings. The Venetian is adding new ceremony sites and will extend hours at its existing venues.
"We've received such a high demand for 777 that we're already preparing for 888," Wilson says.
Ditto for Ritz. That date could be big for Las Vegas, which attracts many Asian visitors. Eight is strongly associated with prosperity in many cultures.
Both dates should be luckier for marketers than June 6, 2006: 666 is the "number of the beast" or anti-christ in the Bible's Book of Revelation. Says Nicola, "We didn't have any weddings" that day.
Ask the Ad Team
Q: Does someone own the famous ad phrase "As Seen On TV" or the familiar logo that has that phrase in a TV-shaped red box?
A:
The words and red logo are in the public domain. Anyone who wants to put it on a package or use it in their business, can without a fee or infringing on someone's trademark.
Hundreds of independent stores around the USA use the name or logo. They generally offer goods also sold via what's called "direct response TV" — ads and infomercials with "1-800" sales numbers.
Many websites also sell such merchandise, but the name AsSeenOnTV.com is owned by SeenOnTV of Rochester, N.Y. Daniel Fasano bought the domain name 10 years ago for $5 million. The site, which had sales of $5 million last year, offers 1,400 products from his firm and others. Not all actually have been "seen on TV." Among those that have: SeenOnTV's Pasta Pronta, a tubular pasta cooker, and Clever Clasp, a magnetic necklace clasp, made by Idea Village.
To Saks, with love:
A giant shoe floor opening in August at Manhattan's Saks Fifth Avenue will have a chocolate cafe, an on-site cobbler, a VIP room — and its own ZIP code, 10022-SHOE. Saks will use the custom ZIP code, courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service, in its marketing, spokeswoman Lesley Langsam Kennedy says.
But who'd actually correspond with a shoe department? "People write all the time," Kennedy says. "They send thank-you notes."
Even a caveman could watch:
Bud.TV
ABC's Caveman is based on the characters from the Geico ads.
Trade magazine TelevisionWeek has posted on its website teaser clips of many new fall TV shows, including ABC's Caveman, a series based on Geico's ad characters. Its clip shows the hairy humanoids debating the politically correct use of Cro-Magnon. See it at TVWeek.com.
Airing grievances:
Looking to draw attention to the dismal state of air travel, Virgin Atlantic posted oversize air-sickness bags in New York, San Francisco, Boston and Washington.
Copy on the 3-foot "barf bags" describes shoddy service (except on Virgin!) and states: "Flying shouldn't make you sick. Or tired. Or sick and tired. Unless you had a long night out at the pub."
City dwellers have a taste for the gag. "People are stealing the bags … and put them in their apartments. It's like art," says Jeff Steinhour, a partner at ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which created the bags.
Rock on (not):
British shoemaker Dr. Martens booted Saatchi & Saatchi, London after an agency employee leaked on the Web unauthorized ads showing dead rock stars Kurt Cobain, Joe Strummer, Sid Vicious and Joey Ramone wearing angel robes and Docs.
Shanghai
The two Chinese characters in the name "Shanghai" (see left) literally mean "on"/"top" and "sea". The local Shanghainese pronunciation of Shanghai is /zɑ̃.'he/, while the Standard Mandarin pronunciation in Hanyu Pinyin is Shànghǎi. The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the Song Dynasty (11th century), at which time there was already a river confluence and a town with this name in the area. There are disputes as to how the name should be interpreted, but official local histories have consistently said that it means "the upper reaches of the sea" (海之上洋). However, another reading, especially in Mandarin, also suggests the sense of "go onto the sea," which is consistent with the seaport status of the city. The more poetic name for Shanghai switches the order of the two characters, i.e., Haishang (海上), and is often used for terms related to Shanghainese art and culture. In the West, Shanghai has also been spelled Schanghai (in German), Sjanghai (in Dutch), Xangai (in Portuguese) and Changhaï (in French), but since the 1990s the Hanyu Pinyin spelling of "Shanghai" has become universal in the West. In Japanese, Shanghai is written using the same two Chinese characters (上海), and the Japanese pronunciation Shanhai (シャンハイ) is an approximation of the Mandarin pronunciation.
Shanghai's abbreviations in Chinese are Hù (沪) and Shēn (申). The former is derived from the ancient name Hu Du (沪渎) of the river now known as Suzhou Creek. The latter is derived from the name of Chunshen Jun (春申君), a nobleman of the Chu Kingdom (楚国) in the 3rd century B.C. whose territory included the Shanghai area and has locally been revered as a hero. Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use the character Shēn (申) in their names. Shanghai is also commonly called Shēnchéng (申城, "City of Shēn").
The city has had various nicknames in English, including "Paris of the East", "Queen of the Orient", and even "The Whore of Asia", a reference to the widespread corruption, vice, drugs, and prostitution in the 1920s and 1930s.
History
Main article: History of Shanghai
[edit] Pre-nineteenth century
Before the formation of Shanghai city, Shanghai was part of Songjiang county (松江縣), governed by Suzhou prefecture (蘇州府). From the time of the Song Dynasty (AD 960-1279), Shanghai gradually became a busy seaport, outgrowing its original political jurisdictions. For instance, Songjiang (淞江) today is one of 18 districts within Shanghai.
German map of Shanghai from 1888A city wall was built in AD 1553, which is generally accepted as the start of the city of Shanghai. However, before the nineteenth century, Shanghai was not considered a major city of China. Therefore, compared to most other major Chinese cities today, there are few ancient Chinese landmarks to be found in the city. The few cultural landmarks to be found are very ancient and typically date to the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. This is mostly due to the fact that present-day Shanghai is within the historic cultural center of the Wu Kingdom (AD 222-280).
During the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty, Shanghai became an important regional port for the Yangtze and Huangpu rivers. It also became a major seaport for the nearby Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, although overseas commerce was still forbidden at that time. A historically important area of this era is Wujiaochang (五角场) (now in the Yangpu District), the foundation of the city center. Around the end of the Qianlong era, Shiliupu (十六铺) (now in the Huangpu District) became the largest port in East Asia.
Nineteenth to early twentieth century
The importance of Shanghai grew radically in the nineteenth century, as the city's strategic position at the mouth of the Yangtze River made it an ideal location for trade with the West.
During the First Opium War in the early nineteenth century, British forces temporarily held Shanghai. The war ended with the 1842 Treaty of Nanjing, which saw the treaty ports, Shanghai included, opened for international trade. The Treaty of the Bogue signed in 1843, and the Sino-American Treaty of Wangsia signed in 1844 together saw foreign nations achieve extraterritoriality on Chinese soil, which officially lasted until 1943 but was essentially defunct by the late 1930s. From the twenties to the late 30s Shanghai was a so-called 'sin city'. Gangsters wielded a great deal of power and ran casinos and brothels.
The Taiping Rebellion broke out in 1850, and in 1853 Shanghai was occupied by a triad offshoot of the rebels, called the Small Swords Society. The fighting destroyed the countryside but left the foreigners' settlements untouched, and Chinese arrived seeking refuge. Although previously Chinese were forbidden to live in foreign settlements, 1854 saw new regulations drawn up making land available to Chinese. Land prices rose substantially.
