Pilgrims flock to 'longevity county'

For the past six months, Zhou Xuezhong has been living in Bama County in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a place thousands of kilometers from his home in Beijing.
It's the second year that the retired senior citizen has chosen to live temporarily in this "longevity county," which boasts a high number of centenarians.
The 73-year-old Zhou, who has been struggling with asthma and coronary disease for years, said he believes the good environment in Bama can help him battle his diseases, and he plans to return to the county annually.
Located in northwestern Guangxi, Bama counts many long-living elderly among its population of 240,000.
Official statistics show that there are nearly 31 centenarians for every 100,000 people in Bama. In 2012, Bama reported 81 centenarians, giving it one of the highest rates of centenarians in the world.
The natural conditions in Bama are widely believed to have contributed to local people's good health. Scientific tests show that the amount of negative oxygen ion in the air in remote Bama is far above that of many other places in China, and many believe this leads residents to feel energetic and comfortable.
The stories of Bama's "living legends" have spread across the country and enticed an increasing number of people from other provinces hoping to find the elixir to an enviable long life.
Earlier this month, various media outlets in China reported that many longevity pilgrims "crawl like dogs" and even drink urine in Bama, believing such practices can help keep illness at bay.
As more newcomers swarm to the county, a health preservation industry has
gradually sprung up in Bama, partly thanks to promotion by the local government and the inflow of capital. In recent years, its tourism industry has soared due to the promotion of health preservation.
"We are trying to make Bama an international resort for health and recreation," said Feng Haifeng, secretary of the county committee of the Communist Party of China in Bama.
In 2012, the county received more than 2 million domestic and foreign tourists, a year-on-year increase of 23.3 percent. The revenue it generated stood at around 2 billion yuan (about 327 million U.S. dollars), accounting for 48.6 percent of

Bama's annual gross domestic product.
In the first five months of this year, Bama has already received over 1million visitors, generating more than 927 million yuan in tourism revenue.
The reputation of the remote county is so widespread that it has even attracted a number of people who travel from far away to live in Bama for an extended stay.
This group is nicknamed "houniaoren," or "migratory people," with lives like those of migratory birds -- flying south in winter and staying in Bama for several months.
Chen Jinchao, head of the Guangxi Bama Longevity Research Institute, said the number of migratory people flocking to Bama has been on the rise in recent years.
"Last year, around 10,000 such tourists spent their Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, in Bama," he said.
Government statistics show that in 2012 alone about 180,000 migratory people visited Bama.
Most of the migratory people go to Bama for health recovery or even medical treatment, as they believe living conditions there can facilitate recovery.
Zhu Zhijun, a migratory person himself, said there are thousands of people like him living in Bama, many of whom have been diagnosed with cancer or tumors.
While the incoming tourists have contributed to the growing tourism revenue, they have also raised concerns.
Although no scientific evidence has proven that the natural environment in Bama is effective in curing illness, the county's reputation for longevity has stirred blind faith among many who regard it as a place offering the recipe for long life.
"Some people believe that once they are in Bama, all manner of diseases will be miraculously cured, without taking any medication," Chen said.
For instance, some patients resort to eating the Huoma, a local vegetable believed to guarantee a long life, on a daily basis, just because they believe that the Huoma will "keep the doctors away."
Others are obsessed with Bama's water. They even name it "divine water," thinking that it has amazing medical effects, while in fact the unfiltered water could contain excessive bacteria and cause diarrhea, Chen said.
He added that some patients insist on swimming in the "divine water," which has led to several drowning cases and forced the local government to put up fences around rivers.
Chen said another consideration is the possibility of disease transmission if more patients come to Bama for medical treatment.
"Although the clean air and water could provide a good environment for the recovery of people with chronic diseases, it is not a hospital," Chen said.
He believes that people obsessed with Bama are following the crowd, and that they should have a better understanding of what health preservation is really about.
"What's really important is for people to build a healthy lifestyle and raise awareness about exercise, rather than blindly searching for a long-life recipe in a longevity county," Chen said.

Today I Have a Dinner in Huguosi Snack Food Store

There is no better illustration of what Beijingers eat during the Spring Festival than food offered by traditional snack food (xiao chi: small eats) stores throughout Beijing. The Huguosi Snack Food Store is a great example of the

festive food shops.
The present location of the store was formerly the site of a famous temple fair in the western part of the city where the most famous "small eats" food brands flourished. In 1956 a state-owned traditional snack store was established.
Today the store is one of the few old brand-name state-owned businesses that still continue this tradition.
According to Li Qiuhua, manager of the store: nian gao (glutinous rice cake), dou bao (steamed buns with smashed red bean stuffing), xi zi bing (a cake with the Chinese character for 'happiness' on it) and mian yu'er (a cake shaped like a fish) are some of the most popular foods at the store during big holiday shopping.
Most of these foods carry auspicious meanings. For example, nian gao literally means: “better this year than last year”. The fish cake is considered auspicious because fish in Chinese (yu) means surplus. The Chinese hope they are prosperous and rich in each New Year.
Other foods available include many kinds of traditional Beijing 'small eats.' Some of the most famous treats are lu da gun (rolling donkey): a soft yellow rice and soybean cake, ai wo wo: a white glutinous rice cake with a variety of stuffing, wan dou huang: a smooth tasting yellow pea cake and jiao quan: deep-fried crispy flour ring.

