1.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
2.
China
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China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
3.
Basketball
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Basketball is a non-contact team sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of five players each. The objective is to shoot a ball through a hoop 18 inches in diameter and 10 feet high that is mounted to a backboard at each end of the court. The game was invented in 1891 by Dr. James Naismith, a team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket being defended by the opposition team during regular play. A field goal scores three points for the team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth one point, the team with the most points at the end of the game wins, but additional time is mandated when the score is tied at the end of regulation. The ball can be advanced on the court by passing it to a teammate and it is a violation to lift, or drag, ones pivot foot without dribbling the ball, to carry it, or to hold the ball with both hands then resume dribbling. The game has many techniques for displaying skill—ball-handling, shooting, passing, dribbling, dunking, shot-blocking. The point guard directs the on court action of the team, implementing the coachs game plan, Basketball is one of the worlds most popular and widely viewed sports. Outside North America, the top clubs from national leagues qualify to continental championships such as the Euroleague, the FIBA Basketball World Cup attracts the top national teams from around the world. Each continent hosts regional competitions for teams, like EuroBasket. The FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup features the top womens basketball teams from continental championships. The main North American league is the WNBA, whereas the EuroLeague Women has been dominated by teams from the Russian Womens Basketball Premier League, in early December 1891, Canadian Dr. He sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his students occupied, after rejecting other ideas as either too rough or poorly suited to walled-in gymnasiums, he wrote the basic rules and nailed a peach basket onto a 10-foot elevated track. Basketball was originally played with a soccer ball and these laces could cause bounce passes and dribbling to be unpredictable. Eventually a lace-free ball construction method was invented, and this change to the game was endorsed by Naismith, dribbling was not part of the original game except for the bounce pass to teammates. Passing the ball was the means of ball movement. Dribbling was eventually introduced but limited by the shape of early balls. Dribbling only became a part of the game around the 1950s
4.
Track and field
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Track and field is a sport which includes athletic contests established on the skills of running, jumping, and throwing. The name is derived from the sports venue, a stadium with an oval running track enclosing a grass field where the throwing and jumping events take place. Track and field is categorised under the sport of athletics, which also includes road running, cross country running. The foot racing events, which include sprints, middle- and long-distance events, the jumping and throwing events are won by the athlete who achieves the greatest distance or height. Regular jumping events include long jump, triple jump, high jump and pole vault, while the most common throwing events are shot put, javelin, discus and hammer. There are also combined events or multi events, such as the pentathlon consisting of five events, heptathlon consisting of seven events, in these, athletes participate in a combination of track and field events. Most track and field events are individual sports with a victor, the most prominent team events are relay races. Events are almost exclusively divided by gender, although both the mens and womens competitions are held at the same venue. It is one of the oldest sports, in ancient times, it was an event held in conjunction with festivals and sports meets such as the Ancient Olympic Games in Greece. The ancient Olympic Games began in the year 776 BC, when Koroibos, a cook from the city of Elis, won the stadium race. According to some traditions, this was the only athletic event of the games for the first 13 Olympic festivals. In modern times, the two most prestigious track and field competitions are athletics competition at the Olympic Games and the IAAF World Championships in Athletics. The International Association of Athletics Federations is the governing body. Records are kept of the best performances in specific events, at world and national levels, however, if athletes are deemed to have violated the events rules or regulations, they are disqualified from the competition and their marks are erased. In North America, the track and field may be used to refer to other athletics events, such as the marathon. The sport of track and field has its roots in human prehistory, Track and field-style events are among the oldest of all sporting competitions, as running, jumping and throwing are natural and universal forms of human physical expression. The first recorded examples of organized track and field events at a festival are the Ancient Olympic Games. At the first Games in 776 BC in Olympia, Greece, only one event was contested, Track and field events were also present at the Panhellenic Games in Greece around this period, and they spread to Rome in Italy around 200 BC
5.
Table tennis
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Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball back and forth across a table using a small bat. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net, a point is scored when a player fails to return the ball within the rules. Play is fast and demands quick reactions, spinning the ball alters its trajectory and limits an opponents options, giving the hitter a great advantage. Table tennis is governed by the worldwide organization International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF currently includes 220 member associations. The table tennis rules are specified in the ITTF handbook. Table tennis has been an Olympic sport since 1988, with several event categories, from 1988 until 2004, these were mens singles, womens singles, mens doubles and womens doubles. Since 2008, an event has been played instead of the doubles. The sport originated in Victorian England, where it was played among the upper-class as a parlour game. It has been suggested that makeshift versions of the game were developed by British military officers in India in around 1860s or 1870s, who brought it back with them. A row of books stood up along the center of the table as a net and it had several different names, including whiff-whaff. The name ping-pong was in use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. The name ping-pong then came to describe the game played using the rather expensive Jaquess equipment, a similar situation arose in the United States, where Jaques sold the rights to the ping-pong name to Parker Brothers. Parker Brothers then enforced its trademark for the term in the 1920s making the various associations change their names to table tennis instead of the more common, but trademarked, term. The next major innovation was by James W. Gibb, a British enthusiast of table tennis, who discovered novelty celluloid balls on a trip to the US in 1901 and found them to be ideal for the game. This was followed by E. C. Goode who, in 1901, invented the modern version of the racket by fixing a sheet of pimpled, or stippled, rubber to the wooden blade. Table tennis was growing in popularity by 1901 to the extent that tournaments were being organized, books being written on the subject, in 1921, the Table Tennis Association was founded in Britain, and the International Table Tennis Federation followed in 1926. London hosted the first official World Championships in 1926, in 1933, the United States Table Tennis Association, now called USA Table Tennis, was formed. In the 1930s, Edgar Snow commented in Red Star Over China that the Communist forces in the Chinese Civil War had a passion for the English game of table tennis which he found bizarre
6.
Shooting sports
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A shooting sport is a competitive sport involving tests of proficiency using various types of guns, such as firearms and airguns. Shooting sports are categorized by the type of firearm, target, for similar reasons, concerned over poor marksmanship during the American Civil War, veteran Union officers Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the National Rifle Association of America in 1871 for the purpose of promoting and encouraging rifle shooting on a scientific basis. In 1872, with help from New York state, a site on Long Island. Named Creedmoor, the range opened in 1872, and became the site of the first National Matches until New York politics forced the NRA to move the matches to Sea Girt, New Jersey. The popularity of the National Matches soon forced the event to be moved to its present, much larger location, Camp Perry. In 1903, the U. S. Congress created the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, the NBPRP also participates in the National Matches at Camp Perry. In 1903, the NRA began to establish rifle clubs at all colleges, universities. By 1906, youth programs were in full swing with more than 200 boys competing in the National Matches, french pistol champion and founder of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coubertin, participated in many of these early competitions. This fact certainly contributed to the inclusion of five shooting events in the 1896 Olympics, over the years, the events have been changed a number of times in order to keep up with technology and social standards. The targets that formerly resembled humans or animals in their shape, at the same time, some events have been dropped and new ones have been added. The 2004 Olympics featured three shooting disciplines where athletes competed for 51 medals in 10 mens and 7 womens events—slightly fewer than the previous Olympic schedule, the Olympic Games continue to provide the shooting sports with its greatest public relations opportunity. The sport has always enjoyed the distinction of awarding the first medals of the Games, internationally, the International Shooting Sport Federation has oversight of all Olympic shooting events worldwide, while National Governing Bodies administer the sport within each country. Having originally established shooting as a sport in the USA. The NRA dutifully managed and financially supported international and conventional shooting sports for over 100 years until the formation of USA Shooting, modern competitive archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a set distance or distances. A person who participates in archery is called an archer or a bowman—and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite. The most popular competitions worldwide are called target archery, another form, particularly popular in Europe and America, is field archery, which generally is shot at targets set at various distances in a wooded setting. There are also several other lesser-known and historical forms, as well as archery novelty games, note that the tournament rules vary from organization to organization
7.
Xiangqi
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Xiangqi, also called Chinese chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is one of the most popular games in China. Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, xiangqi is also a pastime in Vietnam. The game represents a battle between two armies, with the object of capturing the enemys general, Xiangqi is played on a board nine lines wide and ten lines long. As in the game Go, the pieces are placed on the intersections, the vertical lines are known as files, and the horizontal lines are known as ranks. Each of these areas is known as 宮 gōng, a palace or fortress, dividing the two opposing sides, between the fifth and sixth ranks, is 河 hé, the river. The river is marked with the phrases 楚河 chǔ hé, meaning Chu River, and 漢界, hàn jiè, meaning Han border. The starting points of the soldiers and cannons are usually, but not always, the pieces start in the position shown in the diagram above. Which player moves first has varied throughout history and from one part of China to another, different xiangqi books advise either that the black or red side moves first. Some books refer to the two sides as north and south, which corresponds to which color also varies from source to source. Generally, Red moves first in most modern tournaments, Each player in turn moves one piece from the point it occupies to another point. Pieces are generally not permitted to move through a point occupied by another piece, a piece can be moved onto a point occupied by an enemy piece, in which case the enemy piece is captured and removed from the board. A player cannot capture one of his own pieces, pieces are never promoted, although the soldier is able to move sideways after it crosses the river. Almost all pieces capture using their normal moves, while the cannon has a special capture move described below, the game ends when one player captures the others general. When the general is in danger of being captured by the player on his next move, the enemy player has delivered a check. If the generals player can make no move to prevent the generals capture, unlike chess, in which a player unable to move a piece is stalemated, in xiangqi, a player with no legal moves left loses. In xiangqi, a player—often with material or positional disadvantage—may attempt to check or chase pieces in a way such that the fall in a cycle. The side that perpetually chases any one unprotected piece with one or more pieces, excluding generals and soldiers, if one side perpetually checks and the other side perpetually chases, the checking side has to stop or be ruled to have lost
8.
