Solar eclipse of 2009 across China 日食

Solar eclipse - 日食 in Chinese










The solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 is the "longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century," exceeded only by the record-setting solar eclipse of July 11, 1991, and not to be surpassed until 2132. It lasted as much as 6 minutes and 39 seconds in parts of Southeast Asia,causing tourist interest in eastern China, India and Nepal.This was the second in the series of three eclipses in a one-month period, being book-ended by two minor penumbral lunar eclipses, the first was on July 7 and second will be on August 6.

A partial eclipse was seen from the much broader path of the Moon's penumbra, including most of Southeast Asia (all of India and China) and north-eastern Oceania.

The Chinese government used the opportunity to provide scientific education and to dispel any superstition.

Shanghai Maglev Train 上海磁浮铁路

The Shanghai Maglev Train is the first commercial high-speed maglev line in the world. The system and trains were built to the Transrapid standard. Construction began in March 2001, and public service commenced on 1 January 2004.

During a test run on 12 November 2003, a maglev vehicle achieved a Chinese record speed of 501 km/h (311 mph).

System length: 30.5 km (19.0 mi)
a one-way ticket cost ¥50 (US$7.27)
The Shanghai Transrapid project took ¥10 billion (US$1.33bn) and two and a half years to complete.

The line runs from Longyang Road station in Pudong, on the Shanghai subway line 2 to Pudong International Airport. The journey takes 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km. A train can reach 350 km/h (220 mph) in 2 minutes, with the maximum normal operation speed of 431 km/h (268 mph) reached thereafter.

China celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival) 端午节

The Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival) is a traditional and statutory holiday associated with Chinese cultures, though other east Asian societies observe it as well. It is a public holiday in China and Taiwan, and a public holiday in Hong Kong and Macau, where it is called the "Tuen Ng Jit". In English it is often referred to as the "Dragon Boat Festival", an allusion to one of the traditional activities associated with the holiday.

The festival occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, giving rise to the alternative name of Double Fifth. In 2009 this falls on May 28 and in 2010 on June 16. The focus of the celebrations includes eating zongzi, which are large rice wraps, drinking realgar wine, and racing dragon boats.

Equivalent and related festivals include the Kodomo no hi in Japan, Dano in Korea, and Tết Đoan Ngọ in Vietnam.

The Duanwu Festival is believed to have originated in ancient China. A number of theories exist about its origins as a number of folk traditions and explanatory myths are connected to its observance. Today the best known of these relates to the suicide in 278 BC of Qu Yuan, poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period.

Yarlung Zangbo River 雅鲁藏布江 Brahmaputra River

The Yarlung Zangbo River 雅鲁藏布江, Tibetan: ཡར་ཀླུངས་གཙང་པོ་

The Yarlung Zangbo river originates upstream from the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, in Tibet.It then passes through India, where it is known as the Dihang. Downstream the river becomes wider and at this point is called the Brahmaputra River. It eventually disgorges into the Bay of Bengal. Since the river crosses international boundaries, it has at least three different names in different languages.

The Yarlung Zangbo River is the highest major river in the world. Its longest tributary is the Nyang River. In Tibet the river flows through the South Tibet Valley, which is approximately 1200 kilometres long and 300 kilometres wide. The valley descends from 4500 metres above sea level to 3000 metres. As it descends, the surrounding vegetation changes from cold desert to arid steppe to deciduous scrub vegetation. It ultimately transitions into a conifer and rhododendron forest. The tree line is approximately 3,200 metres. Sedimentary sandstone rocks found near the Tibetan capital of Lhasa contain grains of magnetic minerals that record the Earth's alternating magnetic field current.

The Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, formed by a horse-shoe bend in the river where it flows around Namcha Barwa, is the deepest, and possibly longest canyon in the world. The river has been a challenge to whitewater kayakers because of the extreme conditions of the river.

China's national flower-Plum (Prunus mume) 梅花-中国的国花

Prunus mume, or Chinese plum is a species of Asian plum in the family Rosaceae. The flower, long a beloved subject in the traditional painting of East Asia and Vietnam, is usually translated as plum blossom.

The tree originates from China, and was brought to Korea and Japan later. The tree is cultivated for its fruit and flowers. Although generally referred to as a plum in the English language, it is actually more closely related to the apricot.

In China, there are over 300 recorded cultivars of mei, which can be broadly divided by colour into white, pink, red, purple, and light green types.

One of the most beloved flowers in China, the plum blossoms are frequently depicted in Chinese art and poetry for centuries. The Chinese sees its blossoms as both as a symbol of winter as well as a harbinger of spring. It is precisely for this reason that the blossoms are so beloved, as they bloom most vibrantly amidst the winter snow, after most other plants have shed their leaves, and before other flowers appear. They are seen as an example of resilience and perseverance in the face of
adversity, and more recently have also been used as a metaphor to symbolize revolutionary struggle since the turn of the 20th Century.

China's Parliament in Session

China's parliament is made of two conferences, National People's Congress 全国人民代表大会 and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 中国人民政治协商会议.

The NPC consists of about 3,000 delegates and meets for about two weeks each year at the same time as the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, usually in the Spring. The combined sessions have been known as the two meetings.

The CPPCC is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China. The organization consists of delegates from a range of political parties and organizations, as well as independent members, in China. The proportion of representation of the various parties is determined by established convention, negotiated between the parties. Both conference meetings are always held in the People's Great Hall located next to the TianAnMen square.

These meeting sessions have become media events because it is at the plenary sessions that the
Chinese leadership produces work reports. In addition, during NPC sessions the Chinese leadership holds press conferences with foreign reporters, and this is one of the few opportunities Western reporters have of asking unscripted questions of the Chinese leadership.

Currently, the chairman of NPC is Wu Bangguo 吴邦国. The chairman of CPPCC is Jia Qinglin 贾庆林.