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<title>Kathmandu’s alleys and temples</title>
<description> Kathmandu is enchanting. It’s medieval and spiritual and alive. And the only way to really see this chaotic cobbled maze is by foot.

Start your exploring in Thamel – a traveller enclave with some great hotels and hostels. Thamel is loads of fun and crammed with touts and colourful stalls. Looking up, the vibrancy continues in a mash of wires, shop signs and overhanging balconies. And if you nee
 </description>
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<![CDATA[ Kathmandu is enchanting. It’s medieval and spiritual and alive. And the only way to really see this chaotic cobbled maze is by foot.

Start your exploring in Thamel – a traveller enclave with some great hotels and hostels. Thamel is loads of fun and crammed with touts and colourful stalls. Looking up, the vibrancy continues in a mash of wires, shop signs and overhanging balconies. And if you need them, you can get home comforts such as a good-quality wine or chocolate.

Head south of Thamel’s main market (Thamel Chowk) towards Kathmandu’s beating heart, Durbar Square. Winding your way through markets, alleys and bahals (monastery courtyards), keep your eyes open for the architectural wonders that seem to appear on every corner. From Thamel Chowk you’ll reach Thahiti Tole, a square with a central stupa and, along its northern edge, the Nateshwar Temple, with doors showing creatures playing musical instruments. South of here is Kathesimbhu Stupa, which radiates colourful prayer flags, and further along you’ll find the triple-roofed Ugratara Temple.

Turn east and immerse yourself in the frantic vegetable and spice markets of Asan Tole, one of the busiest intersections in old Kathmandu, before wandering past the octagonal Krishna Temple. Then it’s on through Indra Chowk, another of Kathmandu’s markets and the traditional centre for blanket and cloth merchants (look around and you’ll also find bangle and bead sellers). Head west and enter Yatkha Bahal, a huge open courtyard with a white-washed central stupa.

As you wind your way through these crowded alleyways, you’ll pass many wonderful things - stalls alive with Buddhist prayer flags, rows of dental surgeries, gleaming brass and glittering glass bead shops…not to mention the odd wandering cow!

South of Yatkha Bahal, you’ll reach your goal: Durbar Square. This UNESCO World Heritage-listed area is really a series of three squares and the finest remaining example of Kathmandu’s traditional architecture. It’s easy to spend hours wandering around and watching the world go by from the terraced platforms of the towering Maju Deval. When the shadows begin to lengthen, head back to Thamel, find a rooftop garden, and relax with a beer or pot of tea
 ]]>
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<dc:subject>Category: None</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2009-10-09T19:38:55+09:00</dc:date>
<dc:creator>yyww</dc:creator>
<dc:publisher>FC2-BLOG</dc:publisher>
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<link>http://yyww.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-12.html</link>
<title>Overseas anthropologists Adventure in Chinese ethnic village eye-opening </title>
<description> KUNMING, July 30 (Xinhua) – Hillary Callan, an anthropologist from London, found herself drinking in the landscape of the Keyi village, the home of 712 Axi people, a branch of the Yi ethnic group. 

The village, a three-hour drive from Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan Province, is believed by local residents to be the birthplace of the Axi culture. 

Legend says it is the source of an e
 </description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[ KUNMING, July 30 (Xinhua) – Hillary Callan, an anthropologist from London, found herself drinking in the landscape of the Keyi village, the home of 712 Axi people, a branch of the Yi ethnic group. 

The village, a three-hour drive from Kunming, capital of southwestern Yunnan Province, is believed by local residents to be the birthplace of the Axi culture. 

Legend says it is the source of an epic poem telling the beginning of the Axi people. The poem, passed down from generation-to-generation, refers the village as "an auspicious place". 

What struck Callan was a folk dance named "Axi Tiaoyue" or "Axi dance under moonlight", traditionally performed to celebrate harvest and victory. 

"It looks fantastic and sounds joyful. I like their music, costume and dance. It is traditional and creative," she said. 

Together with Callan were dozens of foreign anthropologists who joined more than 3,000 scholars to participate in the ongoing 16th World Congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) due to close on Friday. 

Responding to the curiosity of foreign scholars in China's ethnic culture, the congress has arranged five fieldtrips during the five-day event to ethnic villages nearby Kunming. 

