The above graph shows the yearly temperature and precipitation.

Wenzhou, a pearl on the southeast coast of China, has prospered and developed fast in recent thirty years. Located in the middle of the coastline, Wenzhou borders Lishui to the west, Taizhou to the north, and looks out to the East China Sea to the east. It is at the middle section of the golden coast of China with a sea line of 355 kilometers and it is situated at the intersection of the two economics zones of the Yangze River and the Pearl River. Wenzhou is the economic, cultural and transport center of south Zhejiang Province.

Wenzhou derives its present name from its mild climate. With jurisdiction over three districts, two county-level cities and six counties, Wenzhou covers a land area of 11,784 square kilometers and sea area of 11,000 square kilometers. The population of the city is 7.7 million including 2 million urban residents.

◇ History

Wenzhou, also known as Yongjia (or Yung-chia) has a history which goes back to about 2000 BC, when it became known for its pottery production. In the 2nd century BC it was called the Kingdom of Dong'ou. Under the Tang Dynasty, it was promoted to prefecture status and given its current name in 675 AD. Throughout its history, Wenzhou's traditional economic role has been as a port giving access to the mountainous interior of southern Zhejiang Province. In 1876 Wenzhou was opened to the foreign tea trade, but no foreign settlement was ever made there. In 1937–1942 during the war with Japan, Wenzhou became an important port due to its being one of the few Chinese ports still under Chinese control. It declined in the later years of the war but began to recover after coastal trade along the Zhejiang coast was re-established in 1955.

◇ Transportation

Wenzhou is quite easily accessible from almost every city in China. It has its own airport (Yongqiang Airport), which has over 180 scheduled flights to many of China's largest cities. It has the most airlines among the seven airports of Zhejiang Province. The extensive airport facilities and services led to Yongqiang Airport being dubbed the 'Top Civilized Airport' and accelerated its development.

Jin Wen (Jinhua to Wenzhou) railways through the city connect Wenzhou with other significant cities in southern China. Wenzhou Railway Station is the largest station along the Jin Wen railways, providing facilities for both passengers and goods transport. At present Wen Fu (Wenzhou to Fuzhou) Railways and Yong Wen (Ningbo to Wenzhou) Railways are still under construction.

Wenzhou has radiated highways extending not only to the counties around the city but also cities in and out of Zhejiang Province. Long distance buses running on the highways play an essential role in the transportation of both passengers and freight. Wenzhou also has excellent harbors to allow the mooring of huge cargo ships, making the city one of the most important gates of export and import commerce in Zhejiang Province.

Meanwhile, getting around the city itself is also quite convenient and cheap. There are city buses and taxies running from almost every corner of the city every day. Ships operated by the harbor bureaus offer easy and interesting ways around the city and its neighboring counties.

◇ Jurisdiction

Wenzhou currently administers 3 districts, 2 county-level cities and 6 counties.·Lucheng District (鹿城区) ·Ouhai District (瓯海区) ·Longwan District (龙湾区) ·Rui'an City (瑞安市) ·Yueqing City (乐清市) ·Yongjia County (永嘉县) ·Wencheng County (文成县) ·Cangnan County (苍南县) ·Pingyang County (平阳县) ·Dongtou County (洞头县) ·Taishun County (泰顺县)

Wenzhou

The following description of the school is taken from the contract:

The total area of the school is up to 29,717 m2, and the floor area 25,156m2. The school consists of 28 classes, and the students up to 1,348, and the teaching staff of 141 (among them, 106 full-time teachers, and the teachers with intermediate and advanced teacher certificate accounting for 65.13%). The school is developing as per Provincial Grade-A standards on the aspects of hardware and software.

This is what I am so anxiously waiting for. I want to see Chinese Customs behind me and a large welcome sign with my name on it in front of me.

Sadly, the Ministry of Education in Jiangxi Province seems to be dragging their feet in processing my file. Any day now word will come. I am crossing my fingers! (Some feel I am just plain cross!)

