FOOD
yangzhou
Yangzhou food belongs to the Huaiyang cuisine which is one of the four best known cuisines in China.
Huaiyang dishes emphasise on the broth and it also feature high-quality ingredients and meticulous preparation. It is made with care to maintain the freshness and authentic flavours of the food. Dishes incorporating freshwater-food and meats cooked in Huaiyang style are eminent. Huaiyang dishes are delicately braised, stewed or roasted.
Examples:
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| Steamed Hilsa Herring |
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| Stewed Pig's Feet |
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| Stewed Pork Ball |
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| Stewed Fish Head |
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| Shredded Pork In Chicken Soup |
Huaiyang dishes also have a pleasing appearance. They are usually decorated with lifelike carvings of fruits and vegetables. In addition, they are neither too salty nor too sweet, suiting most plates. Huaiyang dim sum is also attractive with steamed buns filled with pork and vegetable or crab roe.
shanghai
Shanghai boasts one of China's best and most distinctive cuisines. Influenced by its position just south of the Yangtze and at the mouth of the Huangpu, the region abounds in a selection of freshwater fish and shellfish. Dishes from this area are delicately seasoned.
Shanghai's people have a 'sweet tooth', and more sugar is used in Shanghai than in any other part of China. Shanghai's neighbors also contribute to the diversity of the area's cuisine: Hangzhou, known for its West Lake carp; Zhejiang to the west, for its vinegar; and Shaoxing, for its warmed rice wine.
Seafood
Steamed Crab: 大闸蟹 Da Zha Xie
Shanghai's steamed crab uses a special type of crab found in rivers, and is normally consumed in the winter. The crabs are tied with ropes or strings, placed in bamboo containers, steamed and served. There few other artificial ingredients added to the dish yet it tastes fantastically good. It is usually consumed with vinegar. Locals are quite fussy about when to consume male crabs and when to consume female crabs.
Cheese Butter Lobster: 黄油焗龙虾 Huáng yóu jú lóng xiā
It is new-fashioned Cantonese dish. It tastes creamy, fresh, and mellow. A Chinese-Western combined dish, it is very popular in Japan and Southeast Asia.
Poultry
Beggar's Chicken: 叫化鸡 jiào huā jī
According to the legend, beggar's chicken originated in the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). Beggar's Chicken calls for a stuffed and marinated chicken, sealed tight with layers of lotus leaves, and then wrapped in parchment paper or wax paper along with mud.
This unique cooking technique produces tender, juicy, and aromatic chicken, with the original taste of the chicken perfectly retained and trapped. Beggar's chicken is a real Chinese delicacy that cannot be missed.
Pepper Duck: 黑胡椒鸭 Hēi hú jiāo yā
Pepper duck is a famous dish in Shanghai. Charlie Chaplin, world-renowned master of comedy, praised this dish as "a lifelong unforgettable gourmet".
The dish calls for half or a whole marinated duck, lightly fried and served with plum sauce and steamed bread. With a bright red color, crispy skin, and tender meat, Shanghai pepper duck will reward you with a pleasant experience. Autumn is the best season to enjoy this dish.
Wheat Products
Yangchun Noodles: 阳春面条 Yáng chūn miàn tiáo
Noodles are a delicious and famous food in China, and have a very long history. Noodles mean longevity in Chinese culture, which makes them very popular in China. They have become many Chinese people's staple food.
Yangchun noodles are also called clear soup noodles (清汤面), as they are thin noodles in a clear soup. Scented scallion oil is added to the noodles to make them smooth and tasty. They are highly nutritious, containing protein and various vitamins. Tasting yangchun noodles is recommended during your Shanghai tour.
Tea Dishes: 茶味点心
There is a tradition in China of taking snacks with tea. One specialty is a rich meal with every course cooked with tea. The unique feature is that you don't see the tea but smell the fragrance of tea. You can experience the artistic concept: "There is no tea here, but what you're having is better than having tea."
Shanghai Snacks
Shanghai boasts 1,800 snack houses and stalls serving various sorts of refreshments.
Taking breakfast foods by way of example, there is a total of some 300 kinds of dumplings and pastries including deep-fried twisted dough sticks, soy milk, glutinous-rice balls, fried cakes with green onions, noodles with topping, dumplings in soup, steamed buns, fried dumplings, glutinous-rice cakes and dumplings, sweet pasty soups.
Shanghai snacks are dainty and exquisite in shape with unique features. The eyebrow shortcake, date paste cake, shredded turnip cake, sweet osmanthus steamed cake are known for their color, flavor, fragrance and shape. They have captivated many diners. The steamed dumpling with meat filling is a typical Shanghai snack. You will find it in every corner of Shanghai, in big restaurants and little food stalls. It is called Chinese fast food.
Buns
Nanxiang Steamed Buns: 南翔小笼包 Nán xiáng xiǎo lóng bāo
Nanxiang Steamed Pork Dumplings are a traditional snack of Nanxiang Township in Shanghai's suburbs and can be found all over Shanghai.