Rongbao Zhai Chinese Painting Workshop

Rongbao Zhai is located in  Liu Lichang West Street with its former name as Dongzhu Zhai. In the 20th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1894), it changed its name into "Rongbao Zhai". It is always a place for people in the circle of painting and calligraphy to gather and communicate from the early period.
Rongbao Zhai is famous for its wood-block watermark printing at home and abroad. Its wood-block watermark printing is made by masters with great talent, which is the reason why any of the current printings can't compete with it. The wood-block watermark printing has a long history in China. In the early 9th year of the Rongbao Zhai can not only print Shijianxiaopin (comment or short essay inscribed on the wood or printed on the paper or silk with great exquisiteness), but also engage in complicated silk painting and monumental long book copy, which are similar to the real ones. Rongbao Zhai's products such as "Poem of Seventy-two Officials" and "Twenty-four Solar Terms Envelope", made by the wood-block watermark printing, was regarded as very outstanding products in Liu Li Chang by Lu Xun and Zheng Zhenduo.

reign of Xiantong Emperor in Tang Dynasty (A.D. 868), a person named Wang Jie printed illustrations of Diamond Sutra with this technique and these illustrations remain until today. From the Tang Dynasty, most books are accompanied by illustrations and the process printing is available in the 16th century. In recent decades, with new improvements and achievements made on the basis of the traditional techniques, at present
At present, Rongbao Zhai has a large collection of authentic works and reproduced ones made with wood-block watermark printing techniques of ancient and modern painters and calligraphers. It also provides four treasures of the study (brush, ink, paper and ink stone) as well as services like mounting, processing and repairing, which brings great convenience for painters and calligraphers. Rongbao Zhai has made great achievements in booming the artistic market of painting and calligraphy and promoting international cultural exchange.

The South Beauty In Beijing China

In 2000, the South Beauty Catering Management Group (South Beauty Group) was founded with its headquarters in Beijing. The Group has three luxury restaurant

brands: South Beauty Restaurants, Lan Club and SUBU. They represent the greatest development potentials for this Chinese international catering service management group.

The South Beauty Restaurants mainly serve traditional Chinese Sichuan-style Cuisine, in addition to the Cantonese-style Cuisine series of the Southern School, Tanfu Private, exquisite French Cuisine and attractive Mexican Cuisine. All these cuisines bring their own features to reveal the supreme art of cooking. 

National Art Museum of China

Located on Wusi Street, the National Art Museum of China was established in 1962 to exhibit outstanding works of modern Chinese artists. The gallery has 6,000 square metres of exhibition space, which is divided into 14 exhibition halls currently housing 10,000 pieces, not including folk art. The central part of the gallery, with four floors, has an ancient Chinese pavilion type roof. The

surrounding flat roofs have skylights to allow for natural lighting. The building is decorated with glazed tiles, a traditional Chinese construction material and many of the walls are paved with light yellow ceramic bricks. The designer wanted the building to reflect ceramic art. With the development of a commercial economy, traditional donations from fine artists are now being gradually replaced by sales. The gallery gathers works through a variety of channels which include buying them from national and local exhibitions and offering financial aid to some fine artists who sell their work to the gallery. The research staff at the gallery excels at the development of the study of fine art, and they have published dozens of articles and papers. From 1962 to 1995, the China Art Gallery organized over 1,000 exhibitions covering everything from photography and calligraphy to stamp collections. Some of the shows were co-coordinated with other galleries such as the China Folk Artistic Work Gallery. From 1962 to 1977, the total budget for the gallery was 2.25 million yuan. The average annual budget since 1978 has increased to 560,000 yuan. With profits from the exhibitions, it has the potential to become the nation's finest art gallery.

Come Here I am in QUANJUDE Waiting for You

QUANJUDE, a famous historical brand of China, was established in 1864 (the third year of Tongzhi of Qing dynasty). During the 136 years, QUANJUDE has experienced business vicissitudes and survived the arduous ordeal of time. Throughout the years, QUANJUDE dishes have been greatly enriched due to developing and innovation.
With its long history, Quanjude roast duck enjoys a high reputation among domestic and overseas consumers for the peculiar roast technique and outstanding quality. It ranks the first not only in Chinese Famous Dishes, compiled by all-China famous chefs under the organization of Ministry of Commerce in 1958, but also in Elite of Chinese Famous Dishes, published by China and Japan in 1982. In many cases, Quanjude lists the first among famous restaurants.