Jiujiang Road, Shanghai, 1920s1854 also saw the first annual meeting of the Shanghai Municipal Council, created in order to manage the foreign settlements. In 1863, the British settlement, located along the western bank of the Huangpu river to the south of Suzhou creek (Huangpu district), and American settlement, located on the western bank of the Huangpu river and to the north of Suzhou creek (Hankou district) joined in order to form the International Settlement. The French opted out of the Shanghai Municipal Council, and instead maintained its own French Concession, located to the west of the International Settlement. This period saw a large influx of migrants from Europe and North America, who called themselves "Shanghighlanders".
The Sino-Japanese War fought 1894-95 over control of Korea concluded with the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which saw Japan emerge as an additional foreign power in Shanghai. Japan built the first factories in Shanghai, which were soon copied by other foreign powers to effect the emergence of Shanghai industry. Shanghai was then the biggest financial city in the Far East. Under the Republic of China, Shanghai was made a special city in 1927, and a municipality in May 1930. The Japanese Navy bombed Shanghai on January 28, 1932, nominally in an effort to crush down Chinese student protests of the Manchurian Incident and the subsequent Japanese occupation. The Chinese fought back in what was known as the January 28 Incident. The two sides fought to a standstill and a ceasefire was brokered in May. In the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city fell after the Battle of Shanghai in 1937, and was occupied until Japan's surrender in 1945. The International Settlement was occupied on 8 December 1941 with opposition from only the one remaining British gunboat stationed in the port and some Chinese irregulars.
During World War II
Shanghai had been a center for refugees as early as 1919 when large numbers of White Russians fleeing revolution and civil war took up residence there. Russians comprised the second largest foreign community in Shanghai (after the Japanese) and played an important role in the economy and policing of the International Settlement until the end of World War II.
During World War II, Shanghai became again a center for refugees from Europe. It was the only city in the world that was open unconditionally to the Jews at the time. As a result, approximately 32,000 Jews, who like the other foreign communities termed themselves "Shanghailanders," settled in the Chinese city. However, under pressure from their Nazi allies, the Japanese ghettoised the Jewish refugees in late 1941 in what came to be known as the Shanghai ghetto, and hunger and infectious diseases such as amoebic dysentery became rife. Nevertheless, the Japanese government refused Nazi requests to deport the Jewish population.
The Canidrome was once a ballroom/racetrack exclusive to Europeans in the 1930s. It became a slaughterhouse after the communist party marched into Shanghai.
Communist rule
On May 27, 1949, Communist Party of China controlled People's Liberation Army took control of Shanghai. It was one of the only two former Republic of China (ROC) municipalities not merged into neighbouring provinces over the next decade (the other being Beijing). It underwent a series of changes in the boundaries of its subdivisions, especially in the next decade.
In 1949, most foreign firms moved their offices from Shanghai to Hong Kong. Specifically North Point is where the largest concentration of emigrants would be found. One of the first actions taken by the communist party was to cleanup the portion of the population that were considered counter-revolutionaries. Mass executions took place with thousands slaughtered in the hands of the communist party. Places such as the Canidrome would transform from a greyhound racetrack/ballroom to a mass execution facilities[2][3].
During the 1950s and 1960s, Shanghai became an industrial center and center for revolutionary leftism. Yet, even during the most tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution, Shanghai was able to maintain high economic productivity and relative social stability. In most of the history of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Shanghai has been the largest contributor of tax revenue to the central government compared with other Chinese provinces and municipalities. This came at the cost of severely crippling Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development. Its importance to China's fiscal well-being also denied it economic liberalizations that were started in the far southern provinces such as Guangdong during the mid-1980s. At that time Guangdong province paid nearly no taxes to the central government, and thus was perceived as fiscally expendable for experimental economic reforms. Shanghai was not permitted to initiate economic reforms until 1991.
Political power in Shanghai has traditionally been seen as a stepping stone to higher positions within the PRC central government. In the 1990s, there was what was often described as the politically right-of-center "Shanghai clique," which included the president of the PRC Jiang Zemin and the premier of the PRC Zhu Rongji. Starting in 1992, the central government under Jiang Zemin, a former Mayor of Shanghai, began reducing the tax burden on Shanghai and encouraging both foreign and domestic investment in order to promote it as the economic hub of East Asia and to encourage its role as gateway of investment to the Chinese interior. Since then it has experienced continuous economic growth of between 9–15%.
Politics and Administration
Politics
Main article: Politics of Shanghai
Shanghai municipal government building.Shanghai has been a political hub of China for many years. Many of China's top government officials in Beijing are known to have risen in Shanghai in the 1980s on a platform that was critical of the extreme leftism of the Cultural Revolution, giving them the tag "Shanghai Clique" during the 1990s. Many observers of Chinese politics view the more right-leaning Shanghai Clique as an opposing and competing faction of the current Chinese administration under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. Shanghai's top jobs, the Party Chief and the position of Mayor, have always been prominent on a national scale. Four Shanghai mayors eventually went on to take prominent Central Government positions, including former President Jiang Zemin and former Premier Zhu Rongji. The top administrative jobs are always appointed directly by the Central Government.
The current Shanghai government under Mayor Han Zheng has openly advocated transparency in the city's government. However, in previous years a complicated system of relationships between Shanghai's government, banks, and other civil institutions has been under scrutiny for corruption, motivated by faction politics in Beijing; these allegations from Beijing did not go anywhere until late 2006. Since Jiang's departure from office there has been a significant amount of clash between the local government in Shanghai and the Central People's Government, an evolving example of de facto Chinese federalism. The Shanghai government looks after almost all of the city's economic interests without interference from Beijing.
By 2006, Shanghai's actual level of autonomy has arguably surpassed that of any autonomous regions, raising alarm bells in Beijing. In September 2006, the Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Chen Liangyu, Shanghainese in origin and often clashing with central government officials, along with a number of his followers, were removed from their positions after a probe into the city's pension fund. Over a hundred investigators, sent by the Central Government, reportedly uncovered clues of money diversion from the city's pension fund to unapproved loans and investments. Chen's abrupt removal is viewed by many Chinese as a political manoeuvre by President Hu Jintao to further secure his power in the country, and retain administrative centralism. In March 2007 the central government appointed Xi Jinping, who is not a Shanghai native, to become the Party Secretary, the most powerful office in the city
Beijing
Names
Beijing (北京) literally means "Northern capital", in line with the common East Asian tradition whereby capital cities are explicitly named as such. Other cities similarly named include Nanjing (南京), China, meaning "southern capital"; Tokyo (東京), Japan, and Đông Kinh (東京, known to Europeans as Tonkin; now Hanoi), Vietnam, both meaning "eastern capital"; as well as Kyoto (京都), Japan, and Gyeongseong (京城; now Seoul), Korea, both meaning simply "capital".
Peking is the name of the city according to Chinese Postal Map Romanization, and the traditional customary name for Beijing in English. The term originated with French missionaries four hundred years ago and corresponds to an older pronunciation predating a subsequent sound change in Mandarin from [kʲ] to [tɕ][citation needed]. ([tɕ] is represented in pinyin as j, as in Beijing), and is still used in some languages (for example, the Portuguese name is Pequim).
In China, the city has had many names. Between 1368 and 1405, and again from 1928 [1] and 1949, it was known as Beiping (北平; Pinyin: Beiping; Wade-Giles: Pei-p'ing), literally "Northern Peace". On both occasions, the name changed — with the removal of the element meaning "capital" (jing or king, 京) — to reflect the fact the national capital had changed to Nanjing, the first time under the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the second time with the Kuomintang (KMT) government of the Republic of China, so that Peking was no longer the capital of China.