Tai chi
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T‘ai-chi is an internal Chinese martial art 武术 practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits. As a result, a multitude of training forms exist, both traditional and modern, which correspond to those aims with differing emphasis, some training forms of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan are especially known for being practiced with relatively slow movements. Today, t‘ai-chi ch‘üan has spread worldwide, most modern styles of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan trace their development to at least one of the five traditional schools, Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu, and Sun. All of the former, in turn, trace their origins to Chen Village. T‘ai-chi ch‘üan theory and practice evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, t‘ai-chi ch‘üan training involves five elements, taolu, neigong and qigong, tuishou and sanshou. While t‘ai-chi ch‘üan is typified by some for its slow movements, some traditional schools of t‘ai-chi teach partner exercises known as tuishou, and martial applications of the postures of different forms. In China, t‘ai-chi ch‘üan is categorized under the Wudang grouping of Chinese martial arts—that is, medical studies of t‘ai-chi support its effectiveness as an alternative exercise and a form of martial arts therapy. It is purported that focusing the mind solely on the movements of the form helps to bring about a state of mental calm, some other forms of martial arts require students to wear a uniform during practice. In general, t‘ai-chi ch‘üan schools do not require a uniform, the slow, repetitive work involved in the process of learning how that leverage is generated gently and measurably increases, opens the internal circulation. T‘ai-chi ch‘üans health training, therefore, concentrates on relieving the effects of stress on the body. For those focused on t‘ai-chi ch‘üans martial application, good physical fitness is an important step towards effective self-defense, Martial art, The ability to use t‘ai-chi ch‘üan as a form of self-defense in combat is the test of a students understanding of the art. T‘ai-chi ch‘üan is the study of change in response to outside forces. The use of t‘ai-chi ch‘üan as an art is quite challenging. Westerners often shorten this name to t‘ai chi and this shortened name is the same as that of the t‘ai-chi philosophy, sometimes causing confusion of the two. The chi in the name of the art may also be mistaken for ch‘i. The Wade-Giles form and its variations remain the most popular spelling today, however, most Chinese, including many professional practitioners, masters, and martial arts bodies, use the Pinyin. From a modern perspective, when tracing t‘ai-chi ch‘üans formative influences to Taoist and Buddhist monasteries. Nevertheless, some traditional schools claim that t‘ai-chi ch‘üan has a connection to
9.
Wushu (sport)
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Wushu is both an exhibition and a full-contact sport derived from traditional Chinese martial arts. The term wushu is Chinese for martial arts, competitive wushu is composed of two disciplines, taolu and sanda. Taolu involves martial art patterns and maneuvers for which competitors are judged, the forms comprise basic movements based on aggregate categories of traditional Chinese martial art styles and can be changed for competitions to highlight ones strengths. Competitive forms have time limits that can range from 1 minute,20 seconds for some styles to over five minutes for internal styles. Modern wushu competitors are increasingly training in techniques such as 540-, 720-. Sanda is a modern fighting method and sport influenced by traditional Chinese boxing, Chinese wrestling methods called Shuai jiao and it has all the combat aspects of wushu. Sanda appears much like Kickboxing or Muay Thai, but includes many more grappling techniques, Sanda fighting competitions are often held alongside taolu or form competitions. In 1958, the government established the All-China Wushu Association as an organization to regulate martial arts training. The Chinese State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports took the lead in creating standardized forms for most of the major arts, during this period, a national Wushu system that included standard forms, teaching curriculum, and instructor grading was established. Wushu was introduced at both the school and university level. This new system seeks to incorporate elements from all styles. Stylistic concepts such as hard, soft, internal, external, as well as based on schools such as Shaolin, Taiji, Wudang. Wushu became the government sponsored standard for the training in arts in China. The push for standardization continued leading to widespread adaptation, in 1979, the State Commission for Physical Culture and Sports created a special task force to teaching and practice of Wushu. In 1986, the Chinese National Research Institute of Wushu was established as the authority for the research. Changing government policies and attitudes towards sports in general lead to the closing of the State Sports Commission in 1998 and this closure is viewed as an attempt to partially de-politicize organized sports and move Chinese sport policies towards a more market-driven approach. As a result of these changing sociological factors within China, both styles and modern Wushu approaches are being promoted by the International Wushu Federation. Wushu events are performed using compulsory or individual routines in competition, compulsory routines are those routines that have been already created for the athlete, resulting in each athlete performing basically the same set
10.
Dragon boat
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A dragon boat is a human-powered watercraft. They were traditionally made in the Pearl River Delta region of Chinas southern Guangdong Province out of wood to various designs. In other parts of China, different kinds of wood are used to build these traditional watercraft and it is one of a family of traditional paddled long boats found throughout Asia, Africa, the Pacific islands and also Puerto Rico. Currently, boats are being made for competitive purposes out of fiber and other lightweight materials. But the history of boats in competition reaches as far back as the same era as the original games of Olympia in ancient Greece. Both dragon boat racing and the ancient Olympiad included aspects of religious observances, for competition events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails. At other times, decorative regalia is usually removed, although the drum often remains aboard for drummers to practice, Dragon boat races were traditionally held as part of the annual Duanwu Festival or Duen Ng observance in China. Not understanding the significance of Duanwu, 19th-century European observers of the racing ritual referred to the spectacle as a boat festival. This is the term that has known in the West. Duanwu is reckoned annually in accordance with the calendar system of China. In December 2007, the government of the Peoples Republic of China added Duanwu, along with Qingming and Mid-Autumn festivals. The celebration was an important part of the ancient Chinese agricultural society, Dragon boat racing was historically situated in the Chinese subcontinents southern-central rice bowl, where there were rice paddies, so were there dragon boats. Of the twelve animals which make up the traditional Chinese zodiac, all the rest are non-mythical animals, yet all twelve of the zodiac creatures were well known to members of ancient Chinese agrarian communities. Dragons were traditionally believed to be the rulers of water on earth, rivers, lakes, and seas, they also were thought to dominate the waters of the heavens, clouds, mists, and rains. There are earth dragons, mountain dragons, and sky or celestial dragons in Chinese tradition, mythical dragons and serpents are also found widely in many cultures around the world. Traditional dragon boat racing, in China, coincides with the 5th day of the 5th Chinese lunar month, the Summer Solstice occurs around 21 June and is the reason why Chinese refer to their festival as Duan Wu or Duen Ng. Both the sun and the dragon are considered to be male, the sun and the dragon are at their most potent during this time of the year, so cause for observing this through ritual celebrations such as dragon boat racing. It is also the time of farming year when rice seedlings must be transplanted in their paddy fields, Wu or Ng refers to the sun at its highest position in the sky during the day, the meridian of high noon
11.
Lion dance
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Lion dance is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lions movements in a lion costume. The lion dance is performed during the Chinese New Year and other Chinese traditional, cultural. It may also be performed at important occasions such as business opening events, special celebrations or wedding ceremonies, the Chinese lion dance is sometimes mistakenly referred to as dragon dance. An easy way to tell the difference is that a lion is normally operated by just two dancers, while a dragon is longer and needs many people, also, in a lion dance, the performers faces are only seen occasionally, since they are inside the lion. In a dragon dance, the faces can be easily seen since the dragon is held on poles. Chinese lion dance fundamental movements can be found in most Chinese martial arts, there are two main forms of the Chinese lion dance, the Northern Lion and the Southern Lion. Versions of the dance are also found in Japan, Korea, Tibet. Another form of lion dance exists in Indonesian culture, but it may be of a different tradition and may be referred to as Singa Barong. However, lion is not native to China, and the Lion Dance therefore has been suggested to have originated outside of China from countries such as India or Persia, and introduced via Cental Asia. According to ethnomusicologist Laurence Picken, the Chinese word for lion itself, shi, there were different versions of the dance in the Tang Dynasty. In a later account, the 5 lions were described as each over 3 metres tall and each had 12 lion lads, by the eighth century, this lion dance had reached Japan. During the Song Dynasty the lion dance was performed in festivals. The Southern Lion is a development in the south of China originating in the Guangdong province. However it is likely that the Southern Lion of Guangzhou is an adaptation of the Northern Lion to local myths and characteristics, the two main types of lion dance in China are the Northern and Southern Lions. Other ethnic minorities groups in China may also have their own lion dances, Chinese lion dances usually involve two dancers but may also be performed by one. The larger lions manipulated by two persons may be referred to as lions, and those manipulated by one person little lions. The performances may also be divided into civil and martial styles. The civil style emphasizes the character and mimics and behaviour of the lion, while the style is focused on acrobatics
12.
Kite
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A kite is traditionally a tethered heavier-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag. A kite consists of wings, tethers, pulleys, and anchors, Kites often have a bridle to guide the face of the kite at the correct angle so the wind can lift it. A kites wing also may be so designed so a bridle is not needed, when kiting a sailplane for launch, a kite may have fixed or moving anchors. Untraditionally in technical kiting, a kite consists of tether-set-coupled wing sets, even in technical kiting, though, the lift that sustains the kite in flight is generated when air moves around the kites surface, producing low pressure above and high pressure below the wings. The interaction with the wind also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind, the resultant force vector from the lift and drag force components is opposed by the tension of one or more of the lines or tethers to which the kite is attached. The anchor point of the line may be static or moving. The same principles of fluid flow apply in liquids and kites are used under water. A hybrid tethered craft comprising both a lighter-than-air balloon as well as a lifting surface is called a kytoon. Kites have a long and varied history and many different types are flown individually, Kites may be flown for recreation, art or other practical uses. Sport kites can be flown in aerial ballet, sometimes as part of a competition, even Man-lifting kites have been made. The kite has been claimed as the invention of the 5th-century BC Chinese philosophers Mozi, by 549 AD paper kites were certainly being flown, as it was recorded that in that year a paper kite was used as a message for a rescue mission. Ancient and medieval Chinese sources describe kites being used for measuring distances, testing the wind, lifting men, signaling, the earliest known Chinese kites were flat and often rectangular. Later, tailless kites incorporated a stabilizing bowline, Kites were decorated with mythological motifs and legendary figures, some were fitted with strings and whistles to make musical sounds while flying. From China, kites were introduced to Cambodia, Thailand, India, Japan, Korea, after its introduction into India, the kite further evolved into the fighter kite, known as the patang in India, where thousands are flown every year on festivals such as Makar Sankranti. Kites were known throughout Polynesia, as far as New Zealand, anthropomorphic kites made from cloth and wood were used in religious ceremonies to send prayers to the gods. Polynesian kite traditions are used by anthropologists get an idea of early primitive Asian traditions that are believed to have at one time existed in Asia, Kites were late to arrive in Europe, although windsock-like banners were known and used by the Romans. Stories of kites were first brought to Europe by Marco Polo towards the end of the 13th century, although they were initially regarded as mere curiosities, by the 18th and 19th centuries kites were being used as vehicles for scientific research. In 1750 Benjamin Franklin published a proposal for an experiment to prove that lightning was caused by electricity by flying a kite in a storm that appeared capable of becoming a lightning storm
13.
