Travel China

As a country steeped in culture, history, and traditions, China has no shortage of museums that tell stories of its past, present, and future. From ancient relics to modern art, these museums are a window to the country's rich heritage and offer a glimpse into its diverse cultures. With so many options to choose from, it can be overwhelming to decide which ones to visit. In this article, we've rounded up the top 20 popular museums in China that are definitely worth your time and attention.     01 The Palace Museum The Palace Museum is an exceptional museum. Established in 1925, it was built on the foundations of the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties - the Forbidden City. After six hundred years of rise and fall, glory and shame, the doors to these royal palaces finally opened to the public. The Palace Museum boasts a collection that is unparalleled, it houses one of a kind artifacts within wooden structures preserved from Imperial China's largest palace complex in its entirety.   02 National Museum of China The National Museum of China is the highest institution representing the state's collection, research, display, and interpretation of artifacts that reflect…

Cultivating crops and felling bamboo, crafting clothing, and refining silver, his every movement embodies the simplicity and purity of ancient times, like the ancient Chinese lifestyles. He achieves self-sufficiency in materials and mastery of skills, by reviving traditional crafts and cuisine, completely captivating the modern individual accustomed to advanced technology. "Feel the charm of traditional culture from the perspective of the ancients, and write the words of history as a vivid picture", in this article we'll introduce Lu Lei to you, learn to feel the wisdom of the ancients while experiencing the leisurely idyllic life. Lu Lei seems to have traveled from ancient times, dressed in traditional Hanfu clothing, with long hair and a headband, living in seclusion in a remote village in Fujian. He tends to a few acres of flower fields, keeping company with cats and dogs, living a leisurely and carefree life.   Intangible Cultural Heritage in Ancient Chinese Lifestyles Everlasting Flower Next to the trickling stream, cut down a straight rice-paper plant, remove the branches and leaves, extract the core, and with superb knife skills, peel them into thin sheets of paper. After trimming petals of various sizes, they undergo processes such as moistening, shaping, gluing, and drying,…

In the bustling streets, adorned and towering-haired noblewomen in their fineries queue up outside the restaurant for their meals. Such a scene is not a time travel nor in a hanfu film and television city, but on the streets of Luoyang. Encountering empresses while traveling to Luoyang is no longer a rare occurrence, at the same time, the magnificent and majestic Yingtian Gate, the decorated ancient city of Luoyi, and the mysterious and profound Luoyang Ancient Grave Museum have almost become the unified backgrounds for short videos of ancient style cosplay.   A time-traveling trip to Luoyang Entering Luoyang, the classical atmosphere is very strong. The surrounding areas of Luoyi, Cross Street, Yingtian Gate, and other antique pedestrian streets are filled with shops offering hanfu experiences and dressing up. Rows of different shaped and richly colored hanfu and a wide variety of ethnic costumes, inviting passing tourists through the glass windows, to open a journey through time and space on the streets of Luoyang. As night falls, this antique street seems to switch to Tang Dynasty night market mode with young people in various dress styles competing for their favorite ancient scenery. Photographers holding cameras and fill lights, directing guests…

China is home to some of the world's most magnificent palaces, many of which have been converted into museums. The five Palace Museums (Gu Gong, 故宫) in China are a treasure trove of ancient artifacts and cultural heritage from different dynasties. These museums showcase China's rich history, revealing the grandeur of its past emperors and imperial courts. Each museum offers unique insights into Chinese culture and history, from the majestic Palace Museum in Beijing to the lesser-known Mukden Palace in Shenyang. Whether you're a history buff or just looking for an unforgettable travel experience, these five Palace Museums should be on your must-visit list.   Ming Palace The Nanjing Ming Palace (Nan Jing Gu Gong, 南京故宫) was built during the Ming Dynasty in 1368 when Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and set the capital in Nanjing. The construction of the palace began on a large scale, and by 1392, this magnificent palace was finally completed. The palace set a precedent for the integration of the palace and the city axis, covering an area of over 1.0125 million square meters, making it the largest palace complex in the world at that time. The Ming Palace can be divided into: the…

