Discover China

Did you know that the Shenzhen district of Longgang has about 100 historic walled Hakka villages? These fortified towns were built mainly in the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, and unlike the more famous round “tulou” of Fujian, the villages in Longgang are all built to square plans. To find out more read James Baquet’s Shenzhen Daily article Hakka Houses in Longgang.

China’s history is a huge and daunting topic. Thousands of years, hundreds of emperors, dynasty after dynasty…but getting to grips with it all can be very interesting, especially with the eChinacities series of Instant Expert guides, the first looking at China’s dynasties.

Jinggang Mountain, regarded as the Red Army’s birthplace and the cradle of China’s revolution, would be the subject of an application for UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage status this year, with the Jiangxi Provincial Government including the application in a list of nine major tasks for 2011. Read more in the Shenzhen Daily article Jinggang Mountain vies for World Heritage listing.

Yunnan province’s Chengjiang fossils site and the site of Inner Mongolia’s Yuan Dynasty Upper Capital have both made application to UNESCO to make the coveted World Heritage list in 2012. Find out what makes these sites so special in the CNTV Culture Express story Two new applications for UNESCO World Heritage list. Last year’s two applications, the Hangzhou Westlake and Five Linked Lakes in Heilongjiang province, will be reviewed at the World Heritage Conference this June.

Acupuncture and moxibustion used in traditional Chinese medicine along with Beijing opera have been added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. The list was established to preserve the diversity and creativity of humanity that was being rapidly lost in the wake of industrialization and globalization. Read more in the Shenzhen Daily article Acupuncture, Beijing opera recognized as intangible cultural heritage.