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.

China's beautiful Paracel Islands 美丽的西沙群岛

西沙群岛，又称为帕拉塞尔群岛（Paracel Islands），是南中国海上的四大群岛之一，由永乐群岛和宣德群岛组成，海岸线长518公里。西沙群岛现由中华人民共和国控制，越南社会主义共和国宣称拥有其主权。

中华人民共和国国务院已批准海南省政府的提议，将现有的西沙群岛办事处升格，设立县级市“三沙市”，下辖西沙、中沙、南沙诸群岛。目前有关建市筹备工作正在进行。消息称，未来的三沙市的海域范围将逾200万平方公里，接近全国陆地面积（960万平方公里）的四分之一。

西沙群岛上有一处唐宋时期遗址、多处明清遗址、十四座明清古庙、大量清民国时期石碑，表明中国人自唐以来就开始在西沙群岛生活，是西南中沙群岛的主人。
1932年，西沙群岛被法国管辖，第二次世界大战后由中华民国政府接管。
1946年，中华民国海军陆战队驻防永兴岛。
1950年4～5月，中国人民解放军攻占海南岛时，永兴岛的驻军被中华民国政府遗忘了，直到三个月后永兴岛的驻军向中国人民解放军投降（当时称起义回归）。从此永兴岛一直由中华人民共和国海军驻防。
不过一直到1974年，由于弱小的海军战力、远距离部署能力与后勤保障能力，中华人民共和国军队并没有在西沙群岛各个主要岛礁布防。在1974年，南越西贡当局把西沙群岛划入南越领土，中国提出抗议。后来更爆发了中越西沙自卫反击战.

地理位置
* 北纬16.3°N、东经112.0°E。
* 位于海南岛东南面180多海里。
* 西面是永乐群岛：珊瑚、甘泉、金银、琛 航、晋卿以及广金等。
* 东面是宣德群岛：赵述岛、北岛、中岛、南岛、石岛、东岛和永兴岛7个主要岛屿等组成。
* 以及相对独立的中建岛、高尖石、盘石屿、玉琢礁、浪花礁和 北礁等。

西沙首府永兴岛面积约2.1平方公里，西沙群岛有22个岛屿、7个沙洲，还有10多个暗礁暗滩。陆地总面积约10平方公里.西沙建有军民两用机场（于1991年建成），拥有一条1,200公呎的飞机跑道，可起降波音737飞机。

2009, Chinese New Year, Year of Ox

2009 is the year of Earth Ox, and year 4706 in Chinese calendar.
2009 = 地牛
干支 = 己丑

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work. This powerful sign is a born leader, being quite dependable and possessing an innate ability to achieve great things. As one might guess, such people are dependable, calm, and modest. Like their animal namesake, the Ox is unswervingly patient, tireless in their work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.