Discover China

The Shanghai World Expo 2010 was officially closed on 31 October 2010 after receiving a record 73 million visitors. China realised its century-old dream of hosting the event, and at the 184-day grand gala China and other countries from around the world eagerly showcased their history and culture. The Shanghai World Expo, the first held in a developing country in the event’s 159-year history, set one record after another in terms of the number of participating countries or regions, the size of the Expo park, and the number of visitors.

Under the theme of “Better City, Better Life,” the Shanghai Expo drew 246 participating nations and international organizations at the largest ever world fair site of 5.28 square kilometers. The ideas of pluralism, harmony, tolerance, originality and co-existence that the Shanghai Expo has upheld will carry on, inspire and encourage people to carry on and create an even brighter future in the post-Expo era.

To look back on the many facets of this great event visit the CNTV Special Feature World Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

Another of the Cultural Gems of Guangdong is Sixth Patriarch Huineng. Dajian Huineng (638-713), a Guangdong local, was one of the most important figures in the Chinese Chan monastic tradition. He is the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism, as well as the last official patriarch. Read more in the Shenzhen Daily article Sixth Patriarch Huineng,

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.

After eight months of voting and evaluation, 10 aspects of Guangdong culture, ranging from opera styles to outstanding historical figures, have been chosen by the Guangdong Provincial Government to represent the cultural gems of Guangdong. The 10 gems are Guangdong opera, Cantonese cuisine, the Cantonese arcade building style, Cantonese music, lion dance, the Lingnan school of painting, Duan inkstone, Kaiping diaolou, and two historic figures: Sun Yat-sen, the leader of China’s republican revolution, and Huineng, the sixth Patriarch of the Zen. The Kaiping diaolous in Kaiping County, named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, are fortified multi story towers built from reinforced concrete. They served mainly as protection against bandits. To read more about the Kaiping diaolous see the Shenzhen Daily article Kaiping diaolou.