The Chinese New Year holiday has not yet passed, February has already arrived. 2023 is a common year (distinguished from a leap year), so February only has 28 days, but full of early spring romance and tenderness. February 4 is the traditional Chinese solar term "Li Chun, 立春, Beginning of Spring", although the weather is still cold, but the flowers, which have endured the whole winter have long gotten the news in advance, with action to convey to the world: Spring day arrived! Spring means a fresh start. And for gourmets, a new season means new cuisine to eat. The best thing about spring is leeks. Although leeks are available all year round, the newborn leeks in early spring are extremely tender and fragrant. So much so that the ancients would still use it for ancestral rituals. Without getting too sophisticated, leeks can be stir-fried or wrapped in dough to make leek cakes, which is one of the romantic ways the ancient Chinese welcomed spring. February 5 (the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar) is the Lantern Festival, which is the first full moon of the Chinese calendar new year and the return of spring to…

On the evening of November 29, at the 17th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Rabat, Morocco, the "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" nominated by China were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. "Traditional tea processing techniques and associated social practices in China" covers the knowledge, skills, and practices of tea plantation management, tea leaf picking, manual processing, drinking, and sharing. Since ancient times, Chinese people have been growing, picking, making, and drinking tea. Using the art of tea making, tea makers have developed six major tea types, namely green, yellow, dark, white, oolong, black teas, and reprocessed tea such as flower-scented teas, and more than 2,000 kinds of tea products to meet the various needs of the people with different colors, aromas, tastes and shapes. https://youtu.be/Oe6kGFmFLnc   1 - The Origin of Chinese Traditional Tea Shennong used tea as an antidote for hundreds of poisons. Shu gave homegrown tea to the emperor of the Zhou Dynasty as a tribute. Since Lu Yu, the Saint of Tea, composed the "The Classic of Tea (茶经)", the status of tea has…

1. The Picture of the Ode of the River Goddess The Wei and Jin dynasties, the most elegant era in Chinese history, were full of poems and famous scholars, leaving behind countless brilliant literary works. Cao Zhi's Luo Shen Fu (洛神赋) is one of the most brilliant pieces. This long poem, about a traveler who meets a goddess on the shores of the Luo River, but who eventually parts from her because of the difference between the gods and the people, has its roots in the great poetic tradition of the Chinese people, but also contains the romance of Chinese native mythology. The poem Luo Shen Fu was depicted by another legend of the Wei and Jin dynasties, the painter Gu Kaizhi (348-406), in the form of painting: "The Picture of the Ode of the River Goddess". Since then, from poetry to painting, "The Picture of the Ode of the River Goddess" has been permanently engraved in the memory of Chinese people and sublimated into an immortal cultural symbol.   2. Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy One thousand four hundred years ago, during the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, Songtsen Gampo, an admirer of the prosperous…

Lantern Chinese lantern is a classical traditional cultural craft in China, also known as Dengcai (灯彩), originated in the Western Han Dynasty more than 1,800 years ago. Every year around the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, people hang red lanterns symbolizing the meaning of reunion to create a festive atmosphere. Later, lanterns became a symbol of the festiveness of the Chinese people. Lantern has the meaning of symbolize reunion, festive, and peace. Lanterns in traditional culture are integrated with painting art, paper-cutting, paper tie, bayonet, and other crafts. Among the lanterns made in ancient China, Gong Deng (宫灯, palace lanterns) and Sha Deng (纱灯, gauze lanterns) are the most famous. Lanterns are closely connected to the Chinese people, a ballad tells its festive colors and functions: carry lanterns on the Lantern Festival, hang red lanterns on the Dragon Boat Festival in May, fly lanterns in June, release lotus lanterns on the Ghost Festival, buy jade rabbit lanterns on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Kongming lanterns on the Double Ninth Festival. In fact, many traditional cultures handed down from ancient times are also symbolic. They are the products of the wisdom of predecessors…

In Henan, China, there is an immortal mountain: Laojun Mountain. With the snow-capped mountains and clouds surrounding the top, many Hanfu lovers visit here to take pictures of the fairyland in their hearts. The @MediaStorm team, with 30 days and a total of 10,000 photos, used digital technology to replicate this magnificent scene and reproduce this "Cloud-topped heavenly palace".   Build a "Cloud-topped heavenly palace" with 10,000 photos This famous Chinese mountain, which was formed 1.9 billion years ago, reaches an altitude of over 2,200 meters. The team's first test was to wait patiently for the summit to clear due to the constant cloudiness. After five days of waiting, the drone successfully took off. Gliding over the top of the mountain and through the porch, the entire mountain was incorporated into the camera amidst the roiling clouds. A cloud-topped heavenly palace, accurate to the centimeter level, was built in its entirety with digital technology. It mainly records the architecture and surrounding scenery of the Golden Peak Taoist Temple complex. When it comes to photogrammetry, many people are probably unfamiliar with it. Simply put, it is a modeling technique that digitizes a scene. It has long been used in many areas…

