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The “Double Ninth Festival”, also known as the “Chongyang festival”, is a traditional Chinese festival which falls on the 9th day of the 9th month of the lunar calendar. It usually falls in October in the Gregorian calendar, this year on 16 October. In an ancient and mysterious book Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number “6” was thought to be of Yin character, meaning feminine or negative, while number “9” was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine or positive. So the number nine in both month and day create the Double Ninth Festival, or Chongyang Festival. Chong in Chinese means “double.” In 1989, the Chinese government rededicated the Double Ninth Festival as Senior Citizens’ Day, making it an opportunity for people to show their appreciation to the elderly. To find out more see the CNTV Special Feature Double Ninth, Double Happiness and the China.org.cn Feature Traditional Chinese Festivals – Double Ninth Festival.

A ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of the looting and burning of Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, was held in Beijing on 18 October 2010. This imperial garden built in the Qing dynasty (1636-1911) was ransacked and destroyed by the British and French forces on 18 and 19 October 1860 during the Second Opium War. Yuanmingyuan, also known as “Garden of Gardens”, was 5 times the size of the Forbidden City. It was renowned for its garden and building architecture. The initial construction began in 1707, during reign of Emperor Kangxi, and the expansion continued for the next 150 years. Find out more in the CNTV Special Feature 150th Anniversary of Looting and Burning of Yuanmingyuan.

Next to Zhongshan Park in Nanshan District lies one of Shenzhen’s greatest treasures, Xin’an Ancient City. It has been a government seat on and off since 331, with its heyday in the Ming Dynasty when it became Dongguan Castle. To find out more about this significant site and the free “Culture and History Walks” in Shenzhen on Saturday mornings in October and November see James Baquet’s Shenzhen Daily article Xin’an Ancient City.

In a follow-on article to The rivers of Guangdong, the Shenzhen Daily introduces two more of Guangdong’s waterways – the Hanjiang River and Beijiang River. To read about the historic, natural and cultural attractions of these rivers visit The rivers of Guangdong – Part 2.

About 300 historical and cultural relics from Shaanxi Province featuring early ancient Chinese history are on display at the Shenzhen Museum until 9 December 2010. Find out more in the Shenzhen Daily article Shaanxi relics reveal ancient Chinese history.