Jianzi
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The primary source of jianzi sport is a Chinese ancient game called cuju of the Han dynasty 2000 years ago. Jianzis competitive sport types are played on a badminton court using inner or outside lines in different types of competitive sports. It can be played also artistically, among a circle of players in a street or park, with the objective to keep the shuttle up, in Vietnam, it is known as đá cầu and is the national sport. In the Philippines, it is known as sipa and was also the sport until it was replaced by arnis in December 2009. In recent years, the game has gained a following in Europe, the United States. In English, both the sport and the object with which it is played are referred to as shuttlecock or featherball, the shuttlecock typically has four feathers fixed into a rubber sole or plastic discs. Some handmade jianzis make use of a washer or a coin with a hole in the center, during play, various parts of the body are used to keep the shuttlecock from touching the ground. It is primarily balanced and propelled upwards using parts of the leg, skilled players may employ a powerful overhead kick. In China, the sport usually has two playing forms, Circle kick among 5-10 people Duel kick between two kickers or two sides, Circle kick uses upward kicks only for keeping the shuttlecock from touching the ground. Duel kick has become popular among younger Chinese players, using flat kick techniques like goal shooting techniques in soccer sports, therefore, the powerful flat kick techniques are applied in Chinese JJJ games as a major attacking skill. Competitively, the game is called Hackey-Sack played on a rectangular court 6.10 by 11.88 meters. JJJ means Competitive Jianzi-kicking by Chinese spelling, nine major events were played between 2009 and 2015, including 4 CJA Chinese JJJ Beijing Invitational Tournaments,3 CJA Grand Prixs. The first Invitational Tournament participated by 14 teams & German JJJ King Martin, the 2nd one participated by 28 teams & Mr. Gabriel Patin, Vice Secretary General of American JJJ Association, a Soccer fans, either. In Dec.2012, The 3rd Beijing Invitational Tournament was played & participated by Swedish JJJ Team North Pole Panda, organized by Swedish Soccer fans & bought Jianzi & Net kit from CJA by mail. As an average players tournament, Chinese JJJ Beijing Invitational Tournament is widely opened to all JJJ fans of china & the World, the first 8 winner-teams have rights to register to next Chinese JJJ Grand Prix with cash awards. In 2015, CJA held CJA2015 Inter-city Duel Tournament played by Beijing, on Oct.2, CJA held CJA2015 First Women Tournament in Beijing Bird Nest Club by strong calls of female fans of Chinese JJJ. There will be 2 CJA big events in June & Oct.2016, a Invitationa Tournament & a Grand Prix. There are several variations of the game, such as trying to keep the feathercock in the air until a target of kicks is reached
14.
Tug of war
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The Oxford English Dictionary says that the phrase tug of war originally meant the decisive contest, the real struggle or tussle, a severe contest for supremacy. Only in the 19th century was it used as a term for an athletic contest between two teams who haul at the ends of a rope. During the Tang dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang promoted large-scale tug of war games, using ropes of up to 167 metres with shorter ropes attached, each side also had its own team of drummers to encourage the participants. In ancient Greece the sport was called helkustinda, efelkustinda and dielkustinda, helkustinda and efelkustinda seem to have been ordinary versions of tug of war, while dielkustinda had no rope, according to Julius Pollux. It is possible that the teams held hands when pulling, which would have increased difficulty, Tug of war games in ancient Greece were among the most popular games used for strength and would help build strength needed for battle in full armor. Archeological evidence shows that tug of war was popular in India in the 12th century, There is no specific time. The contest of pulling on the rope originates from ancient ceremonies, evidence is found in countries like Egypt, India, Myanmar, New Guinea. The origin of the game in India has strong archaeological roots going back at least to the 12th century AD in the area what is today the State of Orissa on the east coast. The famous Sun Temple of Konark has a relief on the west wing of the structure clearly showing the game of Tug of War in progress. The Mohave people occasionally used tug-of-war matches as means of settling disputes, There are tug of war clubs in many countries, and both men and women participate. The sport was part of the Olympic Games from 1900 until 1920, the sport is part of the World Games. The Tug of War International Federation, organises World Championships for nation teams biannually, in England the sport is catered for by the Tug of War Association, and the Tug of War Federation of Great Britain. In Scotland, the Scottish Tug of War Association was formed in 1980, the sport also features in Highland Games there. Between 1976 and 1988 Tug of War was an event during the television series Battle of the Network Stars. Teams of celebrities representing each major network competed in different sporting events culminating into the final event, lou Ferrignos epic tug-o-war performance in May 1979 is considered the greatest feat in Battle history. The sport is played almost in every country in the world, however, a small selection of countries have set up a national body to govern the sport. Most of these bodies are associated then with the International governing body call TWIF which stands for The Tug of War International Federation. As of 2008 there are 53 countries associated with TWIF, among which are Scotland, Ireland, England, India, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, in the Basque Country, this sport is considered a popular rural sport, with many associations and clubs
15.
Administrative divisions of China
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Due to Chinas large population and area, the administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times. The constitution of China provides for three de jure levels of government, currently, however, there are five practical levels of local government, the provincial, prefecture, county, township, and village. Since the 17th century, provincial boundaries in China have remained largely static, the provinces serve an important cultural role in China, as people tend to identify with their native province. The Constitution of China provides for three levels, the provincial, county, and township, however, two more levels have been inserted in actual implementation, the prefecture, under provinces, and the village, under townships. There is a level, the district public office, below counties. As of 2017, China administers 33 provincial-level regions,334 prefecture-level divisions,2,862 county-level divisions,41,034 township-level administrations, each of the levels correspond to a level in the Civil service of the Peoples Republic of China. This table summarizes the divisions of the area administered by the Peoples Republic of China as of 2011, unlike the United States, the power of the central government was not exercised through a parallel set of institutions until the early 1990s. The actual practical power of the provinces has created what some economists call federalism with Chinese characteristics, most of the provinces, with the exception of the provinces in the northeast, have boundaries which were established long ago in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Sometimes provincial borders form cultural or geographical boundaries and this was an attempt by the imperial government to discourage separatism and warlordism through a divide and rule policy. Nevertheless, provinces have come to serve an important cultural role in China, people tend to be identified in terms of their native provinces, and each province has a stereotype that corresponds to their inhabitants. The most recent administrative changes have included the elevation of Hainan and Chongqing to provincial status. Provincial level governments vary in details of organization, Click any region for more info, for a larger version of this map, see here. Prefectural level divisions or second-level divisions are the level of the administrative structure. Most provinces are divided into only prefecture-level cities and contain no other second level administrative units, of the 22 provinces and 5 autonomous regions, only 3 provinces and 2 autonomous regions have more than three second level or prefectural level divisions that are not prefecture-level cities. Each of them have a committee to administer the dwellers of that neighborhood or community. Rural areas are organized into committees or villager groups. A village in this case can either be a village, one that spontaneously and naturally exists, or an administrative village. Five cities formally on prefectural level have a status in regard to planning
16.
Taiwan
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a state in East Asia. Neighbours include China to the west, Japan to the northeast, Taiwan is the most populous state that is not a member of the United Nations, and the one with the largest economy. The island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, was inhabited by Taiwanese aborigines before the 17th century. After a brief rule by the Kingdom of Tungning, the island was annexed by the Qing dynasty, the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 after the Sino-Japanese War. While Taiwan was under Japanese rule, the Republic of China was established on the mainland in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty, following the Japanese surrender to the Allies in 1945, the ROC took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROCs loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949. As a founding member of the United Nations, the ROC continued to represent China at the United Nations until 1971, in the early 1960s, Taiwan entered a period of rapid economic growth and industrialization, creating a stable industrial economy. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it changed from a one-party military dictatorship dominated by the Kuomintang to a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage, Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy. It is ranked highly in terms of freedom of the press, health care, public education, economic freedom, the PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence. Under its One-China Policy the PRC refused diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes the ROC, the PRC has threatened the use of military force in response to any formal declaration of independence by Taiwan or if PRC leaders decide that peaceful unification is no longer possible. There are various names for the island of Taiwan in use today, the former name Formosa dates from 1542, when Portuguese sailors sighted the main island of Taiwan and named it Ilha Formosa, which means beautiful island. The name Formosa eventually replaced all others in European literature and was in use in English in the early 20th century. This name was adopted into the Chinese vernacular as the name of the sandbar. The modern word Taiwan is derived from this usage, which is seen in forms in Chinese historical records. Use of the current Chinese name was formalized as early as 1684 with the establishment of Taiwan Prefecture, through its rapid development, the entire Formosan mainland eventually became known as Taiwan. The official name of the state is the Republic of China and it was a member of the United Nations representing China until 1971, when it lost its seat to the Peoples Republic of China. Over subsequent decades, the Republic of China has become known as Taiwan. In some contexts, especially ones from the ROC government
17.
Hong Kong
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Hong Kong, officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the Pearl River Delta of East Asia. Macau lies across the delta to the west, and the Chinese province of Guangdong borders the territory to the north. With a total area of 1,106 square kilometres. Hong Kong was later occupied by Japan during World War II until British control resumed in 1945, under the principle of one country, two systems, Hong Kong maintains a separate political and economic system from China. Except in military defence and foreign affairs, Hong Kong maintains its independent executive, legislative, in addition, Hong Kong develops relations directly with foreign states and international organisations in a broad range of appropriate fields. Hong Kong is one of the worlds most significant financial centres, with the highest Financial Development Index score and consistently ranks as the worlds most competitive and freest economic entity. As the worlds 8th largest trading entity, its legal tender, Hong Kongs tertiary sector dominated economy is characterised by simple taxation with a competitive level of corporate tax and supported by its independent judiciary system. However, while Hong Kong has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world and it has a very high Human Development Index ranking and the worlds longest life expectancy. Over 90% of the population use of well-developed public transportation. Seasonal air pollution with origins from neighbouring areas of Mainland China. Hong Kong was officially recorded in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking to encompass the entirety of the island, before 1842, the name referred to a small inlet—now Aberdeen Harbour, literally means Little Hong Kong)—between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was a point of contact between British sailors and local fishermen. Detailed and accurate romanisation systems for Cantonese were available and in use at the time, fragrance may refer to the sweet taste of the harbours fresh water estuarine influx of the Pearl River or to the incense from factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export before Hong Kong developed Victoria Harbour, the name had often been written as the single word Hongkong until the government adopted the current form in 1926. Nevertheless, a number of century-old institutions still retain the form, such as the Hongkong Post, Hongkong Electric. As of 1997, its name is the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China. This is the title as mentioned in the Hong Kong Basic Law. Hong Kong has carried many nicknames, the most famous among those is the Pearl of the Orient, which reflected the impressive nightscape of the citys light decorations on the skyscrapers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour
18.
