The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games ticks relentlessly towards August 8, 2008, now less than a year away. Much of the city is busy constructing the sports stadiums, hotels and new subway lines needed to host the Olympic Games.
What better time to begin getting to know China and Beijing? To kick things off, read an informative article in the Times Online from Jane Macartney, who takes an insider's tour through Beijing, and for non-Chinese speakers, start getting to grips with Mandarin by subscribing to the 'Teach Yourself Mandarin Chinese Conversation' by Elizabeth Scurfield & Song Lianyi; the course is also being made available through Times Online.
Two end of week videos today because they are both quite short clips, but they convey the atmosphere of the traditional Chinese mid-autumn festival quite nicely.
First up is a clip from Claudia, who has posted this video of the street light-up for the mid-autumn festival at Chinatown, Singapore.
Next is a slightly longer and fascinating clip posted by chinarye, of last year's mid-autumn festival celebrations in Hoi An, Vietnam. The video features a man in dragon costume, dancing on top of a high pole. Spectacular and precarious in equal measure.
Stock up on the mooncakes and dig out the lanterns; 25 September, 2007, which is the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, is the date of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chinese communities throughout the world will be celebrating one of their most colourful and happy festivals, when the harvest moon is welcomed with a sea of lanterns.