IUAES President Luis Alberto Vargas told Xinhua that he found the work made by the Chinese government in relation to the minorities was "something to be known world over". 

"Many countries have the same situation as China does. That is a country having multi-nationalities. But not all countries have learned to handle this situation. The way that China is doing is just one of several possibilities. I think it has to be known to the world because it's getting good results," he said. 

Many participants enjoyed the change of pace the fieldtrips offered. 

"It's good to see ethnic villages like Keyi and their cultural heritage are open to the national public and the international public," Callan said. 

Yi, a modern ethnic group mainly living in China, Vietnam and Thailand, has a population of about eight million. It is the seventh largest of China’s 55 ethnic minority groups. Its branch Axi were scattered in several counties and cities of Yunnan province, with a total population of more than 100,000. 

Australian scholar Andrew McWilliams from the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies also greed that the Axi Tiaoyue Dance was one of their favorites from their Wednesday trip. 

"It's amazing, and dances like that are things I have never seen before in anywhere else," said McWilliams. 

The dance represented the essence of the Axi culture, such as primitive beliefs, songs, musical instruments, traditional costumes and religious rites. It has been performed in more than ten countries and regions, including the United States, Japan, Austria, Poland, North Korea and Russia. 

Callan was also impressed by the way the ethnic community works together with local government for its prosperity. 

"They use their own cultural heritages and resources for tourism and economic and social development. The village shows enormous potential of tourism development," she said. 

Another anthropologist from Chiangwai University in Thailand, Chukiat Chaiboonsvi, thought the village’s traditional culture is "under proper protection". 

“It looks very likely for the village to protect the culture and pass it to the next generation. The village is a good example of achieving economic development while at the same time protecting the precious culture," he said. 

"I think the Chinese government has always been trying to support and take care of ethnic minorities. It's difficult and it takes time, but so long as the government keeps going on, it will have good results." 

People from countries outside China are rarely aware of various ethnic groups in China or the government's policies towards ethnic groups, according to experts on the trip interviewed by Xinhua. 

Shivendra Kumar Kashyap, an anthropologist from G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in India, said he had no idea of China’s ethnic groups until he visited the National Museum in Yunnan this time. 

"In the museum, I got to know all the ethnic minorities in China, including how they survive and how they preserve their own culture," he said. 

Callan said she would encourage young people from western countries to come and explore by themselves the real China. 

"China is absolutely one of the most interesting parts of the world for anthropologists. I wish I could stay longer to learn in greater depth about this country," she said.
from xinhua ]]>
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<dc:subject>Category: None</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2009-08-03T22:43:29+09:00</dc:date>
<dc:creator>yyww</dc:creator>
<dc:publisher>FC2-BLOG</dc:publisher>
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<title>Cowboy and the Weaver Girl</title>
<description> A young cowherd named Niulang the cowherd happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü the weaver girl to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang has seen her naked, she must agree to his request for
 </description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[ A young cowherd named Niulang the cowherd happens across seven fairy sisters bathing in a lake. Encouraged by his mischievous companion the ox, he steals their clothes and waits to see what will happen. The fairy sisters elect the youngest and most beautiful sister Zhinü the weaver girl to retrieve their clothing. She does so, but since Niulang has seen her naked, she must agree to his request for marriage. She became a wonderful wife, and Niulang a good husband . But the Goddess of Heaven finds out that a mortal has married one of the fairy girls and is furious. Taking out her hairpin, the Goddess scratches a river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever thus forming the Milky Way .Zhinü must sit forever on one side of the river while Niulang watches her from afar and takes care of their two children .But once a year all the magpies in the world take pity on them and fly up into heaven to form a bridge over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so the lovers may be together for a single night, the seventh night of the seventh moon.
 ]]>
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<dc:subject>Category: None</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2009-07-01T00:47:01+09:00</dc:date>
<dc:creator>yyww</dc:creator>
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<title>China to build world's largest quake simulator</title>
<description> A Chinese university said Tuesday it had started to build the world's largest quake simulator, a week after the first anniversary of the deadly earthquake in southwest China.

It will be used to accurately test the designs of bridges, tunnels, subways, stadiums and skyscrapers, Shanghai's Tongji University said in an emailed statement.

