Types of Chinese Ethnic Costume

There are numerous clothing designs and forms in Chinese ethnic minorities. Generally speaking, they can be classified into two types: long gowns and short clothes. People usually wear a hat and boots to match long gowns, and headcloth and shoes to match short clothes. The gowns take various forms: the high-collar and big-front type worn by the Mongolian, the Manchu, the Tu and so on; the collarless tilted-front type worn by the Tibetan, the Moinba and so on; the tilted-front type worn by the Uygur and other ethnic minorities; and so on. As for short clothes, they fall into two types: trousers and skirts.

In terms of fashion of skirts, there are pleated skirts, tube skirts, short skirts, one-piece dress and so on. In any kind of clothes, no matter it is the gown, the coat, the skirt, or the trousers, different ethnic minority groups employ different structures, techniques and styles. Women of the Li, the Dai, the Jingpo, the De'ang ethnic minorities and so on all wear tube skirts, but those tube skirts worn by the Li are brocade skirts made of cotton, those worn by the Jingpo are woolen multicolored skirts, those worn by the De'ang are skirts with horizontal stripes, and those worn by the Dai are usually skirts made of common cloth.

Costumes of ethnic minorities vary greatly not only with different nationalities, but also with different branches and different regions within the same ethnic group. Difference can be seen from province to province, from county to county, and even from village to village. Costume is the most obvious symbol of an ethnic group, and in the history, many ethnic groups were named just according to their garments.

In a vast country like China, with so many ethnic groups and an unbalanced social development, styles of clothes vary a lot due to different economic lives, cultural levels, natural environments and geographical conditions and climatic conditions. This is one of the characteristics of folk garments.

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• Techniques of Chinese Ethnic Costume

Some techniques of Chinese ethnic minorities such as embroidery and batik are much developed, and are widely used in making clothing adornments. This is another feature of their costumes.

Embroidery is a technique generally favored by all ethnic groups, and it is usually used in the headband, the waistband, the apron, and some rapid-wearing parts such as the border of the front, the round shoulder, the lower hem, the wristband, the bottom of trouser legs, the edge of the skirt, etc., being both decorative and practical. Embroidery techniques include cross-stitch work, applique, embroidering and so on; methods include surface, twine, chain, net, stab and stack embroidery, etc; patterns include natural scenes, auspicious patterns and geometric patterns and so on.

Chinese cuisine: Min (Fujian) Cuisin

Min cuisine is a Fujian coastal region. With the 167 varieties of fish and 90 kinds of turtles and shelfish in Fujian coastal are, Min cuisine emphasizes seafoods, river fish, shelfish and edible bird's nest, cuttlefish and sturgeon.
Min cuisine comprises three branches - Fuzhou, southern Fujian, and western Fujian. There are slight differences among them. Fuzhou dishes are more fresh, delicious, and less salty, sweet, and sour. Southern Fujian dishes are sweet and hot and use hot sauces, custard, and orange juice as flavorings. Western Fujian dishes are salty and hot. As Fujian people emigrate overseas, their cuisine has become popular in Taiwan and abroad.
The most characteristic aspect of Fujian cuisine is that its dishes are served in soup. Its cooking methods are stewing, boiling, braising, quick-boiling, and steaming.
Cutting is important in the Fujian cuisine. Most dishes are made of seafood, and if the seafood is not cut well the dishes will fail to have their true flavor. Fujian dishes are slightly sweet and sour, and less salty.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall:
The name implies the dish is so delicious that even the Buddha would jump over a wall to eat it once he smelled it. A mixture of seafood, chicken, duck, and pork is put into a rice-wine jar and simmered over a low fire. Sea mussel quick-boiled in chicken soup is another Fujian delicacy.

Oyster omelette:
Oyster omelet is made with fresh oysters, a batter of potato and sweet potato starch, eggs and green leafy vegetables—all pan-fried over high heat. Before serving, a specially concocted sweet-and-sour sauce is poured on top for added flavor. This delectable dish is a common sight in night markets.

