KAIFENG--Royal Street of the Song Dynasty Capital
As the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty. Kaifeng was once a very flourishing and bustling city. The famous painting Riverside Scene on Qingming Festival is a true picture of Kaifeng at that time. in order to enable tourists to learn about folk customes of Northern Song Dynasty, the 400-m iong, 30-m wide Song Capital Royal Street, with all the vukldings on the two sides in Song Dynsty architectural style, is built up in the northern section of Zhongshan Road in Kaifeng. On the antique street, there are snacks shops, ancient pharmaceutical shops, curiocity shops, chinaware shops, shops of Kaifeng silk and Kaifeng emboidery works and new Year's painting societies. In the northerm part of the street there is a large building, the Fan Building, which was the best of the 72 restaurants in the capial during the Northern Song Dynasty. In Fan Building, imperial cusine, snacks in the Northern Song Dynasty and other Song Dynasty foods are available.
TAIYUAN--Qiao Family Mansion
From the Qiao Family Mansion in Qiaobao Village near Taiyuan, Capital of Shanxi Province, one can get a complete picture of folk customs in the middle part of Shanxi Province at the turn of the Ming and aing dynasties. Built up during the reign of Emperor Renzong (1796-1821) and that of Emperor Xuanzong (1821-51) in Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) the Mansion includes six large courtyards, 20 small courtyards and 313 rooms, occupying an area of 8,700 square meters. The mansion is grand in style and has a very reasonable layout. Articles and pictures on the calendar, sacrificial rites, funerals. weddings and daily lifd at the turn of the Ming and Qing bynasties, with objicts, are exhibited in the Mansion. Furnitures, costumes, pottery, handicrafts, callgraphy and paintings are also exhibited.
Physical Exercises in Parks
Beijing people like to have physical exercises in the morning in parks or street-center gardens, doing Qigong exercise, practicing martial arts or running . They either do exercises alone or in a group. If you go and talk to them. they may teach you Qigong or Chinese martial arts as Beijing people are warm and hospitable.
Unique And Attractive Folklores
Liyuan Theater
Located in Qianmen Hotel in south of Beijing , Liyuan Theater is the only place for overseas tourists to enjoy Peking Opera, a gem in the treasury of Chinese national culture loved by people all over the world by its elegant and sonorous singing , vivid performance and exellent acrobatic fighting.
Inside the theater, Peking Opera masks, costumes and stage properties are hanging on the walls. Tables and chairs are in Ming Dynasty style. Tourists can watch Peking Opera while having Chinese tea and different kinds of Chinese snacks.
Unique And Attractive Folklores
Lao She Tea House
Lao She Tea House is a typical Beijing tea house in the center of the city. The yellow sign board in front of the gate is very conspicuous. The interior of the tea house is simple and elegantly decorated, Every evening there are performances of Peking Opera, dagu (versified story sung to the accompaniment of a small drum and other instruments),shuanghuang (a two-man act, with one speaking or singing while hiding behind the other who does the acting), vocal mimicry and magic show by famous artists. The audiences can also give performances if they like. They can also have typical Beijing snacks here.
Tianqiaole Tea House
Tianqiao Area, founded in the Yuan Dynasty, is a recreational place for ordinary Beijing people. Tianqiao is an ideal place for learning about foikiore and customes in Beijing as folk culture is well preserved here. The 900-sq-m tea house is sinple and elegant in architectural style, with antique square tables and boxes. The typical Beijing snacks and folk performances will leave the audiences with nice memories. Eveyday three grand performances on Beijing folklore, including operas, martial arts and other folk performances are given in the morning,afternoon and evening.
Temple Fair in Longtan Park
Temple Fair is a traditional activity that the Chinese hold during the Spring Festial. Every year a grand temple fair is held in Longtan Park in Beijing from the 30th of the 12th lunar month to the 6th of the 1st lunar month. During the fair there are perfomances of Peking Opera, pingju (a local opera of north and northeast China), acrobatics and various types of folk performances. There are also programs of cockfighting, kicking shuttlecocks, martial arts and qigong. Over a hundred kinds of local snacks and royal court foods are available.
CHENGDE---Eight Outer Temples
During the Qing Dynasty, 11 temples were built up in the mountains to the east and north of the outer garden of the Summer Mansions at different times, among themeight were under the administration of the royal court in Beijing. As the temples were outside the Summer Mansions, they are called 'Eight Outer Temple'. Now only seven temples remain. The the group of temples includes styles of all the religious architectural works of different nationalities in ancient China . Puren Templt, the earliest among the group, is in the style of Han temples. Puning Temple, also called Grand Buddha Temple. is is a well preserved magnificent building with the Han and Tibetan architectural styles combined.
Shi Family Mansion Museum
Located in Yangliuqing Town in Tianjin, the mansion is the largest and best preserved residence in China. Called 'the first mansion in west Tianjin', it is grand, luxurious and elegant in style, with exquiisite stone, brick and wood cavings, The Yangliuqing Museum in the mansion is the galaxy of the essence of folk art,with exhibitions of outline history of Yangliuqing new years paintings. of Tianjin brick carvings, of folkiore of Tianjin and of the original outlooks of the Shi Family Mansion. The museum has attracted many people from home and abroad with its rich and superb collections.
Cave Dwellings in Western Henan Province
People in villages on the Loess plateau in Luoyang and Sanmenxia in Henan Province have been living in caves since ancient times. Cave dwellings around a courtyard are a very interesting scene. Having selected a good place, the local people would dig a 100-sq-m qit, dig some caves at the four sides, a tunnel leading to the ground at one side and a well in the center of the pit and build up low walls at the four sides. The courtyard cave dwelling is warm in winter, cool in summer and rain and wind proof. The pits of different families are close to each other. When you are at the boundary line of the village, You will be surprised to hear cocks crow and dogs bark because you don't see any houses and people.
Unique And Attractive Folklores
