Author Archives: RSu

Shangri-La County

April 25, 2012

Shangri-La is originally a fictional location in James Hilton’s 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. The area is described by Hilton as a place of earthly paradise near the western end of the Kunlun Mountains in China; it is isolated off from the rest of the world and the people who live there are nearly immortal and slowly aging in appearance. Nowadays, Shangri-La can be used to describe any place with beautiful scenery and its name is often used to attract tourism. However, as with any well-written book with detailed scenery, the scenery is often inspired by some real-life locations.

Today, there exists a county within Yunnan province that is officially known as the Shangri-La County. Previously known as Zhongdian County, it is said to be one of the main inspirations for Hilton’s depiction of Shangri-La. Despite this, many places in China still try to claim the name of Shangri-La. Areas such as Sichuan province, Tibet, and Yunnan province claim that the real Shangri-La existed in their land. At one point, China had so many existing claims (thus inefficiently splitting tourism), it was decided that their tourism efforts should be unified. In 2004, Sichuan province, Tibet, and Yunnan province signed a declaration of cooperation.

Following the original purpose for renaming Zhongdian County, Shangri-La County is a place of tourism. It is filled with vast lands overflowing with flowers and beautiful mountain scenery. There are also temples and many village-like communities. It is the isolated paradise (or as close as it gets for a tourist area) that Hilton speaks about in Lost Horizon. I have been there myself and the scenery there is simply breathtaking. I have travelled to many places throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, yet I have seen nothing like I have seen in Shangri-La County. If you have a chance and are willing to do a lot of exploring, I recommend it. One thing you should note is that you should not be expecting to stay at high class, or even decent, hotels. To really get to the amazing sites, you have to live in the somewhat poorer towns where the hotels that get running water are considered “higher class”. Also, since it is filled with mountain hiking, be sure that you are able to handle high air pressure. If none of these are a problem for you and, on the contrary, excite you further about touring this area, then I have only one suggestion for you. Go and explore for yourself!

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Tencent QQ

April 3, 2012

In the past couple of decades, the birth of the internet has completely changed the way the world runs. Entertainment, communication, and businesses are completely different than they were 20, even 10, years ago. Along with the rise of blogs and social networks, instant messaging has been one of the most widely used forms of internet communication.

In the United States, the most commonly used instant messaging program, created by America Online (AOL), is known as AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Many American children begin having AIM accounts starting in middle school. Personally, I have had an AIM account since 2002; I was in seventh grade and was considered one of the last ones to get it among my peers. AIM is not world dominant, however. It was not until college, where I had been exposed to students from outside the country, did I discover that the most globally used instant messenger is Windows Live Messenger. Windows Live Messenger, previously known as MSN messenger, has a user database that is the second largest in the world. If Windows Live Messenger is active in 60 different countries, what instant messenger could possibly have a larger database?  The answer is Tencent QQ. You haven’t heard of it? Don’t be alarmed; in fact, it would be more surprising if you HAD heard of it. Tencent QQ, or simply known as QQ, is the prominent instant messenger service in China. With China’s population, it is obvious how QQ has the larger database despite being active in only one country.

Before understanding why QQ has succeeded against Windows Live Messenger, it must first be understood that the preferred internet privacy level is low in China. People in China enjoy being connected to strangers in communities and are willing to trade off a certain level of privacy to increase their chances of meeting them. Windows Live Messenger had brought their ideas of privacy protection to China, where it was viewed as bothersome and a socially limiting function. For example, Windows Live Messenger can only add friends if the e-mail address used for the friend’s account is known. In other words, it is most likely that the consent to add the friend has already been informally given since the person adding knows which e-mail address to add. Even then, the person being added must still confirm that the person adding them is a friend. With QQ, the powerful search engine allows you to search people using their display name, QQ ID (a 10-digit number), or location.

Currently in China, the feeling of a need for internet privacy is slowly increasing, however. The default setting for QQ is to automatically accept anyone who adds you as a friend. This setting is optional, though, and many people now require a password in order to be added. This password usually comes in the form of an answer to a personal question that only actual friends would know. QQ also now has an international version that offers the software in English, French, Japanese, German, Korean, and Spanish. The international version of QQ can be downloaded at www.imqq.com if you’re ever interested in trying it out. However, note that the international version is still only a beta version with fewer functions than the actual program. Don’t let this stop you, though, because all the basics are there.

If you ever get around to trying this program out, look me up!

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Chinese New Year

January 27, 2012

Happy New Year everyone! Before I begin explaining my seemingly belated New Year greeting, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Robin Su and I am one of the management interns for FWFL this coming spring semester! I am a Business Administration major with a concentration in Management. I look forward to interacting with, not only the staff, but also the parents and children at FWFL. I believe that learning a second language is very important and I am glad to be part of this program. I am excited to be working with all of you!

Again, Happy New Year! Some may already know of this, but many Asian countries including China, Japan, and Korea celebrate a separate New Year. In China, January 1st is indeed celebrated but it is treated as a normal holiday with no special traditions other than the trading of “Happy New Year” greetings among family and friends. January 1st is an official Chinese holiday; government buildings and businesses close on that day. However, Chinese New Year is celebrated on a much bigger scale.

Chinese New Year, more accurately known as Spring Festival, often occurs between late January and mid-February. The date, which is different each year, is based off the lunar calendar. The first thing to note in a new year would be which animal year it is. As you may know, China has its own zodiac consisting of twelve animals: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. With twelve animals, there is a twelve-year cycle in which each year represents one of those animals. This year is the year of the dragon! Those born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, and 2012 are all born in the year of the dragon and this is a special year for them!

As I mentioned before, the Spring Festival is celebrated on a scale where New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in China cannot compete. Businesses are closed for one week and the streets are filled with an air of festivity. In China, red is the color of luck, prosperity, fortune, and happiness; therefore, the streets will be filled with red during the week. Words of luck and joy are written on red banners and are taped around doors. Paper cutouts and signs with “luck” written on them are hung and taped on windows and inside buildings. You will also see many people, if not all, wear the color red. Chinese New Year is a time for family gatherings, thus many activities are done among family to celebrate this occasion. For example, there are some places in China where the tradition is to hand-wrap 1000 dumplings! Dumplings are one of the main foods eaten during Spring Festival and the purpose of making so many is so that they will be able to have enough dumplings to last them a week! That is not to say that they only live off of dumplings for one week, but rather that they have dumplings in at least one meal each day for a week. Around the world, as implied in the name of “New Year”, people welcome the start of new things and new beginnings. This is even more so in China during the Spring Festival. New clothes and shoes are bought and haircuts are done in order to symbolize the fresh start. Sweeping is also taboo on New Year’s Day because doing so would “sweep away” the luck brought in by the New Year.

There is too much to mention in one blog post regarding the traditions and superstitions that surround such an ancient festival in China. If I were to continue explaining all of the traditions and meanings behind Spring Festival, I would have myself a thesis! However, I hope that this post has shed some light on the biggest holiday in China. With this, I wish you a Happy New Year and a prosperous year of the dragon!

Here’s how you say and write Happy New Year in Chinese!

新年快乐

Romanized as: Xīn nián kuài lè

Pronounced: Sheen    knee-an    Ko-why    la

How the words are split up:

新(Xīn)年(nián) 快(kuài)乐(lè)

新 = new

年 = year

快乐 = happy/merry

Happy New Year! 新年快乐！

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