Popiah:
It is a type of fresh spring rolls commonly found in Fujian, Taiwan, Singapore. Filled with shredded vegetables, meat, sauce and more.It’s also one of the popular dishes served at home in Fujian, especially in Xiamen. The concoction is especially fun and rewarding if shared with friends and family.

 

Chinese Transportation

China Train Travel

Traveling by train is one of the cheapest ways to travel some of the longest distances in China, and is popular with the local population.

Even Tibet, one of the most inaccessible regions in the world, can be reached via train with the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

Tourists can get to Moscow (Russia), Ulan Bator (Mongolia), Hanoi (Vietnam) and Pyongyang (North Korea) by taking international trains from China.

Chinese Traditional Clothing 2

Traditional Chinese clothing is broadly referred to as hanfu with many variations such as traditional Chinese academic dress. Depending on one's status in society, each social class had a different sense of fashion. Most Chinese men wore Chinese black cotton shoes, but wealthy higher class people would wear tough black leather shoes for formal occasions. Very rich and wealthy men would wear very bright, beautiful silk shoes sometimes having leather on the inside. Women would wear bright, silk coated Lotus shoes, with wealthy women practicing bound feet as a status symbol - a practice abolished in the early 20th century. Male shoes were mostly less elaborate than women's.

[edit] Civil and military officials

Chinese civil or military officials used a variety of codes to show their rank and position. The most recognized is the Mandarin square or rank badge. Another code was also the use of colorful hat knobs fixed on the top of their hats. The specific hat knob on one's hat determined one's rank. As there were twelve types of hat knobs representing the nine distinctive ranks of the civil or military position. Variations existed for Ming official headwear.

The Night Revels of Han Xizai painting, originally by Gu Hongzhong, depicting life in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period

Robe of Qianlong Emperor with the Chinese dragon, hallmark of the Emperor of China and imperial families

[edit] Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)

See also: Cheongsam and changshan

The rise of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in many ways represented a cultural rupture with the past, as Manchu clothing styles were required to be worn by all noblemen and officials. The Qing first implemented queue laws that required the populace to adopt Manch hairstyles and clothing - or face execution. Eventually, this style became widespread among the commoners.^[1] A new style of dress, called tangzhuang, included the changshan worn by men and the qipao worn by women. Manchu official headwear differed from the Ming version but the Qing continued to use the Mandarin square.
Republican era

Two women wearing cheongsams in a 1930s Shanghai advertisement.

The abolition of imperial China in 1912 had an immediate effect on dress and customs. The largely Han Chinese population immediately cut off their queue as they were forced to grow in submission to the overthrown Qing Dynasty. Sun Yat-sen popularised a new style of men's wear, featuring jacket and trousers instead of the robes worn previously. Adapted from Japanese student wear, this style of dress became known as the Zhongshan suit (Zhongshan being one of Sun Yat-sen's given names in Chinese).
For women, a transformation of the traditional qipao (cheongsam) resulted in a slender and form fitting dress with a high cut, resulting in the contemporary image of a cheongsam but contrasting sharply with the traditional qipao.

[edit] Early People's Republic

Early in the People's Republic, Mao Zedong would inspire Chinese fashion with his own variant of the Zhongshan suit, which would be known to the west as Mao suit. Meanwhile, Sun Yat-sen's widow, Soong Ching-ling, popularised the cheongsam as the standard female dress. At the same time, old practices such as footbinding, which had been viewed as backwards and unmodern by both the Chinese as well as Westerners, were forbidden.
Around the Destruction of the "Four Olds" period in 1964, almost anything seen as part of Traditional Chinese culture would lead to problems with the Communist Red Guards. Items that attracted dangerous attention if caught in the public included jeans, high heels, Western-style coats, ties, jewelry, cheongsams, and long hair.^[2] These items were regarded as symbols of bourgeois lifestyle, which represented wealth. Citizens had to avoid them or suffer serious consequences such as torture or beatings by the guards.^[2] A number of these items were thrown into the streets to embarrass the citizens.^[3]