The Communist Party of China reverted the name to Beijing (Peking) in 1949 again in part to emphasize that Beijing had returned to its role as China's capital. The government of the Republic of China on Taiwan has never formally recognized the name change, and during the 1950s and 1960s it was common in Taiwan for Beijing to be called Beiping to imply the illegitimacy of the PRC. Today, almost all of Taiwan, including the ROC government, uses Beijing, although some maps of China from Taiwan still use the old name along with pre-1949 political boundaries.
Yanjing (燕京; Pinyin: Yānjīng; Wade-Giles: Yen-ching) is and has been another popular informal name for Beijing, a reference to the ancient State of Yan that existed here during the Zhou Dynasty. This name is reflected in the locally-brewed Yanjing Beer as well as Yenching University, an institution of higher learning that was merged into Peking University. During the Yuan Dynasty, Beijing was known as Khanbaliq which is the Cambuluc described in Marco Polo's accounts.
(The history section below outlines other historical names of Beijing.)
[edit] History
Remains of Beijing city wall, 2006Main article: History of Beijing
There were cities in the vicinities of Beijing by the 1st millennium BC, and the capital of the State of Yan, one of the powers of the Warring States Period (473-221 BC), Ji (薊/蓟), was established in present-day Beijing.
After the fall of the Yan, the subsequent Qin, Han, and Jin dynasties set-up local prefectures in the area. In Tang Dynasty it became the headquarter for Fanyang jiedushi, the virtual military governor of current northern Hebei area. An Lushan launched An Shi Rebellion from here in 755. This rebellion is often regarded as a turning point of Tang dynasty, as the central government began to lose the control of the whole country.
In 936, the Later Jin Dynasty (936-947) of northern China ceded a large part of its northern frontier, including modern Beijing, to the Khitan Liao Dynasty. In 938, the Liao Dynasty set up a secondary capital in what is now Beijing, and called it Nanjing (the "Southern Capital"). In 1125, the Jurchen Jin Dynasty annexed Liao, and in 1153 moved its capital to Liao's Nanjing, calling it Zhongdu (中都), "the central capital." Zhongdu was situated in what is now the area centred around Tianningsi, slightly to the southwest of central Beijing.
Mongol forces burned Zhongdu to the ground in 1215 and rebuilt it to the north of the Jin capital in 1267. In preparation for the conquest of all of China, Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty founder Kublai Khan made this his capital as Dadu (大都, Chinese for "grand capital"), Daidu to the Mongols or Khanbaliq (Turkic language for "City of the Khans")[1]. This site is known as Cambuluc in Marco Polo's accounts. Apparently, Kublai Khan, who wanted to become a Chinese emperor, established his capital at this location instead of more traditional sites in central China because it was closer to his power base in Mongolia. The decision of the Khan greatly enhanced the status of a city that had been situated on the northern fringe of China proper. Dadu was situated north of modern central Beijing. It centred on what is now the northern stretch of the 2nd Ring Road, and stretched northwards to between the 3rd and 4th Ring Roads. There are remnants of Mongol-era wall still standing.
After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty in 1368, the city was later rebuilt by the Ming Dynasty and Shuntian (順天) prefecture was established in the area around the city. In 1403, the third Ming Emperor Yongle moved the Ming capital from Nanjing (Nanking) to the renamed Beijing (Peking) (北京), the "northern capital", situated in the north. The capital was also known as Jingshi 京師, simply meaning capital. During the Ming Dynasty, Beijing took its current shape, and the Ming-era city wall served as the Beijing city wall until modern times, when it was pulled down and the 2nd Ring Road was built in its place.
It is believed that Beijing was the largest city in the world from 1425 to 1650 and from 1710 to 1825 [2].
The Forbidden City, home to the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Panorama view of the Forbidden City, home to the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.The Forbidden City was constructed soon after that (1406-1420), followed by the Temple of Heaven (1420), and numerous other construction projects. Tiananmen, which has become a state symbol of the People's Republic of China and is featured on its emblem, was burned down twice during the Ming Dynasty and the final reconstruction was carried out in 1651.
After the Manchus overthrew the Ming Dynasty and established the Qing Dynasty in its place, Beijing remained China's capital throughout the Qing period. Just like during the preceding dynasty, Beijing was also known as Jingshi, which corresponded to the Manchu Gemun Hecen with the same meaning. It was the scene of the siege of the foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
The Xinhai Revolution of 1911, aimed at replacing Qing rule with a republic, originally intended to establish its capital at Nanjing. After high-ranking Qing official Yuan Shikai forced the abdication of the Qing emperor in Beijing and ensured the success of the revolution, the revolutionaries in Nanjing accepted that Yuan should be the president of the new Republic of China, and that the capital should remain at Beijing.
Yuan gradually consolidated power, culminating in his declaration of a Chinese Empire in late 1915 with himself as emperor. The move was highly unpopular, and Yuan himself died less than a year later, ending his brief reign. China then fell under the control of regional warlords, and the most powerful factions fought frequent wars (the Zhili-Anhui War, the First Zhili-Fengtian War, and the Second Zhili-Fengtian War) to take control of the capital at Beijing.
Tiananmen Square as seen from the Tian'an Gate
Following the success of the Kuomintang's Northern Expedition which pacified the warlords of the north, Nanjing was officially made the capital of the Republic of China in 1928, and Beijing was renamed Beiping (Peip'ing) (北平), "northern peace" or "north pacified", to emphasize that the warlord government in Beijing was not legitimate.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Beiping fell to Japan on 29 July 1937. During the occupation, the city was reverted to its former name, Beijing, and made the seat of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state that ruled the ethnic Chinese portions of Japanese-occupied North China. It was later merged into the larger Wang Jingwei Government based in Nanjing. With Japan's surrender in World War II, on 15 August 1945, however, Beijing's name was changed back to Beiping.
On January 31, 1949, during the Chinese Civil War, Communist forces entered Beijing without a fight. On October 1 of the same year, the Communist Party of China, under the leadership of Mao Zedong, announced in Tiananmen the creation of the People's Republic of China in Beijing. Just a few days earlier, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference had decided that Beiping would be the capital of the new government, and that its name would be changed back to Beijing.
At the time of the founding of the People's Republic, Beijing Municipality consisted of just its urban area and immediate suburbs. The urban area was divided into many small districts inside what is now the 2nd Ring Road. Since then several surrounding counties have been incorporated into the Municipality, enlarging the limits of Beijing Municipality by many times and giving it its present shape. The Beijing city wall was torn down between 1965 and 1969 to make way for the construction of the 2nd Ring Road.
Beijing's Tiananmen SquareFollowing the economic reforms of Deng Xiaoping, the urban area of Beijing has expanded greatly. Formerly within the confines of the 2nd Ring Road and the 3rd Ring Road, the urban area of Beijing is now pushing at the limits of the recently-constructed 5th Ring Road and 6th Ring Road (under construction), with many areas that were formerly farmland now developed residential or commercial neighborhoods. A new commercial area has developed in the Guomao area, Wangfujing and Xidan have developed into flourishing shopping districts, while Zhongguancun has become a major center of electronics in China.
In recent years, the expansion of Beijing has also brought to the forefront some problems of urbanization, such as heavy traffic, poor air quality, the loss of historic neighborhoods, and significant influx of migrants from poorer regions of the country, especially rural areas.