Henan's traditional cultural works are deeply remembered by too many people. The "Tang Palace Night Banquet", a recreation of the Tang Sancai music figurines, shows the beauty of the Tang Dynasty; the "Luo Shen Shui Fu", a breathtakingly beautiful underwater dance, so many netizens amazed: "This is the real traditional culture program". 2022 Chinese 24 Solar Terms series, but also make Henan TV add to the drama catch-up list of every traditional culture lovers. But that's not all, the surprises are just beginning! Henan has spent billions to build China's first panoramic immersive experience theme park - Unique Henan - Land of Dramas, which is currently the world's largest theater cluster, allowing people to experience the charm of traditional Chinese culture in an immersive way. "Unique Henan - Land of Dramas (只有河南·戏剧幻城)", located in Zhongmou County, Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, is a 1,536-acre project, the core area "Huan Cheng (幻城)" is 328 meters long and 15 meters high. It is one of the largest and longest performing theater complexes in China, with 21 theaters of various sizes and nearly 1,000 actors, divided into 3 main plays and 18 smaller plays, with a total play length of nearly 700 minutes. During…

In recent years, hanfu has been flourishing all over China, and there are large and small hanfu events held every month. So what are the specific cities with the best hanfu atmosphere? Hanfu Zixun launched the Top Hanfu Cities of China contest to reflect the different development of hanfu around the country. With 62.01% of the votes, Chengdu, Sichuan topped the list, the only city with more than 50% of the votes, and was drastically outperformed by all the other cities. Xiuwu ranked seventh, which should have a lot to do with its success in holding the first Hanfu Expo in 2021.   NO.1 Chengdu (成都) The No. 1 hanfu city is: Chengdu. After pandas, hot pot and mahjong, Chengdu has a new calling card: the Hanfu capital. It is not only because of its nationally known "Hanfu Street", but also because it has nearly 220,000 hanfu lovers, the first in China in terms of the number of Hanfu Tongpao (同袍; Hanfu fans call each other Tongpao). Chengdu's excellent hanfu culture atmosphere cannot be separated from the local government's strong support for the promotion of hanfu culture.   NO.2 Hangzhou (杭州) Hangzhou, known as "Hang" for short, was known as…

Different flowers have different but very important meanings in Chinese culture. Here are the basics on what some of the most important and commonly seen flowers mean.

The Qingming Festival is coming up soon! Learn more about where this holiday came from and some things that you can do to participate in celebrating it, both in the way of the ancients and the way that people do now.

Giving gifts is a great way to show appreciation, gratitude, or love, but there are a few things that shouldn’t be given as gifts in chinese culture. Some are due to double meanings, others due to symbolism, but just to make sure you don’t slip up and accidentally give your friend a taboo gift, pay attention to these key gift taboos!

Chinese Intangible cultural heritage is no longer just stay in the museum for the public today. As of November 2021, the number of Chinese intangible cultural heritage projects is 1,557. In addition to the old traditional folk crafts to be guarded by the old generation, the most important thing is to combine innovative elements with the deep-rooted intangible cultural heritage. Tencent Video has crossed over with Chinese traditional craftsmen from different fields to create new peripheral works using traditional cultural elements and skills for a number of popular cdramas, documentaries and variety show IPs. This is not only the heritage of traditional Chinese culture, but also new ideas for Chinoiserie gifts. Let's see what wonderful artworks they bring together.   NO.1 Rong Hua: Tradition, Ultimate Romance Rong Hua (绒花) was first introduced as a tribute to the royal family in the Tang Dynasty, and was also known as "Palace Flower", which means good luck and blessing. Most of them use a combination of harmonics and artistic images to express. After "Story of Yanxi Palace" became a big hit, the female character of the costume drama "Court Lady", which was broadcasted this year, wore snowflakes on her head, which again brought…