[edit] Modern usage

Hong Kong clothing brand Shanghai Tang's design concept is inspired by Chinese clothing and set out to rejuvenate Chinese fashion of the 1920s and 30s, with a modern twist of the 21st century and its usage of bright colours.^[4]
For the 2012 Hong Kong Sevens tournament, sportswear brand Kukri Sports teamed up with Hong Kong lifestyle retail store G.O.D. to produce merchandising, which included traditional Chinese jackets and Cheongsam-inspired ladies polo shirts.^[5][6][7]

Chinese traditional transportation

Motorcycles

In 2000, if your family was middle class – you might buy a motorcycle if you did not have enough money to buy a car. For a one-child family, the motorcycle could transport the whole family for many years. There are no big Harley Davidsons on the road – but there are many good quality motorcycles available. Motorcycles are also the poor man's taxi in China. They will give you a lift for about half the fare of the taxi - but you take your chances when it comes to safety. They can be wild drivers!

Electric bikes (mopeds) and Battery operated Bikes – you’ll see mopeds in most towns and now it is very chic and very inexpensive to own the new stylish Vespa style Motor Bikes. They are everywhere and offer an affordable means of transportation in China.

Chinese cuisine: Yue (Guangdong, Cantonese) Cuisine

Yue cuisine is not only famous in China, but all over the world. It has long history and originated in Han dynansty. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong province of China.

There are many foods and ingredients are used in Yue cuisine, for example pork, beef and chicken expect lamb and goat. As for cooking method, steaming and stir frying are most favoured to be used due to their convenience and rapidity.

For the taste of Yue cuisine, it should be well balanced and not greasy. The most important thing is that there is no  There is no widespread use of fresh herbs in Yue cuisine cooking, in contrast with their liberal use in other cuisines such as Sichuan cuisine.

There are some popular traditional dishes I would like to recommend:

Siu Mei:
Siu Mei simply describes meat which is roasted on a spit or a special rotisserie oven, and you’ll see ovens jam-packed with whole ducks and whole chickens around every street corner.  You can almost smell the succulent juices, and the tasty aroma is inescapable, day or night.

Wonton noodles:
The dish is usually served in a hot broth, garnished with leafy vegetables, and wonton dumplings. With a cup of homemade ice lemon tea, it would be more delicious and the best choice for lunch.

Red Bean Soup:
It is one of the main desserts offered after Yue cuicine meals in restaurants at night. The fancier restaurants may offer red bean soup with sago which will make the dessert more delicious.

Chinese Traditional Clothes

Chinese Movie Stars in Cheongsam & Chinese Tunic Suit

Chinese Architecture

 Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in Asia over the centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details. Since the Tang Dynasty, Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the architectural styles of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. From every source of information - literary, graphic, exemplary - there is strong evidence testifying to the fact that the Chinese have always employed an indigenous system of construction that has retained its principal characteristics from prehistoric times to the present day. 
Feature: There are certain features common to all Chinese architecture, regardless of specific region or use.The most important is the emphasis on the horizontal axis, in particular the construction of a heavy platform and a large roof that floats over this base, with the vertical walls not as well emphasized. This contrasts Western architecture, which tends to grow in height and depth. Chinese architecture stresses the visual impact of the width of the buildings. The halls and palaces in the Forbidden City, for example, have rather low ceilings when compared to equivalent stately buildings in the West, but their external appearances suggest the all-embracing nature of imperial China. Another important feature is its emphasis on articulation and symmetry, which connotes a sense of grandeur; this applies to everything from palaces to farmhouses. A notable exception is in the design of gardens, which tends to be as asymmetrical as possible. The principle underlying the garden's composition is to create enduring flow and also to emulate nature.