Early 2005 saw the approval by government of a plan to finally stop the sprawling development of Beijing in all directions. Development of the Chinese capital would now proceed in two semicircular bands just outside of the city centre (both west and east) instead of being in concentric rings.
Beijing has been chosen to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, an event that has sparked nationalistic pride across China.
[edit] Geography and climate
Main article: Geography of Beijing
A simulated-color image of Beijing, taken by NASA's Landsat 7.Beijing is situated at the northern tip of the roughly triangular North China Plain which opens to the south and east of the city. Mountains to the north, northwest and west shield the city and northern China's agricultural heartland from the encroaching desert steppes. The northwestern part of the municipality, especially Yanqing County and Huairou District, are dominated by the Jundu Mountains, while the western part of the municipality is framed by the Xishan Mountains. The Great Wall of China, which stretches across the northern part of Beijing Municipality, made use of this rugged topography to defend against nomadic incursions from the steppes. Mount Dongling in the Xishan ranges and on the border with Hebei is the municipality's highest point, with an altitude of 2303 m. Major rivers flowing through the municipality include the Yongding River and the Chaobai River, part of the Hai River system, and flowing in a southerly direction. Beijing is also the northern terminus of the Grand Canal of China which was built across the North China Plain to Hangzhou. Miyun Reservoir, built on the upper reaches of the Chaobai River, is Beijing's largest reservoir, and crucial to its water supply.
The urban area of Beijing, located at 39°54′20″N, 116°23′29″E (39.9056, 116.3914), is situated in the south-central part of the municipality and occupies a small but expanding part of the municipality's area. It spreads out in bands of concentric ring roads, of which the fifth and outermost (the Sixth Ring Road; the numbering starts at 2) passes through several satellite towns. Tian'anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace) and Tian'anmen Square are at the centre of Beijing, and are directly to the south of the Forbidden City, former residence of the emperors of China. To the west of Tian'anmen is Zhongnanhai, residence of the paramount leaders of the People's Republic of China. Running through central Beijing from east to west is Chang'an Avenue, one of Beijing's main thoroughfares.
The city's climate is a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dwa), characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and harshly cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C (19 to 24 °F), while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C (77 to 79 °F). Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer. [3]
Great Wall of China
The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the Spring and Autumn Period, which began around the 8th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames.
Qin Shi Huang conquered all opposing states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty. Intending to impose centralized rule and prevent the resurgence of feudal lords, he ordered the destruction of the wall sections that divided his empire along the former state borders. To protect the empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu people from the north, he ordered the building of a new wall to connect the remaining fortifications along the empire's new northern frontier. Transporting the large quantity of materials required for construction was difficult, so builders always tried to use local resources. Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. There are no surviving historical records indicating the exact length and course of the Qin Dynasty walls. Most of the ancient walls have eroded away over the centuries, and very few sections remain today. Later, the Han, Sui, Northern and Jin dynasties all repaired, rebuilt, or expanded sections of the Great Wall at great cost to defend themselves against northern invaders.
The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army's defeat by the Mongols in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Mongols after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the Mongols out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. Acknowledging the Mongol control established in the Ordos Desert, the wall followed the desert's southern edge instead of incorporating the bend of the Huang He.
Unlike the earlier Qin fortifications, the Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strengthened.
Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Under the military command of Yuan Chonghuan, the Ming army held off the Manchus at the heavily fortified Shanhai Pass, preventing the Manchus from entering the Liaodong Peninsula and the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates of Shanhai Pass were opened by Wu Sangui, a rebel Ming border general. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and defeated the remaining Ming resistance, to establish the Qing Dynasty.
Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls, and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so construction and repairs on the Great Wall were discontinued.
Notable areas
A remote western section of the Great Wall, Jiayuguan Pass, GansuThe following three sections are in Beijing municipality, which were renovated and which are regularly visited by modern tourists:
• The “North Pass” of Juyongguan pass, known as the Badaling. When used by the Chinese to protect their land, this section of the wall has had many guards to defend China’s capital, Beijing. Made of stone and bricks from the hills, this portion of the Great Wall is 7.8 meters high and 5 meters wide.
• One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes. It runs 11 kilometers long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters in height, and 6 meters across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters across the top. Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers, 980 meters above sea level.
• South East of Jinshanling, is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for approximately 2.25 kilometers (about 1.3 miles). It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east.
Another notable section lies near the eastern extremity of the wall, where the first pass of the Great Wall was built on the Shanhaiguan (known as the “Number One Pass Under Heaven”), the first mountain the Great Wall climbs. Jia Shan is also here, as is the Jiumenkou, which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. Shanhaiguan Great Wall is called the “Museum of the Construction of the Great Wall”, because of the Meng Jiang-Nu Temple, built during the Song Dynasty.
Characteristics
Before the use of bricks, the Great Wall was mainly built from earth, stones, and wood.
During the Ming Dynasty, however, bricks were heavily used in many areas of the wall, as were materials such as tiles, lime, and stone. The size and weight of the bricks made them easier to work with than earth and stone, so construction quickened. Additionally, bricks could bear more weight and endure better than rammed earth. Stone can hold under its own weight better than brick, but is more difficult to use. Consequently, stones cut in rectangular shapes were used for the foundation, inner and outer brims, and gateways of the wall. Battlements line the uppermost portion of the vast majority of the wall, with defensive gaps a little over 30 cm (a foot) tall, and about 23 cm (9 inches) wide.
The steps that form the Great Wall of China are very steep and tall in some areas. Tourists often become exhausted climbing the wall and walk no more than a kilometre or two (around a mile).
Condition
The Great Wall at Mutianyu, near BeijingWhile some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even reconstructed, in many locations the Wall is in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads.[2] Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction. No comprehensive survey of the wall has been carried out, so it is not possible to say how much of it survives, especially in remote areas. Intact or repaired portions of the Wall near developed tourist areas are often frequented by sellers of tourist kitsch.
Watchtowers and barracks
WatchtowerThe wall also has watch towers at regular intervals, which were used to store weapons, house troops, and send smoke signals. Barracks and administrative centers are located at larger intervals.
Communication between the army units along the length of the Great Wall, including the ability to call reinforcements and warn garrisons of enemy movements, was of high importance. Signal towers were built upon hill tops or other high points along the wall for their visibility.
Recognition
The Wall was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Mao Zedong had a saying, "You're not a real man if you haven't climbed the Great Wall". (Traditional Chinese: 不到長城非好漢; Simplified Chinese: 不到长城非好汉; Pinyin: Bú dào Chángchéng fēi hǎo hàn) Originally this saying was used to bolster his revolution in trekking north. But over time the saying has been reduced to a promotional slogan for the Great Wall of China. In Badaling (north of Beijing) the 'real man stone' can be found with the saying engraved on it.
Visibility
Visibility from the moon
The Great Wall of China as seen in a false-color radar image from the Space Shuttle, taken in April 1994Ripley's Believe It or Not! cartoon from May 1932 makes the claim that the wall is "the mightiest work of man, the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the moon" and Richard Halliburton's 1938 book Second Book of Marvels makes a similar claim. This belief has persisted, assuming urban legend status, sometimes even entering school textbooks. Arthur Waldron, author of the most authoritative history of the Great Wall, has speculated that the belief might go back to the fascination with the "canals" once believed to exist on Mars. (The logic was simple: If people on Earth can see the Martians' canals, the Martians might be able to see the Great Wall.)
