Discover China

The 23rd day of the year’s last lunar month marks a traditional Chinese holiday called Xiao Nian, which means Preliminary Eve, the prelude to the Lunar New Year’s Eve celebration. Find out more in the CNTV story China celebrates Xiao Nian festival.

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.

Huangshan mountain in east China’s Anhui Province is listed among the country’s top 10 most popular tour sites. This year marks the 20th anniversary of its UNESCO listing as a world heritage site, prompting a series of celebrations. Find out more in the CNTV news item Preserving natural beauty of Huangshan Mountain. We visited spectacular Huangshan mountain in 2009 as part of a trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces – see the pictures or read the story.

The largest ever Asian Games lowered its curtain in a festive closing ceremony, as host China showed its overwhelming prowess by sweeping 199 gold medals. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, president of the Olympic Council of Asia, hailed the Guangzhou Asiad “a huge success” and “the best ever” in history. Find out more in the CNTV story “Best ever” Asian Games close with China dominant as never before. The 10th Asian Para Games are now underway – read more in the CNTV Special Feature Guangzhou 2010, 16th Asian Games and 10th Asian Para Games.

An exhibition has opened in Sydney Australia, presenting over 120 ancient artifacts from China. Included in the display are 10 of the world-renowned terracotta warriors and horses, and other significant recent finds from the First Emperor Qin Shihuang’s mausoleum located in Shaanxi province of northwest China. To read more or view the video visit CNTV Culture Express story China’s Terracotta Warriors march on Sydney.