These dumplings are made with a thin skin of dough and stuffed with a seasoned minced pork. The dumplings are then steamed in a bamboo steamer. Note that these dumplings are wrapped and sealed differently than other dumplings like jiaozi. We recommend taking a bite to let the juices cool. Otherwise, the juices could burn your tongue or spilt out on you. Then one can dip the dumpling into the dark Chinese vinegar provided to cool the dumpling to an appropriate temperature.
Soup Buns
Soup buns are bigger than xiaolongbao and contain soup. Special attention is paid to the taste of the soup. Soup buns in Shanghai tend to have a chrysanthemum-like shape, thinner dough skins, and lots of "stuffing", which comes in a wide range of choices. They offer a first-class flavor no matter which type you choose.
The buns are served hot in the bamboo basket in which they were steamed. The shape and tempting fragrance will really stimulate your appetite.
Fried Mantou
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Fried mantou, a local dim sum dish of shanghai, has a history of over 100 years. The semi-fermented dough is fried in a wok, and water is sprayed on it several times during cooking. Best tasted hot, the bottom of a hot fried mantou is golden and crispy while the rest is white and soft. The stuffing, fresh meat with sesame or scallion, is especially delicious. With its tempting color, crispy skin, tender meat and the gorgeous appearance, fried mantou is a top Shanghai snack.
Dumplings
Pigeon-Egg Dumplings: 鸽蛋圆子
With the shape of a pigeon egg, this dumpling weighs about one tenth of a liang (5 grams). It is made of glutinous-rice paste with a filling of a mixture of sugar, osmanthus, and mint, and is eaten in the summer months. It is soft and fine, and tastes sweet and flowery-flavored.
Dumplings Coated in Mashed Beans: 擂沙圆
Mashed red beans are used as covering of this dumpling delicacy. Its filling may be pork, red beans, or sesame seeds. It is delicious and refreshing, and is easy to carry if home consumption is desired. You will find this delicacy among the most famous dumplings served at Qiaojiashan Snack House at the corner of Xiangyang and Yongjia roads.
Cake
Crab-Brown Baked Cake: 壳黄
The cake is crisp, savory, and aromatic; as brown as the color of a cooked crab. The fillings include green onions with oil, pork, crab meat, shrimps, sugar, roses, mashed beans, and jujube paste.
Soup
Chicken and Duck Blood Soup: 鸡鸭血汤
This Shanghai favorite is soup (known as Jiya Xuetang) that contains solidified blood as its main ingredient. In fact, the blood rather resembles dark red tofu and has very little taste. The broth used is a very light or slightly salty clear chicken broth with some spring onion added for a nice flavor. All in all, this traditional Shanghai snack is quite tasty. Don't be scared. If you are not totally disgusted by the idea to begin with, you may like it.
This soup is said to be very healthy and good for you. The Chinese claim eating certain parts of animals strengthens the corresponding part on one's own body.
FASHION
yangzhou and shanghai
There are different types of fashion in China such as street fashion and fashion between men and women.
From walkway to street fashion, China's fashion sense has grown and changed dramatically in the last decade. From post Mao era to current day China, there has been many influences on Chinese fashion.
chinese street fashion
More now than ever before, Chinese adolescents want to be more individualized, stand out, and have their own fashion sense rather than blend in with the crowd. This has given rise to two of many types of Chinese street fashion today. They are called the "Xiao Qinxin" style and "Zhong Kouwei" style. "Xiao Qinxin" stands for "little freshness" and was used to describe a kind of indie pop music genre. Now it is used to describe fashion, movies, photography and objects. This type of fashion features light colors, canvas shoes, along with cotton and linen material, and images with vintage effects.
"Xiao Qinxin" style represents a fresh and angelic type of fashion in comparison to "Zhong Kouwei." Zhong Kouwei stands for "heavy flavor" and was first used to describe food with heavy flavors such as salt, garlic, pepper, curry etc.
This developed into the fashion now described in books, manga, and movies. "Zhong Kouwei" also represents anything that stimulates the senses occasionally with violence, sexuality, or blood. This type of fashion features dark bold colors, rivets, metal, black and white and angry poses. It also can be used to describe fashion that ties along with the themes of dramatic, sexy, and evil.
FESTIVALS
Christmas and New Year’s Day
Chinese Name: 圣诞节, 新年 (Shengdan Jie, Xin Nian)
Date: Dec 25, Jan 1
Christmas and New Year’s Eve are increasing in significance but are still not widely celebrated by Chinese people except for the exchange of cards and a little extra spending around Christmas time. There are Christmas and New Years celebrations held where there are many foreigners.
Chinese New Year (Spring Festival)
Chinese Name: 春节 (Chun Jie)
Date: First day of the Chinese new year
Also known as Spring Festival, this is the most important festival for Chinese people. It begins on the first day of the lunar calendar so the date varies from late January to February. It is a time to visit family, set off firecrackers, give red bags of money to younger family members and eat cake. It is also a month long winter break for students and teachers.