The Great Wall is a maximum 30 feet wide and is about the same color as the soil surrounding it. Based on the optics of resolving power (distance versus the width of the iris: a few millimetres for the human eye, metres for large telescopes) an object of reasonable contrast to its surroundings some four thousand miles in diameter (such as the Australian land mass) would be visible to the unaided eye from the moon (average distance from earth 238,857 miles). But the Great Wall is of course not a disc but more like a thread, and a thread a foot long would not be visible from a hundred yards away, even though a human head is. Not surprisingly, no lunar astronaut has ever claimed he could see the Great Wall from the moon.
Visibility from near earth orbit
A different question is whether it is visible form near-Earth orbit, i.e at an altitude of less than 500 km (0.1% of the distance of the moon). The consensus here is that it is barely visible, and only under nearly perfect conditions; it is no more conspicuous than many other manmade objects.
Astronaut William Pogue thought he had seen it from Skylab but discovered he was actually looking at the Grand Canal of China near Beijing. He spotted the Great Wall with binoculars, but said that "it wasn't visible to the unaided eye." US Senator Jake Garn claimed to be able to see the Great Wall with the naked eye from a space shuttle orbit in the early 1980s, but his claim has been disputed by several US astronauts. Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei said he could not see it at all.
Veteran US astronaut Gene Cernan has stated: "At Earth orbit of 160 km to 320 km high, the Great Wall of China is, indeed, visible to the naked eye." Ed Lu, Expedition 7 Science Officer aboard the International Space Station, adds that, "it's less visible than a lot of other objects. And you have to know where to look."
Neil Armstrong stated about the view from Apollo 11: "I do not believe that, at least with my eyes, there would be any man-made object that I could see. I have not yet found somebody who has told me they've seen the Wall of China from Earth orbit. ... I've asked various people, particularly Shuttle guys, that have been many orbits around China in the daytime, and the ones I've talked to didn't see it." [1]
Monday, May 28, 2007
China and the Olympics
there is a difference this time. With the Olympic Games only a little more than a year away in August 2008, Chinese leaders are offering a few reforms—judicial review of death sentences and a relaxing of restrictions on foreign journalists. But according to AI, these improvements are not all that they might seem, and are overshadowed by the expression of even more intolerance towards political and religious dissent, and the attorneys who defend the dissenters. Controls on domestic journalism and the Internet are also tightening up.
Moreover, in its latest assessment of China's progress towards making human rights improvements which were promised for hosting the 2008 Olympics, AI found that the Olympics is acting as a catalyst to extend the use of house arrests of activists and detentions without trial, at least in Beijing, thereby restricting their personal freedom, while at the same time the communist regime avoids the appearance of formally imprisoning them.
Amnesty International Rebuts the Chinese Regime
When Beijing was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in July 2001, China agreed to make progress in its human rights standing. The Olympic Charter states, "…Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles."
In September 2006, AI expressed its disappointment in a report to Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), regarding the poor progress China is making with respect to human rights. The regime ignored the detailed AI report and when asked about it at a news conference, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Qin Gang, accused AI of being "biased against China" and of "politicizing" the Olympic Games.
Amnesty International responded first of all that it has no political agenda and that its sole reason for existence is for the sake of human rights in China and elsewhere in the world. AI said that when Beijing was awarded the Olympics, Chinese officials themselves repeatedly linked the hosting by Beijing with human rights. The IOC says it relies on international human rights organizations like AI to monitor and report on human rights developments, according to AI. In other words, AI has a legitimate role to play here which Chinese officials tacitly acknowledged upon being selected in 2001.
"The concerns which Amnesty International is [sic] raising in the run-up to the Olympic Games are human rights issues which have a direct link with preparations for the Olympics in Beijing or with core principles in the Olympic Charter," says an AI report (Sept. 30, 2006).
"The IOC cannot want an Olympics that is tainted with human rights abuses – whether families forcibly evicted from their homes to make way for sports arenas or growing numbers of peaceful activists held under 'house arrest' to stop them drawing attention to human rights issues," said Catherine Baker, Deputy Asia Pacific Director at AI.
The IOC has sent mixed messages as to how serious they are in enforcing an agreement that China would have to improve its human rights record to be host of the 2008 Games, according to AI. The human rights organization recognizes the considerable leverage that the IOC has on the Chinese rulers and urges the IOC to raise the human rights concerns publicly, if necessary, as the Olympics approach.
On another front, China has been criticized by the Bush administration for not doing enough to pressure the Sudanese government in accepting the UN plan to station 20,000 soldiers and police in the Darfur region to protect the population. The Washington Post reported on May 19 that a letter was sent to the Chinese regime, signed by 108 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, which the Post summarized, "Beijing Olympics could be endangered if China did not change its policies in Sudan." China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said on May 18 that it was contrary to the "Olympic spirit" to link the Beijing Olympics with Chinese policy in Darfur, says the Post.
China's New Strategy on Activism
More tolerance for a few dissidents is used to mask the persecution of many others who try to report or campaign more widely on human rights violations. For example, two veteran dissidents who were active in the 1989 pro-democracy movement were allowed to travel to Hong Kong for the first time. Meanwhile, however, "many more activists face intimidation, arbitrary detention and intrusive surveillance of family members," says AI.
An example of the latter is Ye Guozhu, who is serving a 4-year prison sentence for organizing a demonstration against forced evictions in Beijing. He was reportedly beaten at the end of 2006 with electro-shock batons at Chaobai prison in Beijing.
Another example cited is defense attorney Gao Zhisheng, who is being held by police "as a prisoner in his own home." Gao has not been allowed to practice law after he published an open letter to Hu Jintao (the head of the Chinese communist regime), calling for religious freedom, the rule of law, and an end to the "barbaric" persecution of the Falun Gong. When recently held in police custody, Gao told AI that he was treated harshly, which included being handcuffed and forced to sit in an iron chair or cross-legged for extended periods, with bright lights shown upon him. He was convicted of "inciting subversion."
Death Penalty Review
One reform touted by the Chinese regime is that now the Supreme People's Court "resumed its role of approving all death sentences passed in China," which on the face of it sounds like progress. AI expressed concern, however, that the review procedure focuses on largely ensuring that the death penalty is applied in a uniform manner across provinces "rather than effectively addressing potential miscarriages of justice in individual cases." AI said it was concerned that a limited paper review would not expose the use of torture by the police to extort confessions when the evidence relating to such abuses had not been introduced in the trial. AI used the example of Xu Shuangfu, a Protestant leader, who was executed with 11 others last November. Xu reportedly said he had been beaten with heavy chains and sticks, electric shock to the toes, fingers, and genitals and forced injection of hot pepper, gasoline and ginger into the nose to force his confession. The court and appeals courts would not allow his lawyers to introduce these allegations as evidence in his defense, says AI.
Buddhism
Origin
Prince Siddhartha Gautama is believed by Buddhists to have been born in Lumbini[2] and raised in Kapilavastu near the present-day Indian-Nepalese border.[3] After his attainment of "Awakening" (bodhi - popularly called "Enlightenment" in the West) at the age of 35, he was known as Buddha or Gautama Buddha. He spent some 45 years teaching his insights (Dharma). According to scholars, he lived around the fifth century BCE, but his more exact birthdate is open to debate.[4] He died around the age of 80 in Kushinagara (India).
Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent and into neighboring countries (such as Sri Lanka) in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing. It spread further into Asia and elsewhere over the next two millennia.
