Sacrifice to Heaven

Yesterday afternoon we experience a little of Beijing's imperial history at "The Tempel of Heaven" looking a reenactment of the Ming and Qing dynasty 祭天大典 (Jitian Dadian) or Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony.
The rite has been taking place in Tiantan since the Ming dynasty and it's reported that a total of 22 emperors have performed this sacrificial ceremony 654 times.

Here the emperors was praying to the gods for good harvest durin the year.

And we were not alone.... If you live in China you must not be afraid of big crowds at tourist sites, in the subway or on busses and trains. Here we are used to live close together..

2008 - The year of the Rat

Welcome to the year of the rat!

The rat is the first in the Chinese Zodiac among the twelve animals.
Being born a Rat is nothing to be ashamed of. In China, the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterprising person. It is deemed an honor to be born in the Year of the Rat and it is considered a privilege to be associated with a Rat.

Rats know exactly where to find solutions and can take care of themselves and others without problems. They use their instinctive sense of observation to help others in times of need and are among the most fit of all the Animal signs to survive most any situation.

Rat Years begin the sequence and recur every twelfth year. The Chinese New Year does not fall on a specific date, so it is essential to check the calendar to find the exact date on which each Rat year actually begins.

The Earth adds solidity to the Rat's personality. An Earth Rat is conventional and a good achiever who likes to establish roots early in order to make a secure future for himself and his family.

So, if You was born 1984 - 1972 - 1960 - 1948 - 1936 You are lucky! You are a Rat!

24 hrs of "war"

Tonight it will blast off! (Even if many started already yesterday night).
The fireworks to celebrate Chines New Year. It will be constant shooting and nocie for 24 hrs.
Not just beautiful fireworks but mostly very big and very loud crackers. The louder the better....

There have been 638 stalls within Beijing's Fifth Ring Road selling fireworks. The prices was cheaper this year and sellers had been warned not to charge above the recommended price printed on the box. This year also features a broader variety of fireworks, with more than 80 new kinds of crackers to choose from. Some of them, like the Aoyun Beijing, have an Olympic theme while most of the others also manage to include Beijing in the title somewhere. The more expensive of these new varieties have a range of 200m and boast extended plume time. The color range has also been extended with more pinks and purples available this year.

Fireworks start from RMB 1.5 for a tiny cracker (xiao guabian), the type you see all the little kids playing with, right on through to the huge 200+ kuai rockets (daxing zuhe yanhua).
We have been buying our firework outside Beijing, in the "village" to much cheaper prices than in the city. We checked the stall in the street just outside our apartment and for the same piece we bought for 230 RMB out in the village he wanted 900. We told him that it was very expensive but he quick replayed that it is also expensive to live in the apartments where we live...

So, tonight we will blast off outside Shi Zhitings brothers apartment just a few blocks from here.

Some of the pieces You see below - the biggest one weights 16 kilograms....

2008-02-07 It is over for this time. It was enourmus! loud! and a big scary....
Take a look at this video from last night and I think You will understand.....

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_ca00XMTc5MDU2NjA

Chaotic weather situation in China

While we living in Beijing is having a very nice winter weather with clear sky, just above zero and the sun shining for almost ten days the situation in other parts of China is chaotic!In south and east China there is the worst winter weather since 1961.
Heavy snow, storm and strong cold have cut the communications with other parts of China. This in the time when half China is travelling to their home cities for the Spring Festival.
The snow, the heaviest in decades in many places, has been falling in east, central and south China for more than a fortnight. It has caused deaths, structural collapses, blackouts, accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop destruction.

In five days 3 250 flights been cancelled in China, 4 000 000 people is stranded in railway station, several hounded thousand car is stocked on the road. The figures is quick getting very high in this country!















Many powerlines is covered with heavy ice causing the lines to breakso theire is no electricity or water and they are running out of food supply. Also the food situation is getting difficult in other parts of China since they can not get any supply of fruit and vegetables from the southern parts. The strong cold also is destroying a lot of the crops and already the prices is getting higher.
The price for many vegetables also in Beijing have doubled in one week!

And the problem is not yet over - the weather forecast for the weekend is talking about more snow - in the biggest travelling weekend in the year. Several million people is now going to see their family in their home towns. For many, this is the only time in they year they see their family, for some parents the only week in the year they see their children....

We will be happy to stay in Beijing over the Festival. Now Beijing is very nice - half the population have left the city.....