Valentine’s Day
Chinese Name: 情人节
Date: Feb 14
Lantern Festival – Mid February
Chinese Name: 元宵节 (Yuanxiao Jie)
Date: 15th day of the Chinese year.
On the 15th day of the Chinese New Year the Lantern Festival is held. Lanterns light up the streets and people eat sticky rice. It marks the end of the Chinese New Year festival.
Qingming Festival (Tomb-sweeping Day)
Chinese Name: 清明节 (Qingming Jie)
Date: April 4, 5 or 6.
It is a time to pay respect to deceased ancestors. It is not a public holiday. The date of Qingming festival is determined by the solar cycle.
International Women’s Day
Chinese Name: 三八妇女节 (Sanba Funv Jie)
Date: March 8
Employers give women half a day off work or give them some money.
International Labour Day
Chinese Name: 劳动节 (Laodong Jie)
Date: May 1
This is a very busy time for travel in China. Employees get a 7 day straight holiday.
International Youth Day
Chinese Name: 五四青年节 (Wusi Qingnian Jie)
Date: May 4
International Children’s Day
Chinese Name: 儿童节 (Ertong Jie)
Date: June 1
Kids get a day off of school or have a "fun day" at school.
Birthday of the Chinese Communist Party
Chinese Name: 党的生日 (Tang de Shengri)
Date: July 1
Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army
Chinese Name: 建军节 (Jianjun Jie)
Date: August 1
Dragon Boat Festival
Chinese Name: 端午节 (Duanwu Jie)
Date: 5th day of the 5th moon
Dragon boat races are held and people eat sticky rice. This festival is on the fifth day of the fifth moon. It is to celebrate the hero Qu Yuan who protested a corrupt emperor by drowning himself. Fishermen raced their long boats out on to the water and then beat drums and threw rice in order to drive the fish away from Qu Yuan’s body.
Chinese Valentine’s Day
Chinese Name: 七夕 (Qixi)
Date: 7th day of the 7th moon
Teacher’s Day
Chinese Name: 教师节 (Jiaoshi Jie)
Date: September 10
National Day
Chinese Name: 国庆节 (Guoqing Jie)
Date: October 1
This is the birthday of the People’s Republic of China. This is one of the busiest times for travel during the year since many Chinese people get a seven day break from work or school. It is a time to spend time with family and friends as well as the beginning of a major shopping week. Shopping areas become packed with shoppers searching for National Day deals.
Moon Festival (Mid-Autumn Festival)
Chinese Name: 中秋节 (Zhongqiu Jie)
Date: 15th day of the eighth moon
It’s time to eat moon cakes. On the 15th day of the eighth moon this festival celebrates the harvest.
FOLKS
yangzhou
People in Yangzhou speak the Yangzhou dialect (扬州话) of Chinese is representative of Lower Yangtze Mandarin, and is particularly close to the official language of the Ming and Qing courts, which was based on the Nanjing dialect. However, it does differ considerably from modern Standard Chinese, although they are still moderately mutually intelligible.
Yangzhou is also famous for an ancient folk art called Yangzhou storytelling (扬州评话) which is like a traditional Chinese comedic performance. It rose as a performing act during the Ming Dynasty. In the performance, the artist details an interesting historical story to audiences, using Yangzhou dialect. These stories have been edited by artists, so they sound very soul-stirring and funny. The best known artist of Yangzhou storytelling was Wang shaotang. His most famous works are The 10 chapters of Wu Song (武十回), The 10 chapters of Song Jiang (宋十回), The 10 chapters of Lu Junyi (卢十回), and The 10 chapters of Shi Xiu (石十回).
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| 王少堂; 1889–1968 |
shanghai
The vernacular language spoken in the city is Shanghainese, a dialect of Wu Chinese, while the official language nationwide is Mandarin, itself mutually unintelligible with the local language. Modern Shanghainese is based on the Suzhou dialect of Wu, the Ningbo dialect of Wu, and the dialect of Shanghai's traditional areas that now lie within the Hongkou, Baoshan and Pudong districts.
According to a 2012 survey, only around 13% of the population of Shanghai belongs to organised religions, the largest groups being Buddhists with 10.4%, followed by Protestants with 1.9%, Catholics with 0.7% and other faiths with 0.1%. Around 87% of the population is non religious or partakes to traditional folk religions, Taoist rites, worship of gods and ancestors.
Shanghai is home to several professional soccer teams, including Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League, one of the China's most popular and successful. In addition, Shanghai is also the hometown of many outstanding and well-known Chinese professional athletes, such as Yao Ming, the 110-meter hurdler Liu Xiang, and the table-tennis player Wang Liqin.
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| Yao Ming 姚明 |
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| Liu Xiang 刘翔 |
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| Wang Liqin 王励勤 |
The Chinese which includes both people in Yangzhou and Shanghai, believed that being filial is very important. They believed that if a human can't even respect their parents, they are being ignorant. Parents gave birth to them they should respect them and treasure it. We should appreciate them before their hair turn white.
Chinese also have a belief that when a person is dead. It can be reborn. And he/she will reborn into a family who was his/her enemy before.
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