The oldest Chinese embroideries found date back to the Zhou dynasty (1027-221 B.C.) and may well be the earliest that ever existed. However, very early embroideries have also been found in Egypt and Northern Europe, so it is not clear in which part of the world the art of embroidery actually originated - it may also have appeared in several parts of the world at about the same time. It is, however, accepted that the Chinese invented sericulture and mastered the art of reeling the cocoons of the bombyx and spinning the silk from very early times. It is therefore not surprising that the ancient Chinese embroideries were made of silk. Strangely enough, embroidery in China was at first reserved for men, before they entrusted this task to the more delicate fingers of their women. The earliest surviving example of Chinese silk embroidery is a ritual garment found in a tomb in Mashan, now Hubei Province, in the fourth century BC, during the early Taoism period (before the appearance of Buddhism in China). However, if we are to believe the patterns drawn on this garment, it could just as well have been used to perform the rituals of a religion…

Whenever it comes to an important Chinese holiday, the National Day of China or the Chinese New Year. You would always see red color in various places in China. Besides adding to the festive atmosphere, the color red is also an important part of the world's perception of China. Why does red represent China? How did red become the favorite color of the Chinese people? Today we will talk about the China-red!   How much do Chinese people like red? China-red, as the underlying color of Chinese culture, is everywhere, all the time. Such as the vermilion gate, red walls and pillars of the Forbidden City, or the redwood furniture and red quilts of people's homes. From the bride's red veil, red wedding dress, red embroidered shoes, etc., to the red Dudou (肚兜) worn by children. And red Fai Chun, red lanterns, red paper cutting, red envelope, red seals ...... There are too many objects off red in China to count. The Chinese can be said to have applied the color red to an extreme. Chinese directors also like to apply red in their films, such as Zhang Yimou. The films "Hong Gao Liang (红高粱)", "Ju Dou (菊豆)", "House of…

Chinese paper cutting art is one of the most representative art forms, most widely used by the people, with the richest historical cultural understanding and distinct characteristics varying from region to region. Although its material - paper, was invented only 2,000 years ago, the culture and connotation and art form of cutout paper is the historical-cultural sediment of Chinese nation from 6,000 or 7,000 years ago from the primitive society to nowadays. Therefore, its cultural value far exceeds the Chinese paper cutting art itself, and has rich connotations of philosophy, aesthetics, archeology, history, ethnology, sociology, and anthropology, which represents a complete system of original Chinese art, modeling system, and color system. The Chinese paper cutting is the carrier of the original Chinese philosophy, it is represented in popular culture.   Types of Chinese paper cutting art There are many kinds of Chinese paper cutting art: for decorations, such as cut-out papers of windows, Kang, cave-house roof, etc., for life utensils, such as cut-out papers of pottery, cylinder, etc., for dress, there are embroidery, flowers of cap, shoes, pillows, etc., for the holidays, there are "bowl with lid" which implies the combination of earth and sky, the propagation of descendants, and…

The Mid-Autumn Festival, the second-largest folk festival in the Chinese festival system next to the Spring Festival, has spawned countless legends and poems over the centuries. “明月几时有，把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？” "How long will the full moon appear? Wine cup in hand, I ask the sky. I do not know what time of the year 'Twould be tonight in the palace on high." In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival is essentially the "Chinese Ritual Moon Festival", and the worship of the moon by the Chinese people has started since ancient times. "The lonely moon goddess, spreads her ample sleeves, To dance for these loyal souls in infinite space." "Chang'e is dancing in the long sky for ten thousand miles." From Chang'e Flying to the Moon to the lunar exploration program, for more than 2,000 years, people have never paid less attention to the moon. Mid-Autumn Festival was popularized during the Han Dynasty, a period of economic and cultural exchange and integration, when cultural exchanges across the country led to the fusion and spread of festival customs. The term "Zhong Qiu (mid-autumn, 中秋)" was first written down in Han Dynasty literature, and the Zhou Li between the two Han dynasties recorded that during the pre-Qin period,…