The customs hall officials are smart and efficient and take great pride in assisting travelers while ensuring that the appropriate regulations are enforced fairly and with dignity. The level of spoken English is very good.

The history of Chinese beer is around nine thousand years, with recent archaeological findings showing that Chinese villagers were brewing beer type alcoholic drinks as far back as 7000 BC on small and individual scale made with rice, honey, and grape and hawthorn fruits, with the production process / methods similar to that of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. The ancient Chinese beer was important in ancestral worship, funeral and other rituals of Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, and the beer was called as Lao Li (醪醴 in oracle bone script). However, after Han Dynasty, Chinese beer lost its prominence to huangjiu, which was the case for the next two millennia. Modern beer brewery was not introduced into China until the end of 19th century when Russia first set up a brewery in Harbin, with another three followed (also in Harbin), set up by Germany, Czechoslovakia and Russia respectively.

Economy
Tsingtao Beer, produced by Tsingtao Brewery, has been the best selling beer in China for eleven consecutive years, and is also the brand most widely exported to other countries, followed by Zhujiang and Yanjing. Tsingtao Beer is brewed in the city of Qingdao (formerly spelled Tsingtao) which was a German base in the time of unequal treaties and late-colonial western influence in China. The Germans needed beer for their sailors, soldiers and trader, and production continued after they lost the city to the Japanese in World War I. Apart from Tsingtao, other major Chinese brewing groups include China Blue Ribbon, Yanjing, Sie-Tang Lio and Zhujiang. Many major international brewers now have interests in, or joint ventures with, Chinese breweries, and popular international brands such as Carlsberg are now produced in China. This gives them access to the Chinese market, while providing capital and expertise to help upgrade local brewing standards, albeit at the cost of variety.

Only a few brewpubs exist in China, primarily in major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing which have a resident western community. The most well-known craft brewer in China is Kaiwei Beer House, a brewpub chain based in Wuhan.

Chinese media reported in 2001 that as many as 95% of all Chinese beers contained formaldehyde, to prevent sedimentation in bottles and cans while in storage. This practice has now been made illegal
Chinese beers often contain rice, sorghum and sometimes rye in addition to barley.
Interestingly, some beer is produced that uses bitter melon instead of hops as the bittering agent.

Here is a short list of Chinese beers:

There are more varieties, but they only cater to the local market.

Anchor Beer (力加啤酒)
Beijing Beer (北京啤酒)
Chifeng Beer (赤峰啤酒)
China Blue Ribbon (蓝带啤酒)
Dali Beer (大理啤酒）
Ginsber (金士百啤酒)
Guangming (光明啤酒)
Guilin (桂林啤酒)
Haizhu (海珠啤酒)
Hangzhou Qiandaohu Beer Co., Ltd. (杭州千岛湖啤酒有限公司) - producer of Cheerday Beer
Hans Beer (汉斯啤酒)
Harbin Beer (哈尔滨啤酒)
Jinling Beer (金陵啤酒）
Kingway Beer (金威啤酒)
Kinglong Beer (金龙泉啤酒)
Meixue Beer (梅雪啤酒)
Mingyuedao (明月岛啤酒)
Reeb (力波啤酒)
Shanghai Beer (上海啤酒)
Snow beer (雪花啤酒)
Taiwan Beer (台湾啤酒 or 台啤)
Tianmuhu Beer (天目湖啤酒)
Tsingtao Beer (青岛啤酒)
Tsingtao Dark Beer (青岛黑啤)
Valor (威尔啤酒)
Wusu Beer (乌苏啤酒)
Xinjiang Beer (新疆啤酒)
Xinjiang Black (新疆黑啤)
Xuehang Beer (雪航啤酒)
Yanjing Beer (燕京啤酒)
Zhonghua (中华啤酒)
Zhujiang Beer (珠江啤酒)

The hills are alive with......................................... ??

In the spring, the hills are red/pink with azaleas. They grew like weeds!