Charming Chinese Coastal Cities

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Charming Chinese Coastal Cities

－Cities of Blended Culture

 With an area of approximately 9,600,000 kilometers, China has a coastline as long as 18,000 kilometers, ranking the ninth in the world. This is a fantastic country not only for its amazing economic growth, but also for its tolerance of different culture. Take a look at Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and find answers for yourself!

 Shanghai－Traditional and Modern

 Whether you like traditional culture or modern culture, Shanghai is guaranteed to satisfy all your needs. Perfectly located in the eastern part of China, facing the Pacific Ocean, Shanghai is a modernized city nourished from traditional cultural. When I walk on the bank of Waitan (the Bund) in Shanghai, thousands of neon lights cast through the shining Huangpu River like stars twinkling in the sky. Skyscrapers of famous branches like Tencent and China Telecom overlook the calm river, which mirror the busy. Bustle and peace seem to coordinate in Shanghai’s night dream! On the other hand, if you take a look at Qibao Town in Shanghai, you will find a stylish taste of ancient Southeastern Chinese Historic Town. The silently-flowing stream and slowly-drifting boats have successfully incorporated into the busy city life.

Guangzhou－Eastern and Western

Guangzhou, known also as an international city, is the capital of Guangdong Province. It has a long foreign trade history between the east and the west as an important commercial port. Therefore there’s no wonder that a lot of architectures have both eastern and western styles. The statue in the first picture presents Guangzhou as a pioneer revolutionary city in the war period, which reflects eastern style. While in the second picture, you can see the famous Shengxin Stone Church which has obvious western design. Combining both eastern and western architectural culture, Guangzhou TV Tower is  of no doubt the landmark of Guangzhou. In Guangzhou, people often call it “Little Slim Waist” for its special shape like a young lady’s slim waist. Actually, it was designed by a Dutch couple. Some eastern Chinese culture elements are blended into the design, too.

Shenzhen－Nostalgic and Energetic 

 Compared with Shanghai and Guangzhou, Shenzhen is a city with much shorter history. It usually gives tourists an impression that it is young and energetic because it is only thirty years old. If you climb on the Lianhua Hill, you can have the whole view of the city. Stabbing into the sky, the skyscrapers stand closely together. Patches of green land are sprinkled around. Is that all of this fast growing city? Of course not! Having been a fishing village once, Shenzhen has its own unique coastal culture. The whole city is like a long square which is built alongside the Pearl River. If you get to the beach or seaside, you can taste the most delicious seafood. Da Meisha, Xiao Meisha and Xichong are all good choices for seafood lovers. What’s more, alongside the Red Forest, you can watch a beautiful sunset on the shore. When the fishermen pack up their fishing nets and at the same time sing emotionally to the shore, the feeling of nostalgia may slowly grab your heart! 

   

If you really want to have an in-depth investigation about Chinese culture, especially coastal culture, the above three cities are the best choices for travelers. All in all, the core of 5000-year Chinese culture is to make different cultures coexist in harmony. Charming Chinese coastal cities will indeed give you a new definition of city!

Ten reasons why learning English makes me happy

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Ten reasons why learning English makes me happy:

1.          Get good grades in English classes

2.          Able to communicate with foreigners

3.          Make friends with foreigners

4.          Able to read original English literature, not translation version

5.          Able to watch original English movies without referring to the Chinese caption

6.          Travel to foreign countries

7.          English itself is a beautiful language

8.          Get a sense of achievement

9.          Understand western culture better

10.      Love is blind. Love it for no reason.

A grin

It was a sunny morning when I captured this delightful moment. I was working as a volunteer teacher in a primary school of immigrants’ children in mainland China. Immigrants are a special group in the mainland, especially in big cities like Guangzhou. Their children had lesser opportunities to receive education compared to the local ones. So, I worked there and hoped to do something for it.

This boy was one of the immigrants’ children in my class. Before coming to classes, I firstly saw him lower his head among all the children and seemed unwilling to talk. I arranged an interesting class that day. It was about safety education. I put the children into groups, let them watch a fun cartoon about self-rescue in dangerous situations. After watching, students had to compete to answer my questions. I would add points to the group who gave right answers and finally rewarded the one with the highest score. Through this, I wanted them to learn cooperation.

At the beginning, all went through quite well. But the boy I mentioned above did not want to take part in group discussion. I decided to talk to him during the break. I patted on his shoulder and asked: “Hello Tom, how are you going on with your group members?”
He shyly lowered his head and said: “It’s not fun.”
“What kind of fun activities do you like?” I asked.

“Playing computer games is much more interesting.” He answered honestly.
I knew it was children’s nature from my own experience. They were not to be blamed. They just resorted to exciting computer games as a result of lack of parents’ company.
“Oh, really?” I asked, pretending to be interested in it, “Then we can talk about it after class because I’ve played many computer games, too. But, you have to follow me the next class.”
I seriously promised the deal. He did so, too.

The next class I found him totally different from the previous class. It turned out that he had inspiring ideas over some issues and he cooperated with his group members well, too.

When the children cheerfully walked out of the classroom in lines after class, I did as promised and introduced a lot of playing-and-learning games to him. At the end, he suddenly gave me a bright grin, a grin that was like a flower blossoming in the sunlight. I could not help holding my mobile phone and grabbed this moment forever. It was not only in my album but also in my memory.

It kept telling me that, education is a process of exchanging emotional feelings but not a mere knowledge “push and pull”.