The well-known All-Duck Banquet is headed by QUANJUDE roast duck and supported by over 400 dishes with QUANJUDE characteristic flavor. Government leaders, officials and VIPs from nearly 200 countries and regions have visited QUANJUDE roast duck restaurants and had dinner here.
The foundation of China Beijing Quanjude Group May 20th of 1993 ushers in a new episode for QUANJUDE. The Group set its developing strategy as taking advantage of QUANJUDE brand and expanding the business by scaling, modernizing and franchising with quality playing the crucial role. Since the implementation of the strategy, QUANJUDE’s business has been booming and more positive meanings are being brought to the image of the old renowned brand. Currently, the Group has over 60 company-owned and franchised restaurants in China. The annual sale reaches 500 millions yuan (RMB); the number of roast duck annually sold amounts over 2 millions; guests annually entertained top 5 millions. The Group lists one of the largest food service enterprises in China with 600 millions yuan (RMB) of assets and 700 millions yuan (RMB) of intangible assets.
In January of 1999, QUANJUDE was awarded the title of "China Renowned Trademark", which is the first and unique case as of now in the service trade. This honor also contributes to QUANJUDE’s image of high quality, excellent taste, rich and profound culture.

Visit Beijing Shooting Palaestra This Summer

During the Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the venue will host a total of 10 shooting events. It will also likely be the venue where the first gold medal will be awarded during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Present at the delivery ceremony were officials from the State General Administration of Sport, the City of Beijing, and Mr. Wang Yifu, head coach of the Chinese national shooting team.
Construction of the venue broke ground on July 13, 2004. The venue, with a total surface area of 45,645 sq m, contains qualification competition halls, a final competition hall, a storehouse, a room for armed police use, a heating and ventilation equipment room, and an electric transformer room.

The qualification competition hall contains 10m, 25m, and 50m target ranges. The final competition hall contains sealed 10m, 25m, and 50m target ranges.
The venue has a total seating capacity for 8,600 spectators, with 2,170 permanent seats and 6,430 removable seats. The qualification competition halls can seat 6.100, and the final competition hall can seat 2,500.
The Beijing Shooting Range Hall was designed to reflect the shape of a hunting bow. This design takes into consideration the origins of the sport of shooting—hunting in the forest. The Shooting Hall's qualification competition halls and the final competition hall are connected by the venue's main entrance, which contributes to the venue's "bow" shape.
Post-Games, the venue will host important international and Chinese shooting competitions and serve as the training base for the Chinese national shooting team and youth training grounds.
Parts of the venue might be used as a national defense teaching facility. Additionally, the venue may be used to promote shooting as a sport to the public and to promote the Olympic spirit.

Qingliang Valley in Beijing Not Far Alway From Downtown

Situated in Shicheng Town, Miyun County, the Qingliang Valley is about 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Beijing. Characterized by dense pools and spectacular waterfalls, this area has rich resource of water. The valley lies to the north of the Yunmengshan Natural Forest Park, and such superb geographical advantage makes it an ideal destination as a summer resort. Baihe River runs across this area throughout the year, adding vigor and vitality to the Qingliang Valley.

Here the green mountains, the clear waters and pools, the luxuriant woods, the countless stunning peaks and stones complement each other perfectly. The mountains are covered by vast stretches of Chinese pines. Set off by blue sky and white clouds, this scenic area is an enchanting painting of nature. In spring, the valley is covered by various flowers in full bloom; the icy water melts and dampens the earth. Relaxing in this area in summer is much enjoyable; in addition, you could take pleasure from picking fruits in autumn and climbing the snow-covered mountain in winter.
The scenic area is characterized by various waterfalls and pools. Whether in rainy days, or during dry seasons, the magnificent waterfalls offer you unusual discoveries. About 5 kilometers from the entrance of the valley lies an imposing Pearl Waterfall. The water rushes down from a high cliff and resembles a charming curtain of pearls. A glimpse into a distinctive cave behind the Pearl Waterfall will impress you deeply.
The mountains command a fine view of the pleasant valley, including a grand canyon with high mountains and steep cliffs on both sides. In the canyon, the peaks tower into the sky, while the gullies are deep and awesome. A viewing platform at an elevation of over 700 meters (2,300 feet) gives you spectacular views of this beautiful land.
This scenic area is unique with colorful aquatic sports. On the clear Qingliang Lake, sporting on bamboo rafts, climbing grids, and playing on swings are all very challenging. If you prefer to amuse yourself on land, horse-riding is for you.