China
China/People’s Republic of China Capital Beijing (12.2M) Population 1.3B (140/km2) Life expectancy 75 years HIV/AIDS 0.1% Literacy 92% Lang(s) Std Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Tawainese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority language Ethnic Groups Han Chinese 91.5%; Zhuang, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Uighur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other 8.5% Gov’t Communist State GDP/cap $8,400 PCVs 1993-present; teaching English (TEFL), Chinese, and cross-cultural issues. Volunteers in country: 162. Total to date: 754. Nat’l holiday Anniversary of founding of People’s Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |  Kia’he, Gannan Here, on the main street of Xia’he, Gannan in the Tibetan Autonomous Region located in northwest China, a man noses through objects in a Tibetan religious shop. With his goatee and Mao-style glasses, he appears to be a traditional Han Chinese. He does not wear the traditional yak fur jacket, a somewhat surprising fact as most wear it in winter in Gannan when the temperature plummets. While the vast majority of Han Chinese are not religious, there are some from older generations who have of late turned to Tibetan Buddhism, mixing in various Confucian tenets and Daoist beliefs, thereby creating a very layered and complex religion. |
Adult Books
River Town
by Peter Hessler
Paperback: 402 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial; Later Printing edition (April 25, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-0060855024
Book Description
Subtitled Two Years on the Yangtze, this 2001 memoir is an account of Hessler's service in the Peace Corps as an English teacher, and first American resident in more than fifty years, in Fuling, a small city in China's Sichuan province.
Kids' Books
Little Eagle
by Chen Jiang Hong; translated by Claudia Zoe Bedrick
Format: Hardcover, 36 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-59270-071-4
Age Range: 8–12 years
Publisher: New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2007
Films
Film:Still Life (Sanxia haoren)
Director: Zhang Ke Jia (2006)
Music
Beijing Dance Academy – Flying Kites Fan Dance (7:48 min)
Cui Jian: Nothing To My Name (5:33 min)
Recipes
Focus Word
Focus Word for 2013 - "Friendship"
Chinese Mandarin: You-Yi (You-Ye)Chinese Cantonese: Yow! Yee (Yow-ee)
Tibetan: Dvokpo (dee-voak-po)