Macau
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Macau, also spelled Macao, officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China, is an autonomous territory on the western side of the Pearl River Delta in East Asia. Macau is bordered by the city of Zhuhai in Mainland China to the north, Hong Kong lies about 64 kilometres to its east across the Delta. With a population of 650,900 living in an area of 30.5 km2, Macau was administered by the Portuguese Empire and its inheritor states from the mid-16th century until late 1999, when it constituted the last remaining European colony in Asia. Portuguese traders first settled in Macau in the 1550s, in 1557, Macau was leased to Portugal from Ming China as a trading port. The Portuguese Empire administered the city under Chinese authority and sovereignty until 1887, sovereignty over Macau was transferred back to China on 20 December 1999. The Joint Declaration on the Question of Macau and Macau Basic Law stipulate that Macau operate with a degree of autonomy until at least 2049. Macau participates in international organizations and events that do not require members to national sovereignty. Macau is a city in Southern China, known for its casinos. Its gaming revenue has been the worlds largest since 2006, with the heavily dependent on gaming. According to The World Factbook, Macau has the fourth highest life expectancy in the world, the present Chinese name means Inlet Gates. Macau is otherwise known in Chinese as Haojing or Jinghai, the name Macau is thought to be derived from the A-Ma Temple, a temple built in 1448 dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of seafarers and fishermen. It is said that when the Portuguese sailors landed at the coast just outside the temple and asked the name of the place, the Portuguese then named the peninsula Macau. The history of Macau is traced back to the Qin dynasty, the first recorded Chinese inhabitants of the area were people seeking refuge in Macau from invading Mongols during the Southern Song. Under the Ming dynasty, fishermen migrated to Macau from Guangdong, the Macau native people were Tanka boat people. Macau did not develop as a settlement until the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century. In 1513, Jorge Álvares became the first Portuguese to land in China, in 1535, Portuguese traders obtained the rights to anchor ships in Macaus harbours and to carry out trading activities, though not the right to stay onshore. In 1557, the Portuguese established a permanent settlement in Macau, the Portuguese continued to pay an annual tribute up to 1863 in order to stay in Macau. By 1564, Portugal commanded western trade with India, Japan, but their pride was damaged by the indifference with which the Chinese treated them
19.
Xinhua News Agency
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The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the Peoples Republic of China. Xinhua is the biggest and most influential organization in China. Xinhua is a ministry-level institution subordinate to the Chinese central government and its president is a member of the Central Committee of Chinas Communist Party. Xinhua operates more than 170 foreign bureaus worldwide, and maintains 31 bureaus in China—one for each province, Xinhua is the sole channel for the distribution of important news related to the Communist Party and Chinese central government. Xinhua is regarded as the most influential media outlet in China as almost every newspaper in China relies on Xinhua feeds for content, Peoples Daily, for example, uses Xinhua material for approximately 25 percent of its stories. The Xinhua press agency was started in November 1931 as the Red China News Agency, during the Pacific War the agency developed overseas broadcasting capabilities and established its first overseas branches. It began broadcasting to foreign countries in English from 1944, when the communists took power in China, the agency represented the Chinese Communist Party in countries and territories with which it had no diplomatic representation, such as Hong Kong. The agency was described as the eyes and tongue of the Party, observing what is important for the masses and passing on the information. A former Xinhua director, Zheng Tao, noted that the agency was a bridge between the Party, the government and the people, communicating both the demands of the people and the policies of the Party. Like many other organizations, Xinhua struggled to find the right line to use in covering the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Even so, many Xinhua reporters were angry with top editors for not going far enough, for several days after the violence on June 4, almost no one at Xinhua did any work, and journalists demonstrated inside the Agencys Beijing compound. It has made contracts to exchange news and news pictures with more than eighty foreign news agencies or political news departments, Xinhua is also responsible for handling, and in some cases, censoring reports from foreign media destined to release in China. The agency recently began to converge its news and electronic media coverage and has increased its English coverage through its wire service, Xinhua recently acquired commercial real estate on New Yorks Times Square and is developing a staff of top-tier English-language reporters. Xinhua has also started an English-language satellite news network, the State values these internal reports because they contain much of Chinas most sensitive, controversial, and high-quality investigative journalism. Xinhua produces reports for the internal journals, the Chinese governments internal media publication system follows a strict hierarchical pattern designed to facilitate party control. A three-to-ten-page report called Internal Reference is distributed to officials at the ministerial level, one example was the first reports on the SARS outbreak by Xinhua which only government officials were allowed to see. The most classified Xinhua internal reports are issued occasionally to the top dozen or so party, the Xinhua headquarters is located in Beijing. The Xinhua News Agency established its first overseas affiliate in 1947 in London, now it distributes its news in Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Africa where run the superior offices, in Hong Kong, Macau and many foreign countries and districts
20.
Beijing
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Beijing is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China and the worlds third most populous city proper. It is also one of the worlds most populous capital cities, the city, located in northern China, is governed as a direct-controlled municipality under the national government with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. Beijing is the second largest Chinese city by population after Shanghai and is the nations political, cultural. It is home to the headquarters of most of Chinas largest state-owned companies, and is a hub for the national highway, expressway, railway. The citys history dates back three millennia, as the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political centre of the country for much of the past eight centuries. Beijing was the largest city in the world by population for much of the second millennium A. D, the city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks, gardens, tombs, walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have made it centre of culture, encyclopædia Britannica notes that few cities in the world have served for so long as the political headquarters and cultural centre of an area as immense as China. Siheyuans, the traditional housing style, and hutongs, the narrow alleys between siheyuans, are major tourist attractions and are common in urban Beijing. The city hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics and was chosen to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, many of Beijings 91 universities consistently rank among the best in China, of which Peking University and Tsinghua University are ranked in the top 60 universities in the world. Beijings Zhongguancun area is known as Chinas Silicon Valley and Chinas center of innovation. According to the 2016 InterNations Expat Insider Survey, Beijing ranked first in Asia in the subcategory Personal Finance Index, expats live primarily in urban districts such as Dongcheng and Chaoyang in the east, or in suburban districts such as Shunyi. Over the past 3,000 years, the city of Beijing has had other names. The name Beijing, which means Northern Capital, was applied to the city in 1403 during the Ming Dynasty to distinguish the city from Nanjing, the English spelling is based on the pinyin romanisation of the two characters as they are pronounced in Standard Mandarin. Those dialects preserve the Middle Chinese pronunciation of 京 as kjaeng, the single Chinese character abbreviation for Beijing is 京, which appears on automobile license plates in the city. The official Latin alphabet abbreviation for Beijing is BJ, the earliest traces of human habitation in the Beijing municipality were found in the caves of Dragon Bone Hill near the village of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan District, where Peking Man lived. Homo erectus fossils from the date to 230,000 to 250,000 years ago. Paleolithic Homo sapiens also lived more recently, about 27,000 years ago. Archaeologists have found neolithic settlements throughout the municipality, including in Wangfujing, the first walled city in Beijing was Ji, a city from the 11th to 7th century BC
21.
Shuai jiao
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Shuai jiao is the term pertaining to the jacket wrestling style of Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding of Hebei Province in the North China Plain which was codified by Shan Pu Ying of the Nei Wu Fu. In modern usage it is also the general Mandarin Chinese term for any form of wrestling, as a generic name, it may be used to cover various styles of wrestling practised in China in the form of a martial arts system or a sport. The art was introduced to Southern China in the Republican era after 1911, the earliest Chinese term for wrestling, jǐao dǐ, refers to an ancient sport in which contestants wore horned headgear with which they attempted to butt their opponents. Legend states that jiao di was used in 2697 BC by the Yellow Emperors army to gore the soldiers of an army led by Chiyou. In later times, young people would play a game, emulating the contests of domestic cattle. Jiao di has been described as a source of wrestling. Jiao li was first referenced in the Classic of Rites during the Zhou Dynasty, Jiao li supplemented throwing techniques with strikes, blocks, joint locks and attacks on pressure points. These exercises were practiced in the winter by soldiers who also practiced archery, Jiao li eventually became a public sport held for court amusement as well as for recruiting the best fighters. Competitors wrestled each other on a platform called a lei tai for the potential reward of being hired as a bodyguard to the emperor or a martial arts instructor for the Imperial Military. Jiao li was taught to soldiers in China over many centuries, the term shuai jiao was chosen by the Central Guoshu Academy of Nanjing in 1928 when competition rules were standardized. The art continues to be taught in the police and military academies of China, in modern Chinese Shuai Jiao is always written using the more recent characters 跤, and should be translated as to throw onto the ground through wrestling with legs. The use of the character 角 is because in the earliest form of Shuaijiao, players wore helmet with horns and this form of Shuaijiao is called Ciyou Xi. Shuaijiao can be divided into the styles, Zhili or Hebei Style. This style traces the lineage to the Yellow Emperor who fought two battles against Chi You and Yan Emperor in modern-day Zhang Jia Kou Region in Northern Hebei. The modern training methods and rules are codified by Shan Pu Ying of the Nei Wu Fu and it comprises Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding styles. Beijing Style - This is in essence the lineage from the Manchu Buku style that was practised by the Imperial Guards Brigade, the main characteristic is the use of the legs to kick and off-balance opponents, and the use of arm locks. Tianjin Style - This is the lineage of Ming Dynasty Shuaijiao mixed with Manchu Buku, the main characteristic is the use of legs to kick and off-balance, and the use of forearms in blocking and striking. Baoding Style - This is the lineage that is called Kuai Jiao or Fast Wrestling, the main characteristic is the fast application of technique
22.
Cycling
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Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. Persons engaged in cycling are referred to as cyclists, bikers, or less commonly, apart from two-wheeled bicycles, cycling also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now approximately one billion worldwide. They are the means of transportation in many parts of the world. Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fuels, less air or noise pollution. These lead to financial cost to the user as well as to society at large. By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve, in many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a utility bicycle. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road, utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extends their usefulness on a daily basis. As the bicycle is so effective as a means of various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita, road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles, the price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000, depending on quality, type and weight. However, UCI regulations stipulate a legal race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg, being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying. The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered, a middle grade dérailleur is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hillclimbing a triple-chainrings crankset gear system may be preferred, otherwise, the relatively lighter and less expensive double chainring may be better. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available, many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a pump, a repair kit, a spare inner tube, and tire levers
23.
Association football
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Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball. It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries and dependencies making it the worlds most popular sport, the game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal, players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands or arms while it is in play, unless they are goalkeepers. Other players mainly use their feet to strike or pass the ball, the team that scores the most goals by the end of the match wins. If the score is level at the end of the game, the Laws of the Game were originally codified in England by The Football Association in 1863. Association football is governed internationally by the International Federation of Association Football, the first written reference to the inflated ball used in the game was in the mid-14th century, Þe heued fro þe body went, Als it were a foteballe. The Online Etymology Dictionary states that the word soccer was split off in 1863, according to Partha Mazumdar, the term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford -er abbreviation of the word association. Within the English-speaking world, association football is now usually called football in the United Kingdom and mainly soccer in Canada and the United States. People in Australia, Ireland, South Africa and New Zealand use either or both terms, although national associations in Australia and New Zealand now primarily use football for the formal name. According to FIFA, the Chinese competitive game cuju is the earliest form of football for which there is scientific evidence, cuju players could use any part of the body apart from hands and the intent was kicking a ball through an opening into a net. It was remarkably similar to football, though similarities to rugby occurred. During the Han Dynasty, cuju games were standardised and rules were established, phaininda and episkyros were Greek ball games. An image of an episkyros player depicted in low relief on a vase at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens appears on the UEFA European Championship Cup, athenaeus, writing in 228 AD, referenced the Roman ball game harpastum. Phaininda, episkyros and harpastum were played involving hands and violence and they all appear to have resembled rugby football, wrestling and volleyball more than what is recognizable as modern football. As with pre-codified mob football, the antecedent of all football codes. Non-competitive games included kemari in Japan, chuk-guk in Korea and woggabaliri in Australia, Association football in itself does not have a classical history. Notwithstanding any similarities to other games played around the world FIFA have recognised that no historical connection exists with any game played in antiquity outside Europe. The modern rules of football are based on the mid-19th century efforts to standardise the widely varying forms of football played in the public schools of England
24.
