Content of China Culture Tour

Confucius, a Chinese thinker and educator 2500 years ago, was the founder of the Confucian school of thought and one of the most influential figures in the history of world culture. To this day, his teachings influence the thoughts and behaviors of many Chinese around the world, and Western academics have never ceased to study Confucius' ideas. The book "The Analects", which records the words of Confucius and his disciples, is regarded as a Confucian classic.

Qufu, Shandong Province, is the hometown of Confucius, and its "Three Confucius" -- the Confucian Mansion, the Confucian Temple and the Confucian Forest (the graveyard of Confucius and his descendants) -- is a tourist attraction for exploring the culture of Confucius. China International Travel Service (CITS) often organizes Confucius culture workshops for tour groups from western countries at the "Three Confucius" site, where they study the "Six Arts" advocated by Confucius: rituals, music, shooting, martial arts, calligraphy and mathematics, Chinese qin, chess, calligraphy and painting, and horseback riding and archery. The Confucius Cultural and Tourism Festival is held in Qufu, Shandong Province, on the birthday of Confucius on Sept. 26 of the lunar calendar.

Peking Opera

Peking Opera is a unique stage art in China, which emphasizes both singing and dancing in its performances, and combines martial arts skills, emphasizing "singing, reciting, acting and fighting". What is remarkable is the unique abstract performance techniques; in the empty stage, through the actor's singing and physical movements, expression, eyes, etc., with music, to the virtual instead of the real, can let the audience really understand the opening and closing of the windows, riding a horse in a sedan chair and other actions to the development of the plot; and even only a few actors in the scene, you can create the grandeur of the army of thousands of horses.

For foreign tourists ad hoc Peking Opera special performances, try to avoid the language barrier, often selecting the "Three Forks", "picking up the jade bracelet", "the Great Palace of Heaven", "Drunkenness of the Princess" and other action-packed, singing less white plays with the help of dance, physical and other language to express the plot. The colorful costumes, the peculiar face-paintings of the actors and actresses, as well as the Chinese national musical instruments such as qin sheng and gongs, often attract the great interest of foreign tourists.

Calligraphy and Seal Sculpture

Some countries in the East use brushes dipped in ink to write characters and paintings, which originated in China. Chinese calligraphy includes seal script, official script, regular script, running script and cursive script. Chinese paintings include ink paintings, silk paintings and Chinese New Year paintings. There are both ink paintings and brushwork paintings, showing various subjects such as figures, landscapes, flowers, fruits and melons, birds and animals, fish and insects.

The four utensils required for calligraphy and painting, namely, pen, ink stone, paper and ink, are known as the "Four Treasures of the House of Letters". The most famous is the Zhejiang Huzhou "Lake Pen", are selected from the best goat hair, rabbit hair, weasel hair made; Guangdong Zhaoqing Duanxi "Duan ink stone", stone selected from the local mountain stone in the fine; there are also Anhui Xuancheng "Xuan paper" and Huizhou "Xuan paper" and "Xuan paper" and "Xuan paper". Xuanpaper" from Xuancheng, Anhui Province and "Huizhou ink" from Huizhou, both of which have unique craftsmanship and a long history. These places of origin are tourist spots for foreign travelers to explore Chinese cultural goods. They watch and learn about the traditional craftsmanship and shop for their favorite literary treasures.

Seal carving, which goes with calligraphy and painting, is also regarded as a unique Chinese culture by foreign travelers. When they travel to China, they often ask local interpreters to translate their names into Chinese, select the best quality Qingtian stone or Shoushan stone as the material, and ask local carvers to carve their Chinese names into a seal, which is a very interesting souvenir for travelers.

Silk

Since the ancient Romans first saw the silk cloak worn by Julius Caesar 2,000 years ago, they have known that in the far east there is a China that produces such beautiful and marvelous garments, which they called the "Land of Silk". Suzhou and Hangzhou, the famous silk-producing regions, are places where modern travelers can explore the mysteries of silk.

Travelers in Suzhou and Hangzhou can visit silk museums to learn about the history and production process of silk, rural villages where silkworms are grown and silk factories, and craft institutes where silk is embroidered. Tourists can both visit and participate in production operations such as picking mulberry, raising silkworms, reeling, weaving, dyeing and printing silk. They can shop among the colorful silk products.

Martial arts

Traditional Chinese martial arts, which many foreigners call "kung fu," are also of interest to tourists. Therefore, the Shaolin Temple in Dengfeng, Henan Province, and the tiny village of Chenjiagou are destinations for foreign travelers who love Chinese "kung fu" and want to find the birthplace of Shaolin and Taijiquan. There, one can not only observe authentic Kung Fu, but also learn and explore the true meaning of Chinese martial arts by becoming a student at a local martial arts school or gym. Tai Chi, as well as Qigong and Acupuncture, are traditional Chinese health and medical treatments. Many foreign travelers have heard of their miraculous body-strengthening and healing properties and have made special trips to China to seek advice and medical treatment.

Porcelain

Porcelain was first produced in China. In English, "porcelain" and "China" are the same word. The world sees China as the "Land of Porcelain", and China's famous porcelain capital, Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, has naturally become a place of desire for foreign travelers.

In Jingdezhen, foreign tourists can see the ruins of porcelain kilns from thousands of years ago, as well as rare ancient porcelain and shards unearthed at those sites. They can also be guided by local craftsmen to make a porcelain bowl according to ancient Chinese techniques, have it engraved with their name, and send it into the furnace for a few hours to be baked, making it an extremely meaningful souvenir. Although this bowl may be very rough, but it is likely to be the first time in their lives hand-made porcelain, and is in the country of porcelain - China, porcelain capital - Jingdezhen production, it is well worth showing off in front of friends and family.