Horse-Racing of Mongolian Minority
Horse-racing is one of the three traditional skills of the Mongolian young man where good horses and skillful horse-riders have always enjoyed supreme credits. Therefore, horse-racing has naturally been the favorite sports activity cherished by the herdsmen in Mongolia.
Two types of horse-racing activities were held there, namely, trotting-horse racing and galloping-horse racing. For the former, the horse would be equipped with a full set of saddles and proper-sized horseshoes, and it is required to amble forward (e.g. move along using both legs on one side alternately with both on the other). It is a competition of speed, stamina, steadiness, and posture. The latter competes for speed and stamina, with the winner being the one first to get to the destination. The riders in the competition are mostly agile boys of 12 or 13 years old. To ease the load of the horse and ensure the safety of the riders, the galloping horses are generally not equipped with saddle or with light saddle. The riders would only wear gorgeous colorful costumes with flying red and green straps on their head, fully displaying their vigor and valiancy. The competition generally covers 25 to 35 kilometers. Compared with the trotting-horse race, the galloping-horse racing is more commonly seen and of more riders with several dozen at least or over one hundred sometimes. As soon as the competition begins, the riders would quickly spring onto the horse and start their journey, leaving the audience gamboling and cheering for them.
By the custom of the Mongolian minority, the horses would be commended after the competition if they have place in it. They would stand according to their performance and be commended with a horse-praising poem chanted by some honorable seniors. After that, milk wine or fresh milk would be splashed on the horse winning the first place to congratulate it. Apart from the two traditional horse-racing forms, new ones such as the steeplechase have also emerged, which have greatly enriched and vivified this sports activity.
Qipao (Ch'ipau) is one of the most typical, traditional costumes for Chinese women. Also known as cheongsam, it is like a wonderful flower in the Chinese colorful fashion scene because of its particular charm. 
This week the topic, and food, on everyone's lips... mooncakes. As the gifting and re-gifting festivities take place now, get informed about what this holiday is all about.
It is the new year 2008, Happy new year from Need2LearnChinese. 
Over the past few weeks, massive displays of small cakes covered in elaborate pastry designs have popped up in several shops and cafes across China. These pretty pastries are an Asian specialty called moon cakes, and appear every year in the run up to the Lunar Festival, which this year falls on 25th September. The Lunar Festival, also known as the Mid Autumn Festival or the Moon Cake Festival, is China’s Harvest Festival that has been compared to Thanksgiving Day in America. Traditionally it is a time for families to gather together and be reunited as a whole again, just as the full moon in the sky is whole.
A young couple holding hands, perhaps blushing at the contact, is the very image of young love, still shy and innocent. We in the West look at this gesture of affection as romantic in nature, something people do in the glow of a new relationship. With this image fixed in mind, if you get plonked down in a Chinese city of a sudden, you will look around you at all of the young couples holding hands and come to the conclusion that some 90% of young Chinese men and women are gay.
What’s most striking, then, to a white woman in the beauty isle in China is the whitening cream. Everything, from body wash to body lotion promises to make your skin white and smooth and beautiful; there are even specialized facial creams that have no other purpose. During the summer, it seems like every woman in China carries an umbrella with UV protection wherever she goes. When Chinese women ride their bikes and can’t carry their umbrellas, they wear big floppy hats and long gauzy white sleeves (even in the height of summer!) to protect their skin. Faced with such a radically opposite standard of beauty, a white woman in China can’t help but ask: what gives?
Should you happen to be out and about in the early morning hours, say between 7:00 and 9:00, you’ll find China’s city parks, and any other large open spaces, filled with groups of people, generally elderly, taking their morning exercise. They go through Tai Chi forms in large groups, some with fake swords and some without. 
Since language varies quite a bit across China, which numbers are lucky and why varies quite a bit from region to region. Those listed below are the ones associated with standard Mandarin. 
One of the nice features on 
Kevin Ching says one of his aims as the newly-appointed chairman of Sotheby's in Asia is to see the first Asian bid for a European Impressionist piece. 
Bargaining is perhaps the most essential skill for foreigners in China, even more important than survival level Mandarin. After all, it’s possible to get around with pointing and pantomime, but if you don’t know how to bargain your wallet will empty faster than you ever thought possible.
Published by Condé Nast, Self is an American women's magazine focusing on health, happiness and lifestyle. Their slogan is "Beautiful body, mind and soul". 
Chow Yun-fat plays Sao Feng, a Chinese pirate, in the upcoming movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Looks sort of menacing, doesn't he? Is such an image insulting to the Chinese people? 
Cultural officials in Jiading District in Shanghai want their steamed dumplings listed as part of the city's Intangible Cultural Heritage. 
No specialties in China have ever been so flattered as to serve as a city's name. That is until now, with a type of tea. 
If you're planning a trip to China next summer for the Olympic Games, you might want to stop by the ancient city of Kaifeng in Henan Province near Beijing, where you're likely to see the city full of ancient Chinese. 
When the chill north wind is blowing hard, and winter is at its most powerful, it is also the time that the Chinese New Year draws in. Folks will make lots of preparations such as repainting the walls white, making new clothes, and cooking big meals for the New Year's eve. One of the prevailing customs is buying and posting New Year pictures, especially in the countryside of North China. Some red lanterns hanging from the eaves and the auspicious New Year poster inside the room can best describe the festive atmosphere.