Discover China

China has celebrated the Qingming Festival, when it’s traditional for people to pay tribute to their ancestors and the heroes who died serving their country.

In central China’s Henan Province holiday makers enjoyed some of these varied traditions at the 2012 Kaifeng Qingming Culture Festival. Kaifeng is closely linked to Qingming Festival, with the famous ancient painting “The Riverside Scene at the Qingming Festival” capturing life in the Northern Song capital of Bianjing, which is today’s Kaifeng.

In the Qingming River Garden, the bustling scene depicted on the scroll painting comes to life. There is also a model of the scene in the excellent Henan Museum in Zhengzhou which I visited on my trip to Beijing, Tianjin, and Zhengzhou in December 2010 – January 2011.

What did China look like 900 years ago? It was in the most glorious period of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Zeduan, an extraordinary artist at that time, captured the daily life of people in the capital Kaifeng and made it eternal in his scroll painting, “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.” The countryside and the densely populated city are the two main sections in the picture, with the river meandering through its entire length and busy transportation and business activities functioning to connect the whole city. The Shanghai World Expo 2010 features a large animated version of the painting – to find out more about the painting and view the video see the China Network Television (CNTV) Culture Express story Look into China along the river. Kaifeng is one of China’s ancient capitals and features a number of significant historic sites. We visited the city on our trip to Henan Province in 2008.

CRI Online, the multilanguage website of China Radio International, has launched an online event titled “2010 Chinese Cities Ranking – Top Chinese Tourist Cities”. The event provides a platform for Chinese tourist cities to present their unique charms to the world and introduces global internet users to China’s tourism, cultural and folk resources. The list includes Luoyang, Kaifeng, Huangshan and Hangzhou – great destinations that I have already visited – and many other interesting places that I have yet to see.

To cast your vote in “2010 Chinese Cities Ranking – Top Chinese Tourist Cities” visit CRI Online.

Watch the online videos from the China Central Television (CCTV) Travelogue program for a 30-minute experience of fascinating places throughout China (and catch a glimpse of other countries as well). The latest episode features the historic city of Kaifeng in Henan Province which I visited in February 2008.

I’ve just finished reading the second issue of the new international edition of Chinese National Geography magazine from cover to cover—a fascinating read complemented by stunning photography!

The theme for this second issue is ‘Extreme China’. It showcases the incredible range of climatic zones and geographic features in the world’s third-largest country, such as the world’s deepest (and longest) canyon, the largest loess landscape, and the most sediment-laden river on earth.

Launched in May this year (2009), the Chinese National Geography International (CNGi) English Edition has the mission of bridging the gap between China and the world, helping non-Chinese to unveil the mystery that is the Middle Kingdom and overseas Chinese reconnect with their roots in China. Chinese National Geography is China’s leading magazine on geography and culture since 1949.

The English edition is CNGi’s first step towards internationalisation, with the magazine soon to be published in other major foreign languages. I stumbled across the second issue of CNGi in my local newsagency in western Sydney, Australia. Sadly I missed issue one, the launch issue, but look forward to receiving it with my subscription. The launch issue has the theme “Where China Began”, and includes the feature “Henan: Heartland of the Middle Kingdom”. I had the pleasure of visiting Henan in 2008 as a guest of close Chinese friends. We celebrated Lunar New Year in their home town of Xiangcheng and visited historic sites in Kaifeng and Luoyang, including the incredible Longmen Grottoes which are featured in the CNGi launch issue. Xiangcheng is the friendliest town I have ever visited, and experiencing Lunar New Year in regional China is one of the best experiences of my life.

In 2007 I started my exploration of China with a visit to Shenzhen, described as the “window of China’s opening up policy”. To read about my trips see My China Trips and find photos from the trips in the Galleries.