The four vibrating platforms, capable of carrying 200 ton
 </description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[ 
A Chinese university said Tuesday it had started to build the world's largest quake simulator, a week after the first anniversary of the deadly earthquake in southwest China.

It will be used to accurately test the designs of bridges, tunnels, subways, stadiums and skyscrapers, Shanghai's Tongji University said in an emailed statement.

The four vibrating platforms, capable of carrying 200 tonnes, will generate a simulated quake to test a model's capacity to withstand the destructive power generated by the movement of the Earth's crust.

Currently the world's largest quake simulator is at the University of Nevada in the United States, but it can only handle about half the capacity of the Tongji simulator, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

"With a larger total bearing ability, we can set up a bigger and more elaborate model of a structure to put on the vibrators," civil and structural engineering professor Li Jianzhong was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

It will take two years to complete the construction of the Tongji centre.

Last year's 8.0-magnitude Sichuan earthquake left nearly 87,000 dead or missing.

At least 5,335 students were killed or went missing when their classrooms crumbled on them.

Nearby structures stood firm, and devastated parents have blamed local cadres for pocketing construction money and building low-quality schools.

 ]]>
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<dc:subject>Category: None</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2009-06-01T00:06:34+09:00</dc:date>
<dc:creator>yyww</dc:creator>
<dc:publisher>FC2-BLOG</dc:publisher>
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<link>http://yyww.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-9.html</link>
<title>Trains in China</title>
<description> China has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town and city. Some people may still imagine Chinese trains to be old-fashioned and crowded. In fact, some routes still used traditional steam engines until 10 or 20 years ago. But today the best trains are very modern and comfortable and safe. 

Trains in China have four classes: soft seat, soft sl
 </description>
<content:encoded>
<![CDATA[ 
China has one of the largest and busiest rail networks in the world, and trains link almost every town and city. Some people may still imagine Chinese trains to be old-fashioned and crowded. In fact, some routes still used traditional steam engines until 10 or 20 years ago. But today the best trains are very modern and comfortable and safe. 

Trains in China have four classes: soft seat, soft sleeper, hard seat, and hard sleeper. Short distance trains normally have just hard class seats, or sometimes hard seats and soft seats, but no sleeper bunks. Long distance trains have soft and hard class sleepers as well as a few cars with hard seats, the so-called “cheap seats”. Soft sleepers have comfortable 4-berth compartments with full bedding provided. Hard class sleepers have bunks in an open-style dormitory cars, usually arranged in bays of 6 (upper, middle and lower) on one side of the aisle, with pairs of seats on the other side of the aisle for daytime use. For long trips, both hard class and soft class sleepers are quite comfortable, but soft class does provide much more space and privacy. 

The most important trains on the Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Hong Kong, and some other routes also have deluxe soft class with 2-berth compartments as well as the normal 4-berth soft class. Of course, most long-distance trains have a restaurant car serving full meals. 

So, how do you book a train ticket? 

Reservations for the best Z-category express trains open 20 days in advance, but for most other trains bookings only open 4-10 days before departure. The rules appear to vary! However, you can't buy a ticket before bookings open. You can generally only book a train journey at the station where your journey starts, so (for example) the reservations office at Shanghai can sell you a Shanghai-Beijing ticket but not a Beijing-Xian ticket. You would have to purchase these tickets when you arrive in Beijing, so allow for a few days wait or else have someone in Beijing buy the tickets for you. Berths are best booked at least 2-3 days in advance, apart from peak periods (mainly the Spring Festival, May Day holiday, and National Day in October) when tickets should be booked as soon as reservations open. Many people travel during these times and tickets can be scarce. 

Trains with a 'Z' in the train number are the best trains with the most modern coaches. "Z" stands for 直快, indicating that it arrives at the destination with little or no interim stops. Trains with a 'T' in the train number are the next best. The “T” stands for 特 as in 特快, 'extra' fast. Trains with a 'K' in the train number are just 快 'fast'. They will stop at many more stations along the way and generally take much longer to arrive at the final destination. At any rate, traveling by train is a great way to see the countryside and meet other travelers and local people along the way. 

Editor:Wang Ping  Source:CCTV.com
 ]]>
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<dc:subject>Category: None</dc:subject>
<dc:date>2009-04-29T21:17:50+09:00</dc:date>
<dc:creator>yyww</dc:creator>
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