Hubei
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Hubei is a province of the Peoples Republic of China, located in the Central China region. The name of the province north of the lake, referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The provincial capital is Wuhan, a major thoroughfare and the political, cultural. It borders Henan to the north, Anhui to the east, Jiangxi to the southeast, Hunan to the south, Chongqing to the west, the high-profile Three Gorges Dam is located at Yichang, in the west of the province. The Hubei region was home to sophisticated Neolithic cultures, by the Spring and Autumn period, the territory of todays Hubei was part of the powerful State of Chu. During the Warring States period Chu became the major adversary of the upstart State of Qin to the northwest, which began to assert itself by outward expansionism. As wars between Qin and Chu ensued, Chu lost more and more land, first its dominance over the Sichuan Basin, then its heartland, which correspond to modern Hubei. In 223 BC Qin chased down the remnants of the Chu regime, Qin founded the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, the first unified state in the region. Qin was succeeded by the Han dynasty in 206 BC, which established the province of Jingzhou in what is now Hubei, the Qin and Han played an active role in the agricultural colonization of Hubei, maintaining a system of river dikes to protect farmland from summer floods. Towards the end of the Han Dynasty in the beginning of the 3rd century, the incursion of northern nomadic peoples into the region at the beginning of the 4th century began nearly three centuries of division into a nomad-ruled north and a Han Chinese-ruled south. Hubei, to the South, remained under southern rule for this entire period, until the unification of China by the Sui dynasty in 589. After the Tang dynasty disintegrated in the 10th century, Hubei came under the control of several regional regimes, Jingnan in the center, Wu to the east, and the Five Dynasties to the north. The Song dynasty reunified the region in 982 and placed most of Hubei into Jinghubei Circuit, Mongols conquered the region in 1279, and under their rule the province of Huguang was established, covering Hubei, Hunan, and parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. The Ming dynasty drove out the Mongols in 1368 and their version of Huguang province was smaller, and corresponded almost entirely to the modern provinces of Hubei and Hunan combined. While Hubei was geographically removed from the centers of the Ming power, during the last years of the Ming, todays Hubei was ravaged several times by the rebel armies of Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng. The Manchu Qing dynasty which had much of the region in 1644, soon split Huguang into the provinces of Hubei. The Huangshi/Daye area, south-east of Wuhan, became an important center of mining, in 1911 the Wuchang Uprising took place in modern-day Wuhan, overthrowing the Qing dynasty and establishing the Republic of China. In 1927 Wuhan became the seat of a government established by left-wing elements of the Kuomintang, led by Wang Jingwei, during World War II the eastern parts of Hubei were conquered and occupied by Japan while the western parts remained under Chinese control
25.
Shanghai
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Shanghai is the most populous city proper in the world, with a population of more than 24 million as of 2014. As one of the four direct-controlled municipalities of the Peoples Republic of China, it is a financial centre and transport hub. Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits on the edge of the mouth of the Yangtze in the middle portion of the eastern Chinese coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, as a major administrative, shipping and trading city, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and recognition of its favourable port location and economic potential. The city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War, the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking and 1844 Treaty of Whampoa allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between China and other parts of the world, and became the financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries, and the citys global influence declined. In the 1990s, the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance. The two Chinese characters in the name are 上 and 海, together meaning Upon-the-Sea. The earliest occurrence of this dates from the 11th-century Song Dynasty, at which time there was already a river confluence. There are disputes as to exactly how the name should be understood, Shanghai is officially abbreviated 沪 in Chinese, a contraction of 沪渎, a 4th- or 5th-century Jin name for the mouth of Suzhou Creek when it was the main conduit into the ocean. This character appears on all motor vehicle license plates issued in the municipality today, another alternative name for Shanghai is Shēn or Shēnchéng, from Lord Chunshen, a third-century BC nobleman and prime minister of the state of Chu, whose fief included modern Shanghai. Sports teams and newspapers in Shanghai often use Shen in their names, such as Shanghai Shenhua F. C. Huating was another early name for Shanghai. In AD751, during the dynasty, Huating County was established at modern-day Songjiang. Today, Huating appears as the name of a hotel in the city. The city also has various nicknames in English, including Pearl of the Orient, during the Spring and Autumn period, the Shanghai area belonged to the Kingdom of Wu, which was conquered by the Kingdom of Yue, which in turn was conquered by the Kingdom of Chu. During the Warring States period, Shanghai was part of the fief of Lord Chunshen of Chu and he ordered the excavation of the Huangpu River. Its former or poetic name, the Chunshen River, gave Shanghai its nickname of Shen, two important events helped promote Shanghais development in the Ming dynasty
26.
Dragon dance
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Dragon dance is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance it is most often seen in festive celebrations, the dance is performed by a team of dancers who manipulate a long flexible figure of a dragon using poles positioned at regular intervals along the length of the dragon. The dance team simulates the movements of this river spirit in a sinuous. The dragon dance is performed during Chinese New Year. Chinese dragons are a symbol of China, and they are believed to bring luck to people, therefore the longer the dragon in the dance. The dragons are believed to possess qualities that great power, dignity, fertility, wisdom. The appearance of a dragon is both fearsome and bold but it has a benevolent disposition, and it was an emblem to represent imperial authority, the movements in a performance traditionally symbolize historical roles of dragons demonstrating power and dignity. During the Han Dynasty, different forms of the dance were described in ancient texts. The number of dragons, their length and colour, as well as the performers may vary according to the time of year, the dragon acts of the Han Dynasty were also mentioned in the Tang and Song Dynasty. Such dragon lanterns may also be carried and paraded by performers in the street during the Lantern festival at nighttime, a form of dragon dance from Tongliang County, which originated as snake totem worship, began during the Ming Dynasty and became popular in the Qing Dynasty. The number of different dragon dances has been put at over 700, the dragon is a long serpentine body formed of a number of sections on poles, with a dragon head and a tail. The dragon is assembled by joining the series of hoops on each section and attaching the ornamental head, the size and length of a dragon depends on the human power available, financial power, materials, skills and size of the field. A small organization cannot afford to run a very long dragon because it requires considerable power, great expenses. The normal length and size of the body recommended for the dragon is 34 metres and is divided into 9 major sections, the distance of each minor section is 35 cm apart, therefore, the body has 81 rings. Many may also be up to 15 sections long, and some dragons are as long as 46 sections. Sun Loong in Bendigo, Australia was, at the time it was made in 1970, much longer dragons have been created for one-off events. The world record for the longest dragon is 5,605 metres, historically the dragon dance may be performed in a variety of ways with different types and colors of dragon. Green is sometimes selected as a color of the dragon
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Mianyang
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Mianyang is the second largest prefecture-level city of Sichuan province in Southwest China. Its population was 5.45 million in 2015 covering an area of 20,281 square kilometres consisting of Jiangyou and its built-up area was home to 1,722,133 inhabitants including the city proper of Mianyang and An County largely being conurbated as urbanisation sprawls. In 2006, Mianyang was ranked as Chinas third most suitable city for living by China Daily, after coastal cities Dalian, but it has since dropped out of the top 10. Mianyang, called Fuxian in ancient times, had advanced in agriculture during the Qin and it has a history of over 2,200 years since the Emperor Gaozu of Han established the first county in this area in 201 BCE. Due to its advantageous location, it had always been a town of military importance. Mianyang is home to the CAEP and Science City, an immense Military Research Complex which was the site of the development of Chinas first nuclear bomb, the city proper itself was only lightly damaged by the earthquake of 12 May 2008. Around 80% of the buildings are said to have collapsed. The casualty toll for the quake in Mianyang Prefecture as of 7 June 2008 was 21,963 people killed,167,742 injured, Mianyang is at the northwestern end of the Sichuan Basin, on the upper to middle reaches of the Fu River. It also borders Gansu for a section in the north. Mianyang has a humid subtropical climate and is largely mild and humid. Winter is short, mild, and foggy, though precipitation is low, january averages 5.3 °C, and while frost may occur, snow is rare. Summers are long, hot and humid, with highs often exceeding 30 °C, the daily average in July, the warmest month, is 25.7 °C. Rainfall is light in winter and can be heavy in summer, the annual frost-free period across most of the prefecture lasts from 252 to 300 days, and there are only 1,100 hours of sunshine annually, which is not even 30% of the possible total. Mianyang Nanjiao Airport, which is the second largest airport in Sichuan province, has flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Kunming, Xian, Shenzhen, Kunming, Hangzhou. Mianyang is one of Chinas major centres for the electronics industry and it has many well-known research institutions, such as the China Academy of Engineering Physics and China Aerodynamics Research and Development Center. Many large-scale enterprises, such as Changhong Electronics Group Corporation, Sichuan DND Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, jiuzhou Electronics Group, Shuangma Cement Group, and Changcheng Special Steel Company also have their home in Mianyang. Moreover, it houses 50 large- and medium-size enterprises and six science colleges, the provincial government will hand over greater administrative powers of economic management at the provincial-level authority to propel the development of Mianyang. The new economy management authority will pay attention to the construction of the scientific city
28.
Yichun, Jiangxi
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Yichun is a mountainous prefecture-level city in western/northwestern Jiangxi Province, China, bordering Hunan to the west. It is located in the northwest of the province along a river surrounded by mountains, Yichun has a history of over 2,200 years. It was established in 201 BC during the Han Dynasty, Yichun has a profound Buddhist culture. Can Lin Qing Gui, the rules for Buddhists at the Buddhist temple. Yichun is also the birthplace of famous literary figures, such as Tao Yuanming and Deng Gu. The transportation in Yichun is convenient, the State Highway 320, State Highway 105, the Shanghai-Ruijin Highway and the Ganyue Highway construct a comprehensive traffic network in the city. Yichun is a stop along the railway running between Beijing and Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi. Since 2014, it is also a stop along the Shanghai-Changsha CRH high speed train line, direct flights to Yichun airport are also available from Shanghai. A large sports complex with two stadiums was built in the 1990s and draws teams for competitions from all across China. Agriculture is the industry but other natural resource industries such as timber. Major mineral deposits include aluminum, tungsten, gold, zinc, Yichun has abundant historical, cultural and natural tourism resources. Hongzhou Kiln, a famous kiln of the Tang Dynasty, was first built during the Southern Dynasty, wucheng Site of the Shang Dynasty was discovered in Yichun in 1973. Gezhao Mountain, situated in Zhangshu, is a famous Taoist mountain in China and it is home to a large number of ancient buildings as well as beautiful scenery. Tourists should also visit Guan Mountain Scenic Area, which is located at the juncture of Yifeng, the famous Mingyue Mountain gained its name from its shape like a bright crescent moon. Mingyue Shan can be accessed using the car taking to the top of the mountain. The scenic area consists of ten peaks which are all more than a thousand meters above sea level. It is also a national forest park comprising six tourist zones, among them, the Yangshan Scenic Spot is an important birthplace of Buddhism in South China, and the Wentang Town, at the foot of the Mingyue Mountain, is famous for hot springs teeming with selenium. Yichun has a subtropical climate affected by the East Asian monsoon, with long, humid, very hot summers and cool
29.
