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Red Envelopes

2/22/2019

During Chinese New Year, as well as for other special occasions like weddings, Chinese people give red envelopes. Red is the luckiest color in China, symbolizing happiness and good luck. Red envelopes are filled with money and represent good wishes. Giving them is a way of sharing one's blessings.

Numerology is important to the Chinese people. Never give an amount of money with the number 4, 40, 400, etc. Four is pronounced "suh" and is the 4th tone. Death is also pronounced "suh," but it is third tone. Because of the similarity of sound, most buildings in China were built without a floor labeled "4," just like "13" in the U.S.

When receiving a red envelope, accept it with both hands. The same holds true for business cards. Business cards are an extension of the person giving them, therefore you honor and respect that person by using both hands to accept the card or red envelope.

Elders give red envelopes to children and grandchildren as a way to pass on good fortune. Another version is when younger people give envelopes to their elders in order to bestow longevity or show gratitude.

Next week is the story of Chinese New Year and the legend of the monster, Nian.

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Chinese New Year

2/15/2019

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新年快乐！新年 means "new year" and 快乐 means "happy." This common greeting (transliteration: sheen nee-en kwai luh) is uttered hundreds of billions of times each year.

Last week marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, the biggest holiday of the year in China. It is such a big holiday that children are out of school for a month. It has been dubbed the largest human migration in the world, with billions of people returning to their hometowns or visiting family and friends. The train stations are packed with people; standing room only for hours on end. There have been miles and miles of traffic jams in recent years, some so slow and long that they have lasted for days.

The migration is an inevitability for the Chinese. It's like Mother's Day, Father's Day, birthdays and anniversaries all in one. You MUST go home to celebrate. And celebrate they do! Days and days of firecrackers, gorging on food, music, dragon and lion dances, laughter, gift giving (especially money) and visiting with friends and family.

Chinese New Year is celebrated by Chinese, and other Asian cultures, around the world. From Vietnam to the United States, from Taiwan to Indonesia, from Malaysia to South Korea, from Singapore to Brunei. For those who want a little taste of Chinese New Year, New York City's Chinatown, and Chinatowns across the U.S., the celebrations are joyful and exciting. Check it out sometime. Or better year, get to China!

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Tianmen Mountain

2/8/2019

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Tianmen Mountain in Hunan Province (near Zhangjiajie National Park), is a beautiful mountain filled with lots of long rides...world's longest cable car, one of the world's longest escalators and a crazy bus ride up the mountain, with 99 hairpin turns. The mountain also boasts a glass walkway, that hovers off the side of the mountain. Tianmen Mountain is a lot of fun and adventure in one day trip.

I spent a day on Tianmen in 2016. After the 99 hairpin turns (see slideshow above), we reached a platform where we could view the big erosion hole at the top of 999 stairs. For those who didn't want to walk the interminable stairway to heaven, there is an option to go up one of the world's longest escalators to the top. The views are breath-taking, as are all views from China's sacred mountains. We meandered along several paths to get to the glass walkway. At the time, that was the coolest glass-related walking we could do, but since that time an enormous glass bridge, that goes from mountaintop to mountaintop, is available for the brave travelers willing to try it.

The way down the mountain was an amazing 30 minute ride on the world's longest cable car. Most of the things we did are not great choices for those afraid of heights, but for me, it was a fantastic adventure with some awesome high school students, teacher friends, my dad and my son, Max.

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Tongli

2/1/2019

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Tongli is one of the small water towns outside Shanghai. On typical traffic days, it will take less than two hours to get to Tongli, but on the day we went in October 2018, there was a lot of construction. Three and a half hours after hotel departure, we arrived. Although we were grumpy from the interminable ride, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at one of the local restaurants, took a boat ride around the canals and spent free time, wandering the back alleys and buying local arts and crafts. All in all a good day.

We visited one of the many gardens in Tongli, The Retreat and Reflection Garden. The garden and buildings were built in the late 1800's. The location is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you are lucky, and we were that day in October, there might be opera performed in the main square.

There are other water towns like Tongi, with cobblestone alleys, stone bridges and winding canals. Zhujiajiao is the water town closest to Shanghai, only about 45 minutes away. Some others are Zhouzhuang, Xitang and Nanxun.

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Red Envelopes

Chinese New Year

Tianmen Mountain

Tongli

Lauren Drazen

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