This year, China's Henan TV continuously brings surprises to lovers of traditional culture and hanfu culture. Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, every important Chinese traditional festival, we will see the wonderful programs presented by Henan TV, the most exciting part of which is dancing. Not only offers a holiday gift to all lovers of Chinese traditional culture, but also traditional arts are known to more people. Starting from 2018, "Street Dance of China", "Dance Smash", "Let's Shake It" and other programs have been hotly broadcast, which also set off a wave of dance. After 2019, Chinese classical dance, one of the traditional dances in China, suddenly jumped into the public's view and became popular in social media in the short term accompanied by the popularity of ancient music. This may also be the first time that the public really knows and pays attention to Chinese classical dance. The historical background of the formation of Chinese classical dance can be traced back to the ancient Chinese court dances or to the primitive, ritual dances of more distant times. During the change of dynasties, the development of ancient court dances was affected by the limitations in the use of…

Umbrellas are very common in daily life. Whether it's a hot sun or a downpour, an umbrella is definitely your best assistant. Not only that, in the modern hanfu shooting, the appearance rate of the ancient style oil-paper umbrella is extremely high. The demand for shade from the sun and rain has been there since ancient times, take a look, the the history of ancient Chinese umbrellas, to see what kind of umbrellas the ancients used.   Pre-Qin Period The early Chinese umbrellas were called "Gai (盖)" or "Deng (簦)", made of grass, pieces of bamboo, etc., with a handle to hold, much like the current umbrella, but it could not be put away. Chinese umbrellas made of silk first appeared in the Western Zhou period, silk umbrellas are expensive, generally used by the nobility, are mainly decorative items and symbols of power for the dignitaries, noblemen, and the scholar. The common people could not afford to buy silk umbrellas, so they mostly used Douli (斗笠), or Suoyi (蓑衣, straw raincoats) in their lives. Suoyi has an important feature and symbol of ancient Chinese costume: Shang Yi Xia Chang. The top is called "Suoyi Pi (蓑衣披)", which is draped over…

To speak of Ancient China is to speak of thousands of years. China is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and has such a rich history that its culture is infinitely complex. Divided into dynasties, this millenary civilization, whose society revolved around the family and the veneration of their ancestors, whom they elevated to the category of spiritual presences, has changed little in its way of seeing life.   Traditional Chinese family - Jia The traditional Chinese family -called Jia- was considered the social structure par excellence. Family life and social organization were inseparable. It was in the family that the State found its foundation. But to understand the nature of the traditional Chinese family model and its social implication, one must take into account the traditional values that structured it. These values were based on the principles, ideas, and moral precepts of Confucius (551-479 B.C.), which governed Chinese society for millennia. For Confucianism, the family was the social institution in charge of guaranteeing stability, harmony, and the social system. Thus, in its scale of values, great importance was attached to the formation of large families, with grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren. This type of family, in which…

The Chinese culture forms a world apart from strong isolation. Only in prehistoric times, especially the Neolithic, can we point to any contact between such distant worlds. The pottery with painted spirals of the Chinese Yang-Chao culture, in the 3rd millennium, resembles that of Southern Russia and the Danube at the same time. It has been brought from the West, perhaps by the first Chinese, farmers and herdsmen arriving from the Turkestan districts, where they were in contact with Caucasians and Indo-Germans and with other Mughal groups, the Uralo-Altaic and Turkic. Early History of Chinese Culture People were already living in the large region we now call China long before the beginning of recorded history. About 9,000 years ago, the ancestors of today's Chinese created agricultural settlements near two mighty rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Near the northernmost Yellow River, the earliest agricultural settlements consisted of wooden houses plastered with mud and roofed with reeds. Farmers cultivated a plant called millet, as well as fished in the river and hunted. Further south, people built houses on stilts in the swampy land near the Chang Jiang or "Long River". They grew rice on the waterlogged land and archaeologists have…

China is a country of walls. Not only the cities were enclosed by walls, but also the quarters, within them again the quarters and each individual residential yard. To the outside, the courtyards had no windows, all life was concentrated inside, everything outside, foreign was, and is, usually seen as a threat. The Chinese characters for the city and for wall are identical: cheng. No wonder China is so proud of its Great Wall. Correctly translated, it should be called "long wall", and this poses the first riddle: How long is the Great Wall of China? Nobody knows exactly. History and architectural features of the Great Wall The Chinese call it wan li chang cheng (万里长城), meaning 10,000 li long wall, which would be about 5000 km. This is probably too little, but wan also means "infinite", which again would be too much. Most estimates are around 6800 km, also quite long. But the wall was not the same length at all times, and it is not a wall at all, but a system of walls that were connected during their best times, in the Han Dynasty and much later in the Ming Dynasty. And besides, contrary to claims to…