China: An Amazing Country with a Colorful Culture

China is an old country with colorful culture.  I am always amazed by countless Chinese food choices, unique religions, amazing architectural structures, statistics, and ancient Chinese musical instruments.

     There are many kinds of Chinese food and ways of cooking. Some common ways of cooking Chinese food are: stir fry, deep fry, and steam. Stir fry is the most popular out of the three. Rice is the main part of the Chinese diet. Since rice is plain and does not taste very interesting, other dishes can be added to make the rice more flavorful. Tofu and fish are among the many kinds of food that can be added to accompany the rice to add some taste. China is very large and therefore, type of Chinese food varies from where you go in China. One of the famous food types is Beijing food. A favorite is the Beijing duck. Cantonese food is usually steamed, boiled, or stir-fried. You could a sample of the variety in Cantonese style Dim Sum – a small portion of the dishes particularly good for brunch. Sichuan food is generally spicy. The most famous dish is Kung Pao chicken, fried with nuts and chili pepper.

     In China, there are several different religions, but the two major ones are Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism originated in northern India in 522 B.C. It is very popular and is gaining support from the government. There are many Buddhist temples in China.  Taoism is an ancient Chinese practice that involves geomancy. Geomancy is the practice of reading spiritual signs from random castings of earth, stone, and sticks. Many Chinese identify themselves as Taoist and Buddhist at the same time.

     China has some of the world’s most amazing structures. The most amazing structure is the Great Wall of China. This is the largest man-made structure to ever be built. The wall extends for more than 5 miles and can be seen from space! It was originally built for the purpose of protecting the Chinese from the Mongolians. Today, it is a popular tourist attraction.

     Here are some interesting statistics about China. China has the highest population of any country. The capital city is Beijing and major cities include: Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, and Tianjin. The western side of China is dry and receives little rainfall. Seasonal winds called monsoons control southern China’s climate. Most of the land use in the east is crops and livestock. In the west, land use is mostly nomadic herding.

     Chinese musical instruments are unique and beautiful. The history of Chinese music can be dated back to around 7,000 years ago. Chinese musical instruments can be classified into three basic categories: string, wind, and percussion. Wind instruments are very popular in China. A dizi, the simplest wind instrument, is particularly popular since it is a low cost instrument and is relatively easy to learn. Dizi is traditionally made of bamboo. The string instruments can be separated into 2 classes – bowed and plucked. The most popular bowed instruments are Erhu, Gaohu, Zhonghu, Gehu, and Di Gehu. Popular plucked instruments consist of Pipa, Liuqin, Yueqin, Ruan, Sanxian, Guqin, Guzheng, Duxianqin, and Yangqin. Common materials used for making percussion instruments in the past were gold, rock, wood, and bamboo. The more popular percussion instruments include Luo, Gu, Bo, and Bianzhong. As you can see, there are many unique and interesting Chinese musical instruments.

     To conclude, these unique characteristics – the variety of food, religions, amazing structures, statistics, and musical instruments – make China a very interesting country. Wouldn’t you enjoy visiting this ancient, mystical land and trying some of the most delicious food or testing your real strength on the Great Wall of China?