 Chinese buildings may be built with either red or gray bricks, but wooden structures are the most common; these are more capable of withstanding earthquakes, but are vulnerable to fire. The roof of a typical Chinese building is curved; there are strict classifications of gable types, comparable with the classical orders of European columns.The use of certain colors, numbers and the cardinal directions in traditional Chinese architecture reflected the belief in a type of immanence, where the nature of a thing could be wholly contained in its own form, without reference to an evanescent belief. Although the Western tradition gradually developed a body of architectural literature, little was written on the subject in China, and the earliest text, the Kaogongji, was never disputed. However, ideas about cosmic harmony and the order of the city were usually interpreted at their most basic level, so a reproduction of the "ideal" city never existed. Beijing as reconstructed throughout the 15th and 16th century remains the best example of traditional Chinese town planning.

Classification by structure: Chinese classifications for architecture include:

樓 （楼） lou (Multistory buildings) 

台 tai (terraces) 

亭 ting (Chinese pavilions) 

閣 （阁） ge (Two-story pavilions) 

塔 ta (Chinese pagodas) 

藻井 zaojing domed or coffered ceiling 

軒 （轩） xuan (Verandas with windows) 

榭 xie (Pavilions or houses on terraces) 

屋 wu (Rooms along roofed corridors) 

斗拱 dougong interlocking wooden brackets, used in clusters to support roofs 

Chinese traditional transportation

It is stated by leading authorities that no form of wheeled vehicle existed in China prior to the introduction from Central Asia of the chariot around 1200 b.c. For example, Stuart Piggott states in his most recent book that "Shang chariotry appears to mark the first appearance of any wheeled transport in the area which was to become the nucleus of Imperial China." And Edward Shaughnessy declares, "There is no evidence of any type in China to suggest a vehicular development leading up to the mature chariot." Furthermore, Western scholars maintain that early Bronze Age China only possessed the borrowed technology of the chariot and never possessed or invented any other forms of conveyance or hauling such as carts or wheelbarrows. For instance, in his recent survey on the origins of the Chinese chariot, Edward Shaughnessy declares that in the Shang period, "there is absolutely no artifactual evidence for other types of wheeled or tractive conveyance."

Rickshaws became a popular hit during the 19th and early 20th century. Rickshaw is a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons. They were later replaced by cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws.

Bicycles, the real traffic jams in major cities in China are caused by the number of bicycles. Besides walking, the main source of transportation is the bicycle. Seldom new and often not pretty, they provide the  basic means of transportation to the average person in China to work, shopping and leisure activities.

Chinese Cuisine: Chuan (Szechuan) Cuisine

Chinese cuisine consists of styles originating from the various regions of China and styles of Chinese people in other places all over the world. The styles and taste of Chinese cuisine were differ from class, region and the ethnic background. Thus, there was an unparalledlled range of ingredients, techniques, dished and eating styles in Chinese cuisine, which made China become a large nation of catering and have a long history of food culture.
The so-called Eight Culinary Traditions of China are Hui(Huizhou), Yue(Guang dong, Cantonese), Min(Fujian), Xiang(Hunan), Su(Jiangsu), Lu(Shandong), Chuan(Szechuan), Zhe(Zhejiang) cuisines.

Chuan cuisine:
Szechuan cuisine is one of the most famous Chinese cuisine in the world. Charaterized by its spicy and pungent flavor and emphasizes on the liberal use of garlic and chili peppers, as well as the unique flavour of the Sichuan peppercorn and Facing haven pepper. What's more, peanuts, sesame paste and ginger also play perminent role in ingredients in Szechuan cuisine.
There are some notable dishes in Szechuan cuisine, such as:

Kung Pao chicken(Gong Bao Chicken)
It is a spicy stir-fry dish made with chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers. I think the taste of this dish may cater for majority, because it is not so spicy unlike other Chuan cuisine and it is a bit sweet, also a bit sours.

Twice cooked pork It is a well-known Chuan cuisine which is made by belly pork. Taste palatebility, fat but not greasy. I think it should be the 'must try' dishes when you enjoy the Chuan cuisine.

Mapo Tofu
It is a very popular home cooking in Sichuan province but also famous in Chuan cuisine. It is a combination of tofu set in a spicy chili and bean based sauce. I recommend eating this dish with steamed rice together, it would be a nice trial !!!

Chinese Culture

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