Jiangxi
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Jiangxi is a province in the Peoples Republic of China, located in the southeast of the country. The name Jiangxi derives from the circuit administrated under the Tang dynasty in 733, the short name for Jiangxi is 赣, for the Gan River which runs across from the south to the north and flows into the Yangtze River. Jiangxi is also alternately called Ganpo Dadi which literally means the Great Land of Gan, Jiangxi is centered on the Gan River valley, which historically provided the main north-south transport route of south China. The corridor along the Gan River is one of the few easily traveled routes through the otherwise mountainous, as a result, Jiangxi has been strategically important throughout much of Chinas history. Jiangxi was outside the sphere of influence of early Chinese civilization during the Shang dynasty and it is likely that peoples collectively known as the Baiyue inhabited the region. During the Spring and Autumn period, the part of modern Jiangxi formed the western frontier of the state of Wu. After Wu was conquered by the state of Yue in 473 BC, Chu subjugated Yue in 333 BC. In 223 BC, when Qin conquered Chu, majority of Jiangxi area was recorded to be put under Jiujiang Commandary situated in Shouchun, however the commandary was ineffective and ended shortly when Qin falls. It was named after the Yuzhang River, the name of Gan River. Gan has become the abbreviation of the province, in 201, eight counties were added to the original seven of Qin, and three more were established in later years. Throughout most of the Han dynasty the commanderys eighteen counties covered most of the province of Jiangxi. The county seats of Nanchang, Gan, Yudu, Luling among others were located at the sites of major cities. Other counties, however, have moved or abolished in later centuries. Under the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, Yuzhang Commandery was assigned to Yangzhou Province, in 291 AD, during the Western Jin dynasty, Jiangxi became its own Zhou called Jiangzhou. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jiangxi was under the control of the dynasties. During the Sui dynasty, there were seven commanderies and twenty-four counties in Jiangxi, during the Tang dynasty, another commandery and fourteen counties were added. Commanderies were then abolished, becoming zhou, circuits were established during the Tang dynasty as a new top-level administrative division. At first Jiangxi was part of the Jiangnan Circuit, in 733, this circuit was divided into western and eastern halves
30.
Angling
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Angling is a method of fishing by means of an angle. The hook is attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself can be dressed with lures or bait, a bite indicator such as a float, and a weight or sinker are sometimes used. Angling is the method of sport fishing, but commercial fisheries also use angling methods such as longlining or trolling. Catch and release fishing is practiced by recreational fishermen. In many parts of the world, size limits apply to species, meaning fish below and/or above a certain size must, by law. The species of fish pursued by anglers vary with geography, among the many species of salt water fish that are caught for sport are swordfish, marlin, tuna, while in Europe cod and bass are popular targets. In North America the most popular water sport species include bass, pike, walleye, muskellunge, yellow perch, trout, salmon, crappie, bluegill. In Europe a large number of fish for species such as carp, pike, tench, rudd, roach, European perch, catfish. South Africa has a great fishing coast where anglers fish for species like cod, White Steenbras, some fish are sought for their value as food, others are pursued for their fighting abilities or for the difficulty of pursuit. The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, the word gorge, in this context, comes from the French word meaning throat. Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish and animals like seal, walrus, a gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be baited so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When the game would swallow the bait, a tug on the line would cause the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, some laws and regulations require hooks to be barbless. This rule is implemented to protect populations of certain species. A barbed hook could kill a fish if it were to penetrate the gills, which of the various techniques an angler may choose is dictated mainly by the target species and by its habitat. Angling can be separated into two categories, using either artificial or natural baits
31.
Quanzhou
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Quanzhou, formerly known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level city beside the Taiwan Strait in Fujian Province, China. Its is Fujians largest metropolitan region, with an area of 11,245 square kilometers and, as of the 2010 census, Quanzhou was Chinas 12th-largest extended metropolitan area in 2010. Quanzhou was Chinas major port for foreign traders, who knew it as Zaiton and it was visited by both Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, both travelers praised it as one of the most prosperous and glorious cities in the world. A failed revolt prompted a massacre of the foreign communities in 1357. Quanzhou became a center in the 19th century but the siltation of its harbor long reduced its capacity for trade by larger ships. Quanzhou is the pinyin romanization of the citys Chinese name 泉州. The name derives from the former status as the seat of the imperial Chinese Quan Prefecture. The romanization Chuan-chiu, Choan-Chiu, and Shanju reflect the local Hokkien pronunciation Choâⁿ-chiu and it is uncertain when or why British sailors first applied the name to Quanzhou. Variants include Kangiu, Chinchu, and Chincheu, variant transcriptions from the Arabic name include Caiton, Çaiton, Çayton, Zaytún, Zaitûn, Zaitún, and Zaitūn. The common folk etymology of satin as deriving from Zaiton cloth seems, however, Quanzhou proper lies on a spit of land between the estuaries of the Jin and Luo rivers as they flow into Quanzhou Bay on the Taiwan Strait. Its surrounding prefecture extends west halfway across the province and is hilly, along with Xiamen and Zhangzhou to its south and Putian to its north, it makes up Fujian Provinces Southern Coast region. In its mountainous interior, it borders Longyan to the southwest and its moderate temperature ranges from 0 to 38 degrees Celsius. In summer, there are typhoons that bring rain and some damage to the city, wang Guoqing used the area as a base of operations for the Chen State before he was subdued by the Sui general Yang Su in the AD 590s. Quanzhou proper was established under the Tang in 718 on a spit of land between two branches of the Jin River, Muslim traders reached the city early on in its existence, along with their existing trade at Guangzhou and Yangzhou. Already connected to inland Fujian by roads and canals, Quanzhou grew to importance in the first century of the Song. A1095 inscription records two convoys, each of twenty ships, arriving from the Southern Seas each year, Quanzhous maritime trade developed the areas ceramics, sugar, alcohol, and salt industries. 90% of Fujians ceramic production at the time was jade-colored celadon, frankincense was such a coveted import that promotions for the trade superintendents at Guangzhou and Quanzhou were tied to the amount they were able to bring in during their terms in office. During this period it was one of the worlds largest and most cosmopolitan seaports, by 1120, its prefecture claimed a population of around 500,000
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Fujian
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Fujian, formerly romanised as Foken, Fouken, Fukien, and Hokkien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, the name Fujian came from the combination of Fuzhou and Jianzhou two cities in Fujian, during the Tang dynasty. While its population is chiefly of Han origin, it is one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse provinces in China, most of Fujian is administered by the Peoples Republic of China. However, the archipelagos of Kinmen and Matsu are under the control of the Republic of China, thus, there are two provinces, the Fujian Province administered by the PRC and the Fujian Province of the ROC. Recent archaeological discoveries demonstrate that Fujian had entered the Neolithic Age by the middle of the 6th millennium BC, the Tanshishan site in suburban Fuzhou spans the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Age where semi-underground circular buildings were found in the lower level. The Huangtulun site, also in suburban Fuzhou, was of the Bronze Age in character, Fujian was also the place for the kingdom of Minyue. This is because the family of Yuè fled to Fujian after their kingdom was annexed by the State of Chu in 306 BC. Mǐn is also the name of the river in this area. Minyue was a de facto kingdom until the emperor of Qin dynasty, liu Bang was victorious and founded the Han dynasty, in 202 BC, he restored Minyues status as a tributary independent kingdom. Thus, Wuzhu was allowed to construct his fortified city in Fuzhou as well as a few locations in the Wuyi Mountains and his kingdom extended beyond the borders of contemporary Fujian into eastern Guangdong, eastern Jiangxi, and southern Zhejiang. The Han emperor eventually decided to get rid of the threat by sending a military campaign against Minyue. Large forces approached Minyue simultaneously from four directions via land and sea in 111 BC, the rulers in Fuzhou surrendered to avoid a futile fight and destruction, thus the first kingdom in Fujian history came to an abrupt end. The Han dynasty collapsed at the end of the 2nd century AD, sun Quan, the founder of the Kingdom of Wu, spent nearly twenty years subduing the Shan Yue people, the branch of the Yue living in mountains. These immigrants were primarily from eight families in central China, Lin, Huang, Chen, Zheng, Zhan, Qiu, He, the first four remain as the major surnames of modern Fujian. Population density in Fujian remained low compared to the rest of China, only two commanderies and sixteen counties were established by the Western Jin dynasty. Like other southern provinces such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties era, the Southern Dynasties reigned south of the Yangtze River, including Fujian. During Sui and Tang eras a large influx of migrants came, the Tang dynasty oversaw the next golden age of China and culturally and economically benefited Fujian greatly, Fujians capital Fuzhous economic and cultural instions grew and developed. The later years of the Tang dynasty saw a number of upheavals in the Chinese heartland
33.
Folk dance
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Folk dances are dances that are developed by people that reflect the life of the people of a certain country or region. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances, for example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances, ritual dances are usually called Religious dances because of their purpose. The terms ethnic and traditional are used when it is required to emphasize the roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones, if some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between folk and ballroom dance, ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention, e. g. Czech polka vs. Dances not generally designed for performance or the stage, though they may later be arranged. Execution dominated by a tradition from various international cultures rather than innovation. New dancers often learn informally by observing others and/or receiving help from others, more controversially, some people define folk dancing as dancing for which there is no governing body or dancing for which there are no competitive or professional institutions. The term folk dance is sometimes applied to dances of historical importance in European culture and history, for other cultures the terms ethnic dance or traditional dance are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass ceremonial dances. A number of modern ballroom dances originated from folk ones, varieties of European folk dances include, Sword dances include Longsword dances and rapper dancing. Some choreographed dances such as dance, Scottish country dance. Country dance overlaps with contemporary dance and ballroom dance. Most country dances and ballroom dances originated from folk dances, with gradual refinement over the years, people familiar with folk dancing can often determine what country a dance is from even if they have not seen that particular dance before. Some countries dances have features that are unique to that country, for example, the German and Austrian schuhplattling dance consists of slapping the body and shoes in a fixed pattern, a feature that few other countries dances have. Folk dances sometimes evolved long before current political boundaries, so that certain dances are shared by several countries, for example, some Serbian, Bulgarian, and Croatian dances share the same or similar dances, and sometimes even use the same name and music for those dances. International folk dance groups exist in cities and college campuses in many countries, in which dancers learn folk dances from many cultures for recreation
34.