Divisions
The original teachings and monastic organization established by Buddha can be referred to as pre-sectarian Buddhism, but all the current divisions within Buddhism are too much influenced by later history to warrant inclusion under this name.[citation needed] The most frequently used classification of present-day Buddhism among scholars[5] divides present-day adherents into the following three traditions[6] or geographical[7] or cultural[8] areas: Theravada, East Asian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism.
An alternative scheme used by some scholars[9] has two divisions, Theravada and Mahayana, with the latter including the last two traditions above. This scheme is that of ordinary usage in the English language.[10] Some scholars[11]use other schemes. Buddhists themselves have a variety of other schemes.
Terminology
The terminology for the major divisions of Buddhism can be confusing, as Buddhism is variously divided by scholars and practitioners according to geographic, historical, and philosophical criteria, with different terms often being used in different contexts. The following terms may be encountered in descriptions of the major Buddhist divisions:
Early Buddhist Schools
The schools into which Buddhism became divided in its first few centuries; only one of these survives as an independent school, Theravada
East Asian Buddhism
A term used by scholars[12] to cover the Buddhist traditions of Japan, Korea, Singapore and most of China and Vietnam
Eastern Buddhism
An alternative name used by some scholars[13] for East Asian Buddhism; also sometimes used to refer to all traditional forms of Buddhism, as distinct from Western(ized) forms.
Esoteric Buddhism
Usually considered synonymous with Vajrayana.[14] Some scholars have applied the term to certain practices found within the Theravada, particularly in Cambodia.[15]
Hinayana
A pejorative term used in Mahayana doctrine to denigrate its opponents and those deemed to be striving solely for their own liberation rather than that of all other beings [16]. It is sometimes used to refer to the early Buddhist schools, including the contemporary Theravada, although the legitimacy of this is disputed[17]. Its use in scholarly publications is controversial[18]. In some Mahayana schools the term is not perceived to be pejorative, but is used with respect proper to teachings coming direct from the Buddha. The main use of the term in East Asian and Tibetan traditions is in reference to spiritual levels[19] regardless of school.
Lamaism
An old term, still sometimes used, synonymous with Tibetan Buddhism; widely considered derogatory.
Mahayana
A movement that emerged out of the early Buddhist schools, together with its later descendants, East Asian and Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrayana traditions are sometimes listed separately. The main use of the term in East Asian and Tibetan traditions is in reference to spiritual levels[20] regardless of school.
Mantrayana
Usually considered synonymous with Vajrayana.[21] The Tendai school in Japan has been described as influenced by Mantrayana.[22]
Northern Buddhism
An alternative term used by some scholars[23] for Tibetan Buddhism. Also, an older term still sometimes used to encompass both East Asian and Tibetan traditions.
Southeast Asian Buddhism
An alternative name used by some scholars[24] for Theravada.
Southern Buddhism
An alternative name used by some scholars[25] for Theravada.
Tantrayana or Tantric Buddhism
Usually considered synonymous with Vajrayana.[26] The tantra divisions of some editions of the Tibetan scriptures include the Heart Sutra, a text widely used in most East Asian traditions,[27] and/or versions of texts found in the Theravada scriptures.[28] Some scholars[29] have used the term tantric Theravada to refer to certain practices found particularly in Cambodia.
Theravada
The traditional Buddhism of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and parts of Vietnam, China, India, Bangladesh and Malaysia. It is the only surviving representative of the historical early Buddhist schools. The term 'Theravada' is also sometimes used to refer to all the early Buddhist schools.[30]
Tibetan Buddhism
Usually understood as including the Buddhism of Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan and parts of China, India and Russia, which follow the Tibetan tradition.
Vajrayana
A movement that developed out of Indian Mahayana, together with its later descendants. There is some disagreement on exactly which traditions fall into this category. Tibetan Buddhism is universally recognized as falling under this heading; many also include also the Japanese Shingon school. Some scholars[31]also apply the term to the Korean milgyo tradition, which is not a separate school. One scholar[32] says, "Despite the efforts of generations of Buddhist thinkers. it remains exceedingly difficult to identify precisely what it is that sets the Vajrayana apart."
Buddhism Today
Indian Buddhism had become virtually extinct, but is now again gaining strength. Buddhism continues to attract followers around the world and is considered a major world religion. According to one source,[33] "World estimates for Buddhists vary between 230 and 500 million, with most around 350 million." However, estimates are uncertain for several countries. According to one analysis,[34] Buddhism is the fifth-largest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and traditional Chinese religion. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the lifetime of the Buddha in India, is amongst the oldest organizations on earth.
Shaolin Monastery
Founding and early history
The Shaolin Monastery was originally founded in AD 495 by the Buddhist monk Batuo, an Indian dhyana master. [1] Batuo went to China to preach Buddhism in AD 464. The Shaolin Temple was built thirty-one years later, by the order of emperor Wei Xiao Wen (471–500). [2] The temple originally consisted of a round dome used as a shrine and a platform where Indian and Hanu["Chinese"] monks translated Indian scriptures into native Hanu["Chinese"] languages. [3]
The introduction of fighting skills at Shaolin Monastery has been attributed in legend to the Indian monk Bodhidharma, who went to the monastery in 527, three decades after it was founded by Batuo. Bodhidharma allegedly spent nine years in contemplation, facing the wall of a cave on Song Mountain above the monastery. For exercise and protection from wild animals, he taught himself self-defense and later passed the skills along to his disciples. [2]
The ancient martial arts probably originated even earlier as Dharmic monks learned to fend off brigands and other predators.[2]
According to the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks (AD 645) by Daoxuan, the Shaolin Monastery was built on the north side of Shaoshi, the western peak of Mount Song, one of the Sacred Mountains of China, by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty for the monk Bátuó. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang (AD 547), and Li Xian, in the Ming Yitongzhi (AD 1461), concur with Daoxuan's location and attribution. The Jiaqing Chongxiu Yitongzhi (AD 1843) specifies that this monastery, located in the province of Henan, was built in the 20th year of the Tàihé era of the Northern Wei Dynasty, that is, the monastery was built in 497 CE.
Kangxi, the second Qing emperor, was a supporter of the Shaolin temple in Henan and he wrote the calligraphic inscription that, to this day, hangs over the main temple gate
Destruction
The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times. Perhaps the best-known story of the Temple's destruction is that it was destroyed in 1732 by the Qing government for supposed anti-Qing activities; this destruction is also supposed to have helped spread Shaolin martial arts through China by means of fugitive monks. This story commonly appears in martial arts history and in fiction.
However, accounts of the Qing Dynasty destroying the Shaolin temple may refer to a southern Shaolin temple, which Ju Ke, in the Qing bai lei chao (1917), located in Fujian Province. Additionally, some martial arts historians, such as Tang Hao and Stanley Henning, believe that the story is likely fictional, appearing only at the very end of the Qing period in novels and sensational literature.
20th & 21st century history
In 1928, the warlord Shi Yousan set fire to the monastery, destroying many priceless manuscripts of the temple library, some of its halls, and damaging the aforementioned Stele.
The Cultural Revolution purged all monks and Buddhist materials from within its walls, leaving the temple barren for years. During most of the second half of the 20th century, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) used Shao-lin for training bogus monks- actually Red Guard or Red Army soldiers/agents. The temple and grounds, including the cemetery of past priests known as Ta-lin (Big Forest) and the Pool of the Nine Dragons, was used as an artillery target by the CCP army for decades.
The target practice extended to Omei (Emei) Mountain Temple, a place that once housed the Shao-lin sister nuns. Shao-lin was subsequently rebuilt, repopulated and designated an official tourist site by the Chinese government after the overwhelming success of the Jet Li movie Shaolin Temple in 1982.
Martial arts groups from all over the world have made donations for the upkeep of the temple and grounds, and are subsequently honored with carved stones near the entrance of the temple.
In the past, many people have tried to capitalize on the Shaolin Monastery by building their own schools on Mount Song. However, the Chinese government eventually outlawed this, and so the schools all moved to the nearby towns. The CCP did not wish its monopoly on all things Shaolin to be jeopardized, nor did it wish to lose the lucrative franchise of Shaolin souvenirs.
A Dharma gathering was held between August 19 and 20, 1999, in the Shaolin Monastery, Songshan, China, for Buddhist Master Shi Yong Xin to take office as abbot. He is the thirteenth successor after Buddhist abbot Xue Ting Fu Yu. In March 2006 President Putin of Russia became the first foreign leader to visit the monastery.
Yang style tai chi chuan
History
The Yang family first became involved in the study of T'ai Chi in the early 1800s. The founder of the Yang style was Yang Lu-ch'an (楊露禪), aka Yang Fu-k'ui (楊福魁, 1799-1872), who studied under Ch'en Chang-hsing starting in 1820. Yang's subsequent expression of T'ai Chi as a teacher in his own right became known as the Yang style, and directly led to the development of the other three major styles of T'ai Chi (see below). Yang Lu-ch'an (and some would say the art of T'ai Chi Ch'üan in general) came to prominence as a result of his being hired by the Chinese Imperial family to teach T'ai Chi to the elite Palace Battalion of the Imperial Guards in 1850, a position he held until his death.
Yang Lu-ch'an passed his art to:
his second son but oldest son to live to maturity, Yang Pan-hou (楊班侯, 1837-1890), who was also retained as a martial arts instructor by the Chinese Imperial family. Yang Pan-hou became the formal teacher of Wu Ch'uan-yü (Wu Quanyou), a Manchu Banner cavalry officer of the Palace Battalion, even though Yang Lu-ch'an was Wu Ch'uan-yü's first T'ai Chi Ch'uan teacher. Wu Ch'uan-yü's son, Wu Chien-ch'üan (Wu Jianquan), also a Banner officer, became known as the co-founder (along with his father) of the Wu style. Yang Pan-hou is also said to have taught a student named Wang Chiao-Yu. Wang taught Kuo Lien Ying. Kuo's method is called the Kuang P'ing (Guangping) style.
his third son Yang Chien-hou (Jianhou) (1839-1917), who passed it to his sons, Yang Shao-hou (楊少侯, 1862-1930) and Yang Ch'eng-fu (楊澄甫, 1883-1936).
Wu Yu-hsiang (Wu Yuxiang, 武禹襄, 1813-1880) who also developed his own Wu style, which eventually, after three generations, led to the development of Sun style T'ai Chi Ch'uan.
Yang Ch'eng-fu removed the vigorous Fa-jing (發勁 release of power), energetic jumping, stamping, and other abrupt movements to emphasise Ta Chia (大架 large frame style). This style has slow, steady, expansive and soft movements suitable for general practitioners. Thus, Yang Ch'eng-fu is largely responsible for standardizing and popularizing the Yang style T'ai Chi widely practised today. Yang Ch'eng-fu moved to Shanghai in the 1920s, teaching there until the end of his life. His descendants are still teaching in schools associated with their family internationally.
Tung Ying-chieh (Dong Yingjie, 董英杰, 1898-1961), Ch'en Wei-ming (Chen Weiming), Fu Zhongwen (Fu Chung-wen, 1903-1994), Li Yaxuan (李雅轩, 1894-1976) and Cheng Man-ch'ing were famous students of Yang Ch'eng-fu. Each of them taught extensively, founding groups teaching T'ai Chi to this day. Cheng Man-ch'ing, perhaps the most famous outside of China, significantly shortened and simplified the traditional forms Yang taught him after his teacher's passing, supposedly to make them more accessible to larger numbers of students. Although Cheng's modifications are considered controversial by most other schools and are not recognized by the Yang family, Cheng Man-ch'ing was one of several Yang style masters to teach T'ai Chi Ch'üan in the West. Cheng Taught in New York City. He was predated by teachers in Hawaii and San Francisco. His most notable student was Liang Tsung-tsai who was his teaching assistant in Taiwan and later taught in Boston.
Another student of Yang Ch'eng-fu is Jiang Yu Kun (1913-1980).
Other versions of Yang style come from the Yang Shao-hou and Yang Pan-hou lineages. Yang Shao-hou's student Hsiung Yang-ho taught in Taiwan. Hsiung's most famous students who taught in the United States were Liang Tsung-tsai (a.k.a. T.T. Liang) and Tchoung Ta-tchen. The Yang Pan-hou lineage terminates in the Wu Ch'ien Ch'uan style and the Kuang P'ing style. The Kuang P'ing style was taught in San Francisco in the mid 1960's by Kuo Lien Ying.
Wong Fei Hung
Early years
Legend has it that Wong Fei Hung was born in Foshan on the ninth day of the seventh month of the twenty-seventh year of the reign of Emperor Daoguang (1847). When Wong was five, he began his study of martial arts under his father Wong Kei Ying. To supplement his poor family's income, he followed his father to Foshan, Guangzhou and throughout the rest of Guangdong Province to do martial arts performances and to sell medicines.
Well within his youth, Wong began showing great potential as a martial artist. At the age of thirteen, while giving a martial arts demonstration at Douzhixiang, Foshan, Wong Fei Hung met Lam Fuk Sing, the first apprentice of Tit Kiu Saam, who taught him the "tour de force" of Iron Wire Fist and Sling, which helped him become a master of Hung Gar. When he was sixteen, Wong set up martial arts schools at Shuijiao, Diqipu, Xiguan, Guangdong Province, and then opened his clinic 'Po Chi Lam' (寶芝林) on Renan Street in Foshan. By his early 20s, he was fast making his mark as a highly-respected physician and martial artist.
Later years
As a famous martial arts master, he had many apprentices. He was successfully engaged by Jiming Provincial Commander-in-Chief Wu Quanmei and Liu Yongfu as the military medical officer, martial art general drillmaster, and Guangdong local military general drillmaster. He later followed Liu Youngfu to fight against the Japanese army in Taiwan. His life was full of frustration, and in his later years he experienced the loss of his son and the burning of Po Chi Lam. On lunar year, the twenty-fifth day of the third month in 1924, Wong Fei Hung died of illness in Guangdong Chengxi Fangbian Hospital. His wife and two of his prominent students, Lam Sai-Wing and Tang Sai-King, moved to Hong Kong, where they continued teaching Wong's martial art. Wong became a legendary hero whose real-life story was mixed freely with fictional exploits on the printed page and onscreen.
As a martial artist
Wong was a master of the Chinese martial art Hung Gar. He systematized the predominant style of Hung Gar and choreographed its version of the famous Tiger Crane Paired Form Fist, which incorporates his "Ten Special Fist" techniques. Wong was famous for his skill with the technique known as the "No Shadow Kick". He was known to state the names of the techniques he used while fighting.