Sichuan
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In antiquity, Sichuan was the home of the ancient states of Ba and Shu. Their conquest by Qin strengthened it and paved the way for the First Emperors unification of China under the Qin Dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms era, Liu Beis Shu was based in Sichuan. The area was devastated in the 17th century by Zhang Xianzhongs rebellion and the areas subsequent Manchu conquest, during the Second World War, Chongqing served as the temporary capital of the Republic of China, making it the focus of Japanese bombing. It was one of the last mainland areas to fall to the Communists during the Chinese Civil War and was divided into four parts from 1949 to 1952, with Chongqing restored two years later. It suffered gravely during the Great Chinese Famine of 1959–61 but remained Chinas most populous province until Chongqing Municipality was again separated from it in 1997, the people of Sichuan speak a unique form of Mandarin, which took shape during the areas repopulation under the Ming. The family of dialects is now spoken by about 120 million people, in Modern Chinese, the name Sichuan has the meaning four rivers and this folk etymology is usually extended to list the provinces four major rivers, the Jialing, Jinsha, Min, and Tuo. In addition to its map and Wade-Giles forms, the name has also been irregularly romanized as Szű-chuan and Szechuan. In antiquity, the area of modern Sichuan was known to the Chinese as Ba and Shu, in reference to the ancient states of Ba and it was the refuge of the Tang court during the An Lushan Rebellion of the mid-8th century. The region had its own religious beliefs and worldview. The most important native states were those of Ba and Shu, Ba stretched into Sichuan from the Han Valley in Shaanxi and Hubei down the Jialing River as far as its confluence with the Yangtze at Chongqing. Shu occupied the valley of the Min, including Chengdu and other areas of western Sichuan, the existence of the early state of Shu was poorly recorded in the main historical records of China. It was, however, referred to in the Book of Documents as an ally of the Zhou and this site, believed to be an ancient city of Shu, was initially discovered by a local farmer in 1929 who found jade and stone artefacts. The Sichuan basin is surrounded by the Himalayas to the west, the Qin Mountains to the north, Qin armies finished their conquest of the kingdoms of Shu and Ba by 316 BC. Any written records and civil achievements of earlier kingdoms were destroyed, Qin administrators introduced improved agricultural technology. Li Bing, engineered the Dujiangyan irrigation system to control the Min River and this innovative hydraulic system was composed of movable weirs which could be adjusted for high or low water flow according to the season, to either provide irrigation or prevent floods. The increased agricultural output and taxes made the area a source of provisions, Sichuan was subjected to the autonomous control of kings named by the imperial family of Han Dynasty. Shu-Han claimed to be the successor to the Han Dynasty, in 263, the Jin dynasty of North China, conquered the Kingdom of Shu-Han as its first step on the path to unify China again, under their rule. Salt production becomes a business in Ziliujing District
35.
Nanyang, Henan
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Nanyang is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Henan province, China. It had 10,263,660 inhabitants at the 2010 census, however,1,811,812 residents live in the built-up area made of two urban districts. Dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered in the Nanyang Basin, the 35,000 capacity Nanyang Sports Centre Stadium is the main venue in the city. Wan is the abbreviation for Nanyang which in ancient times was known as Wancheng, meaning Wan City. The city lies within the Nanyang Basin, which is part of a region in Central China that lies in the gap between the end of the Qin Mountains and the source of the Huai River. Thus, using those two features as the standard dividing line, it is difficult to classify the city into northern or southern China. To the north of Nanyang city proper, there is a mountain called Mount Du, to the southwest is Neixiang County with the newly developing Baotianman Biosphere Reserve—an area of high biodiversity, with 65 rare and endangered species. The climate is moderate and is a four-season humid subtropical climate, with strong monsoon influences, winters are cool but dry. Spring and autumn provide transitions of reasonable length, the monthly daily average temperature in January is 1.4 °C and in July it is 26.9 °C, the annual mean is 14.9 °C. More than half the rainfall occurs from June to August. The prefecture-level city of Nanyang administers 2 districts,1 county-level city and 10 counties, there are also several other small stations serving suburban areas. Nanyang is a junction for the Nanjing-Xian Railway and the Jiaozuo-Liuzhou Railway. Direct train service is available to Shanghai, Nanjing, and Hefei to the east, Xian and Lanzhou to the west, Luoyang to the north, over 500 km of highway network has been built along the railway line and others. An 80 km beltway is being constructed surrounding the city, as of 2009, feasibility studies for 80 km of elevated rope suspension pathways hanging 10 meters high for pedestrian and bicycle use have been approved by city level governance. China National Highway 312 Nanyang Airport is one of three civil airports in the province. It is only 20 minutes bus time from the urban area, passengers can take flights to and from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Guilin. There are also two avion airports, Nanyang city buses have about 30 lines in the urban area. The whole city area has a population over 10.26 million, the built-up area has over 1.8 million people, which is the fifth largest city in Henan Province
36.
Sport in China
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Sport in China has been long associated to the martial arts. Today China consists of a variety of competitive sports, traditional Chinese culture regards physical fitness as an important characteristic. China has its own national quadrennial multi-sport event similar to the Olympic Games called the National Games, according to the Chinese Basketball Association, there is a record number of around 300 million active basketball players in Asia. The largest audience for an event outside of China was drawn at the Yao Ming & Yi Jianlian matchup when 100–200 million Chinese watched live, virtually the whole nation stands glued to their television sets, amid parties and wild celebrations. The largest audience for a sporting event within the boundaries of mainland China was a football match in the Tianhe Stadium in Guangzhou. The average attendance of the Chinese Super League games in 2015 was 22,193 spectators, badminton and table tennis are also popular sports in China. Prior to the 1990s, sports were entirely funded by the government, professionalization led to commercialization, this meant that sports associations became profit-making entities and that a club system and professional sports leagues were formed. Sports club operations now cover ticket sales, advertising, club transfers, commercial matches, Chinese athletes have also begun joining professional leagues abroad, such as basketball Yao Mings entry into the United States NBA in the 2002 draft. China led the medal count at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The event was scheduled for August 8 to August 24,2008 because the number 8 is a number in Chinese culture. China hosted the 2014 Youth Olympic Games from August 16 to 28,2014, Beijing the Ultmpics are held in China may year Dragon boat racing dates back about 2000 years ago and remains a traditional event held around China every year. There is evidence that Cuju, a similar to football, was played in China during the 2nd. From the Song Dynasty on Tai chi chuan and similar qigong martial arts became popular in China. The influx of modern sports appeared in China since the beginning of the 20th century, the Peoples Republic of China emphasizes sports and the government funds and trains talented youngsters into professional players, especially beginning in the mid-20th century. Ping pong is one of the biggest amateur recreational sports with an estimated 200 million players, badminton is also well established and popular. According to CCTV Sports Channel, the womens volleyball game of the 2004 Summer Olympics drew the viewership of 30% of TV-owning households. Brazil match in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Football and basketball are also shown on TV. Popular amateur sports include tennis, badminton, martial arts
37.
National Games of China
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The National Games of the Peoples Republic of China, sometimes known as the All China Games, is the premier sports event in China at national level. It is usually once every four years, most recently in October 2013. The next games will be held in Tianjin in 2017, the forerunner of the Games was the Chinese National Games, first held in 1910 during the Qing Dynasty. This ran until 1948 and the competition was relaunched under its current name in 1959, following the formation of the Peoples Republic of China
38.
Library of Congress
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The Library of Congress is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the de facto national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States, the Library is housed in three buildings on Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. it also maintains the Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, which houses the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center. The Library of Congress claims to be the largest library in the world and its collections are universal, not limited by subject, format, or national boundary, and include research materials from all parts of the world and in more than 450 languages. Two-thirds of the books it acquires each year are in other than English. The Library of Congress moved to Washington in 1800, after sitting for years in the temporary national capitals of New York. John J. Beckley, who became the first Librarian of Congress, was two dollars per day and was required to also serve as the Clerk of the House of Representatives. The small Congressional Library was housed in the United States Capitol for most of the 19th century until the early 1890s, most of the original collection had been destroyed by the British in 1814, during the War of 1812. To restore its collection in 1815, the bought from former president Thomas Jefferson his entire personal collection of 6,487 books. After a period of growth, another fire struck the Library in its Capitol chambers in 1851, again destroying a large amount of the collection. The Library received the right of transference of all copyrighted works to have two copies deposited of books, maps, illustrations and diagrams printed in the United States. It also began to build its collections of British and other European works and it included several stories built underground of steel and cast iron stacks. Although the Library is open to the public, only high-ranking government officials may check out books, the Library promotes literacy and American literature through projects such as the American Folklife Center, American Memory, Center for the Book, and Poet Laureate. James Madison is credited with the idea for creating a congressional library, part of the legislation appropriated $5,000 for the purchase of such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress. And for fitting up an apartment for containing them. Books were ordered from London and the collection, consisting of 740 books and 3 maps, was housed in the new Capitol, as president, Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the structure of the Library of Congress. The new law also extended to the president and vice president the ability to borrow books and these volumes had been left in the Senate wing of the Capitol. One of the only congressional volumes to have survived was a government account book of receipts and it was taken as a souvenir by a British Commander whose family later returned it to the United States government in 1940. Within a month, former president Jefferson offered to sell his library as a replacement
39.
Multi-sport event
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A multi-sport event is an organized sports event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports between organized teams of athletes from nation states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of significance is the modern Olympic Games. Many regional multi-sport events have since founded and modeled after the Olympics. Most have the basic structure. Games are held over the course of days in and around a host city. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes, athletes or teams are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. The games are held every four years, though some are annual competitions. Instead, the Greek sports of racing and wrestling, as well as the Etruscan sport of gladiatorial combat. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at events were almost exclusively male. As international womens sport began to develop, events such as the Womens World Games, though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over the course of the 20th century. Since the establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences, after some celebrations, the Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing, the Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities, and is organised by the International Paralympic Committee. Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome, Italy, the number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago, the most recent Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States, involved 25 sports and approximately 6,500 athletes from 177 countries. At the beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event and these Games were held in Scandinavia, and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating. The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games, in the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for a group of athletes, rather than everybody. Regional games were another kind of event that was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games
40.