Wong Fei Hung also became adept at using weapons such as the wooden long staff and the southern tiger fork. Soon after, stories began circulating about his mastery of these weapons. One story recounts how he defeated a 30-man gang on the docks of Canton using the staff.
Wong is sometimes included in the Ten Tigers of Canton (ten of the top martial arts masters in Guangdong towards the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912), a group to which his father Wong Kei Ying belonged).
Kung Fu
History
The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu - the television series. Before that it was referred to primarily as "Chinese boxing". Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples.
Translation and usage
Nowadays, the most common use of the term kung fu is when referring to Chinese martial arts in general. Thus, when someone says they study kung fu, they likely mean they study one of the many styles of Chinese martial arts. (An alternative term might be "Zhongguo wushu" (中國武術, literally China martial art)). The original meaning of kung fu is quite different, and is hard to translate as there is no English equivalent. In short, 功夫 (gōngfu) means "achievement through great effort" or simply virtue. It combines 功 (gōng) meaning achievement or merit, and 夫 (fū) which translates into man. In Mandarin, when two "first tone" words such as gōng and fū are combined, the second word often takes a neutral tone, in this case forming gōngfu.
Originally, to practice kung fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts. Instead, it referred to the process of one's training - the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one's skills - rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor. You can say that a person's kung fu is good in cooking, or that someone has kung fu in calligraphy; saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which they have worked hard to develop. Someone with "bad kung fu" simply has not put enough time and effort into training, or seems to lack the motivation to do so. Kung fu is also a name used for the elaborate Fujian tea ceremony (Kung-fu cha).
There is a curious contemporary twist on this meaning in the hacker culture: there the fu has been generalized to a suffix, implying that the thing suffixed involves great skill or effort. For example, one may talk of "script-fu" to refer to complicated scripting. It is unknown whether this was consciously based on the original, broader meaning of the term or whether it was a simple wordplay on the less general Western notion of "kung fu".
In Japanese, the characters for kung fu (功夫) retain an approximation of their Chinese reading, and are pronounced kanfū (カンフー). Chinese martial arts in general are also referred to as chūgoku ken (中国拳) or chūgoku kempō(中国拳法), which translates literally to "China fist" and "China fist law," respectively. (Kempō is a generic term for a punching/striking art of Chinese origins.)
In Korean, kung fu is called gongbu (공부), which simply means "study."
Related terms
While the term Kung Fu is used globally as a generic term for the Chinese martial arts — such as Shaolin Kung Fu — certain Chinese words may be used to denote some specific aspect of a style. These words are often based on the theme of the human hand. A common term is the Mandarin word quan or chuan (拳, Cantonese: kuen, Japanese: ken), meaning fist, which conveys the sense of a style of boxing or striking, as in Shaolin Quan (Young Forest Fist) and Wing Chun Kuen (Eternal Spring Fist). The word "chuan", however, may not always denote boxing; Tai Chi Chuan (Supreme Ultimate Fist), for instance, contains the word "chuan" but does not focus on striking in common practice. The term chang or zhang (掌), meaning palm, is also seen, an example being Bagua Zhang (Eight Trigrams Palm). Another similar word is shou (手), or hand, as in Sanshou (Loose Hand or Free Hand).
Some words refer to an art's origin or tradition. One term is pai (派), denoting a school of thought or system, as in Tien Shan Pai and Ying Jow Pai. This is related to the Japanese term ryuha (流派, Mandarin: liúpài), meaning "mainstream school of thought". Some martial arts of Southern China use the Cantonese word gar (家, Mandarin pinyin: jiā), meaning family, as in Hung Gar and Lau Gar (Hung Family, Lau Family), among others.
The term kung fu was not popular until the 20th century, thus the word would be seldom found in any ancient texts. The term was first known to have been reported by a Westerner, French Jesuit missionary Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, in the 18th century and was known little in the mainstream English language until approximately the late 1960s, when it became popular because of the Hong Kong films, especially those by Bruce Lee, and later Kung Fu - the television series. Before that it was referred to primarily as "Chinese boxing". Kung Fu, as it is written here, refers to the general term of Chinese martial arts. Shaolin Kung Fu refers to the style that was developed in the Shaolin temples.
Translation and usage
Nowadays, the most common use of the term kung fu is when referring to Chinese martial arts in general. Thus, when someone says they study kung fu, they likely mean they study one of the many styles of Chinese martial arts. (An alternative term might be "Zhongguo wushu" (中國武術, literally China martial art)). The original meaning of kung fu is quite different, and is hard to translate as there is no English equivalent. In short, 功夫 (gōngfu) means "achievement through great effort" or simply virtue. It combines 功 (gōng) meaning achievement or merit, and 夫 (fū) which translates into man. In Mandarin, when two "first tone" words such as gōng and fū are combined, the second word often takes a neutral tone, in this case forming gōngfu.
Originally, to practice kung fu did not just mean to practice Chinese martial arts. Instead, it referred to the process of one's training - the strengthening of the body and the mind, the learning and the perfection of one's skills - rather than to what was being trained. It refers to excellence achieved through long practice in any endeavor. You can say that a person's kung fu is good in cooking, or that someone has kung fu in calligraphy; saying that a person possesses kung fu in an area implies skill in that area, which they have worked hard to develop. Someone with "bad kung fu" simply has not put enough time and effort into training, or seems to lack the motivation to do so. Kung fu is also a name used for the elaborate Fujian tea ceremony (Kung-fu cha).
There is a curious contemporary twist on this meaning in the hacker culture: there the fu has been generalized to a suffix, implying that the thing suffixed involves great skill or effort. For example, one may talk of "script-fu" to refer to complicated scripting. It is unknown whether this was consciously based on the original, broader meaning of the term or whether it was a simple wordplay on the less general Western notion of "kung fu".
In Japanese, the characters for kung fu (功夫) retain an approximation of their Chinese reading, and are pronounced kanfū (カンフー). Chinese martial arts in general are also referred to as chūgoku ken (中国拳) or chūgoku kempō(中国拳法), which translates literally to "China fist" and "China fist law," respectively. (Kempō is a generic term for a punching/striking art of Chinese origins.)
In Korean, kung fu is called gongbu (공부), which simply means "study."
Related terms
While the term Kung Fu is used globally as a generic term for the Chinese martial arts — such as Shaolin Kung Fu — certain Chinese words may be used to denote some specific aspect of a style. These words are often based on the theme of the human hand. A common term is the Mandarin word quan or chuan (拳, Cantonese: kuen, Japanese: ken), meaning fist, which conveys the sense of a style of boxing or striking, as in Shaolin Quan (Young Forest Fist) and Wing Chun Kuen (Eternal Spring Fist). The word "chuan", however, may not always denote boxing; Tai Chi Chuan (Supreme Ultimate Fist), for instance, contains the word "chuan" but does not focus on striking in common practice. The term chang or zhang (掌), meaning palm, is also seen, an example being Bagua Zhang (Eight Trigrams Palm). Another similar word is shou (手), or hand, as in Sanshou (Loose Hand or Free Hand).
Some words refer to an art's origin or tradition. One term is pai (派), denoting a school of thought or system, as in Tien Shan Pai and Ying Jow Pai. This is related to the Japanese term ryuha (流派, Mandarin: liúpài), meaning "mainstream school of thought". Some martial arts of Southern China use the Cantonese word gar (家, Mandarin pinyin: jiā), meaning family, as in Hung Gar and Lau Gar (Hung Family, Lau Family), among others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)