Olympic Games
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The Olympic Games are considered the worlds foremost sports competition with more than 200 nations participating. The Olympic Games are held four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years. Their creation was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, which were held in Olympia, Greece, Baron Pierre de Coubertin founded the International Olympic Committee in 1894, leading to the first modern Games in Athens in 1896. The IOC is the body of the Olympic Movement, with the Olympic Charter defining its structure. The evolution of the Olympic Movement during the 20th and 21st centuries has resulted in changes to the Olympic Games. The IOC has had to adapt to a variety of economic, political, as a result, the Olympics has shifted away from pure amateurism, as envisioned by Coubertin, to allowing participation of professional athletes. The growing importance of mass media created the issue of corporate sponsorship, World wars led to the cancellation of the 1916,1940, and 1944 Games. Large boycotts during the Cold War limited participation in the 1980 and 1984 Games, the Olympic Movement consists of international sports federations, National Olympic Committees, and organising committees for each specific Olympic Games. As the decision-making body, the IOC is responsible for choosing the host city for each Games, the IOC also determines the Olympic programme, consisting of the sports to be contested at the Games. There are several Olympic rituals and symbols, such as the Olympic flag and torch, over 13,000 athletes compete at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games in 33 different sports and nearly 400 events. The first, second, and third-place finishers in each event receive Olympic medals, gold, silver, the Games have grown so much that nearly every nation is now represented. This growth has created numerous challenges and controversies, including boycotts, doping, bribery, every two years the Olympics and its media exposure provide unknown athletes with the chance to attain national and sometimes international fame. The Games also constitute an opportunity for the host city and country to themselves to the world. The Ancient Olympic Games were religious and athletic festivals held every four years at the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia, competition was among representatives of several city-states and kingdoms of Ancient Greece. These Games featured mainly athletic but also combat such as wrestling. It has been written that during the Games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the Games were finished. This cessation of hostilities was known as the Olympic peace or truce and this idea is a modern myth because the Greeks never suspended their wars. The truce did allow those religious pilgrims who were travelling to Olympia to pass through warring territories unmolested because they were protected by Zeus
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Summer Olympic Games
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The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad, first held in 1896, is an international multi-sport event that is hosted by a different city every four years. The most recent Olympics were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the International Olympic Committee organizes the games and oversees the host citys preparations. In each Olympic event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third, the Winter Olympic Games were created due to the success of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics have increased in scope from a 42-event competition with fewer than 250 male competitors from 14 nations in 1896 to 302 events with 10,768 competitors from 204 nations in 2012, eighteen countries have hosted the Summer Olympics. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympics, more than any other nation, four cities have hosted two Summer Olympics, Athens, Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo. Tokyo is the first city outside of the Western world to host the Summer Olympics multiple times, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics four times in Japan, South Korea, and China. The only Summer Olympics held in the Southern Hemisphere have been in Australia, the 2016 Games are the first Summer Olympics to be held in South America and the first to be held during the local winter season. Africa has yet to host a Summer Olympics, only five countries—Greece, Australia, France, Great Britain, and Switzerland—have been represented at every Summer Olympic Games. The only country to have won at least one medal at every Summer Olympic Games is Great Britain. The United States leads the medal table. Qualification rules for each of the Olympic sports are set by the International Sports Federations that governs that sports international competition, for individual sports, competitors typically qualify through attaining a certain place in a major international event or on the IFs ranking list. There is a rule that maximum three individual athletes may represent each nation per competition. Nations most often qualify teams for team sports through continental qualifying tournaments, each nation may be represented by no more than one team per competition a team is two people in some sports. The United States has hosted four Summer Olympic Games, more than any other nation, the United Kingdom hosted the 2012 Olympic Games, its third Summer Olympic Games, in its capital London, making London the first city to host the Summer Olympic Games three times. Australia, France, Germany, Greece, and Japan have all hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice. Other countries that have hosted the Summer Olympics are Belgium, Brazil, China, Canada, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, South Korea, Spain, the Soviet Union, asia has hosted the Summer Olympics three times and will host again in 2020. In 2016, Rio de Janeiro hosted the first Summer Olympics in South America, three cities have hosted two Summer Olympic Games, Los Angeles, Paris, and Athens. Stockholm has hosted events at two Summer Olympic Games, having hosted the games in 1912 and the events at the 1956 Summer Olympics—which they are usually listed as jointly hosting
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Winter Olympic Games
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The Winter Olympic Games is a major international sporting event that occurs once every four years. Unlike the Summer Olympics, the Winter Olympics feature sports practised on snow, the first Winter Olympics, the 1924 Winter Olympics, was held in Chamonix, France. The original five sports were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, the Games were held every four years from 1924 until 1936, after which they were interrupted by World War II. The Olympics resumed in 1948 and was held every four years. The Winter Games have evolved since its inception, others have been discontinued and later reintroduced, or have been permanently discontinued. Still others, such as speed skiing, bandy and skijoring, were demonstration sports, the rise of television as a global medium for communication enhanced the profile of the Games. It created a stream, via the sale of broadcast rights and advertising. This allowed outside interests, such as companies and corporate sponsors. The IOC has had to address several criticisms, internal scandals, nations have used the Winter Games to showcase the claimed superiority of their political systems. The Winter Olympics has been hosted on three continents by eleven different countries, the Games have been held in the United States four times, in France three times, and in Austria, Canada, Japan, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland twice. Also, the Games have been held in Germany, Yugoslavia, the IOC has selected Pyeongchang, South Korea, to host the 2018 Winter Olympics and Beijing, China, to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. Twelve countries – Austria, Canada, Finland, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States – have sent athletes to every Winter Olympic Games. Six of those – Austria, Canada, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States – have earned medals at every Winter Olympic Games, Norway leads in terms of number of gold medals and overall number of medals. Germany and Japan have been banned at times from competing in the Games, the Olympic Charter limits winter sports to those. Which are practised on snow or ice, since 1992 a number of new sports have been added to the Olympic programme, which include short track speed skating, snowboarding, freestyle and moguls skiing. The addition of events has broadened the appeal of the Winter Olympics beyond Europe. While European powers such as Norway and Germany still dominate the traditional Winter Olympic sports, countries such as South Korea, Australia, the results are more parity in the national medal tables, more interest in the Winter Olympics and higher global television ratings. Figure skating events were held at the 1908 and 1920 Summer Olympics. ^ Note 2, a mens ice hockey tournament was held at the 1920 Summer Olympics. ^ Note 3
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Youth Olympic Games
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The Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event organized by the International Olympic Committee. The games are held four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format. The first summer version was held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010 while the first winter version was held in Innsbruck, the age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18. The idea of such an event was introduced by Johann Rosenzopf from Austria in 1998 and these Games will also feature cultural exchange programs and opportunities for participants to meet Olympic athletes. The Youth Games are modelled after these sporting events, the YOG are also a successor to the discontinued World Youth Games. Even though this exceeded initial estimates, the YOG are still smaller in size as well as shorter than their senior equivalents. The next Summer YOG to take place will be the 2018 Summer Youth Olympic Games of Buenos Aires, the next Winter YOG to take place will be the 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games of Lausanne. The concept of the Youth Olympic Games came from Austrian industrial manager Johann Rosenzopf in 1998 and this was in response to growing global concerns about childhood obesity and the dropping participation of youth in sport activities, especially amongst youth in developed nations. It was further recognized that a version of the Olympic Games would help foster participations in the Olympic Games. Despite these reasons for having an Olympic event for young people, Jacques Rogge, IOC President, formally announced plans for the Youth Olympic Games at the 119th IOC session in Guatemala City on 6 July 2007. The city of Singapore was announced as the host of the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics on 21 February 2008, on 12 December 2008 the IOC announced that Innsbruck, host of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, would be the host of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in 2012. The scale of the Youth Olympic Games is smaller than that of the Olympics, potential host cities are required to keep all events within the same city and no new sports venues should be built. Exceptions to this building include a media center, amphitheater facilities for classes and workshops. This village is to be the heart of the Games for the athletes, no new or unique transportation systems are required as all athletes and coaches will be transported by shuttles. According to bid procedures, the track and field stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies must hold 10,000 people, the IOC has stipulated that costs for infrastructure and venues is to be paid by the host city. The IOC will pay travel costs to the host city and room and board for the athletes and judges, the funding will come from IOC funds and not revenues. The budgets for the two bids for the inaugural Summer Games came in at $90 million, much higher than the estimated costs. The cost of the first games in Singapore escalated to an estimated S$387 million, sponsors have been slow to sign on for the YOG, due to the fact that it is a new initiative and corporations are not sure what level of exposure they will get
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Disabled sports
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Disabled sports, also adaptive sports or parasports, are sports played by persons with a disability, including physical and intellectual disabilities. As many disabled sports are based on existing able bodied sports, modified to meet the needs of persons with a disability, however, not all disabled sports are adapted, several sports that have been specifically created for persons with a disability have no equivalent in non-disabled sports. Disability exists in four categories, physical, mental, permanent, organized sport for athletes with a disability is generally divided into three broad disability groups, the deaf, people with physical disabilities, and people with intellectual disabilities. Each group has a history, organization, competition program. Formal international competition in sport began with the 1924 Paris Silent Games, organized by the Comité International des Sports des Sourds. These games evolved into the modern Deaflympics, governed by the CISS, the CISS maintains separate games for deaf athletes based on their numbers, their special communication needs on the sports field, and the social interaction that is a vital part of sports. Organized sport for persons with disabilities existed as early as 1911. One of the athletes was Walter William Francis, a Welshman. Later, events often developed out of rehabilitation programs, following the Second World War, in response to the needs of large numbers of injured ex-service members and civilians, sport was introduced as a key part of rehabilitation. Sport for rehabilitation grew into recreational sport and then into competitive sport, the pioneer of this approach was Sir Ludwig Guttmann of the Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England. In 1948, while the Olympic Games were being held in London and this was the origin of the Stoke Mandeville Games, which evolved into the modern Paralympic Games. The first official Paralympic Games, after the change, was held in Rome in 1960. In 1975, the Paralympic Games expanded to include those with limb amputations, individuals with cerebral palsy were allowed to compete beginning in 1980. Currently, Paralympic sport is governed by the International Paralympic Committee, one such program is the Wounded Warrior program, which offers sitting volleyball to injured service members. Some organizations also offer opportunities to family and friends of injured service members in addition to the members themselves. Sport for persons with intellectual disabilities began to be organized in the 1960s through the Special Olympics movement and this grew out of a series of summer camps organized by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, beginning in 1962. In 1968 the first international Special Olympics were held, in Chicago, today, Special Olympics provides training and competition in a variety of sports for persons with intellectual disabilities. Sport for persons with physical disabilities began to be organized in the US in the late 1960s through Disabled Sports USA, in 1970, Hal OLeary founded the National Sports Center for the Disabled at Winter Park in Colorado
