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!

Jiangxi Province (in yellow, J'ian City is in the middle. )


Population: 42.8 million

Urban population: 15.2 million

Area: 160,000 square kilometers

Climatic features: subtropical, humid, monsoonal climate; plum rains in spring; rainstorms in summer; autumn droughts; cold waves in winter

Average temperature: 3oC to 9oC in January, 27oC to 31oC in July

Annual average rainfall: 1,200 - 1,900 mm; high precipitation in the northeast; half of the annual rain falls from April to June

Physical features: hills and mountains in the south gradually slope toward Poyang Lake in the north; the Ganjiang River Valley is a plain bordered by hills to the east and west.Mountains: Mufu, Jiuling, and Luoxiao Mountains along the western border; Nanling Mountains in the south; Wuyi Mountains in the eastRivers and lake: the Ganjiang-Poyang drainage system covers most of the province and empties into the Yangtze River, which coincides with part of Jiangxi's northern border; Poyang Lake, 3,583 square kilometers, China's largest fresh water lake

Products: rice, wheat, corn, potatoes, millet, rape, sugar cane, tea, peanuts, soybeans, sesame; cotton, ramie, jute, silk cocoons; tea oil; timber; oranges, pomelos, lotus seeds; common carp, silver carp, black carp, bighead; wolfram, copper, coal; ceramics

Administrative divisions: 12 cities and 77 countiesNeighboring areas: Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei, and Anhui ProvincesMajor cities: Nanchang, Jiujiang, Ganzhou, Jingdezhen, Ji'an, Ruijin

Tourist attractions: Mount Lushan, by Poyang Lake; Jingdezhen, an ancient town known as the "capital of ceramics" .

Topography and geomorphology:The topographies of Jiangxi are dominated by mountainous and hilly land, with mountains covering 36% of the province's total territory, hills, 42%. The remaining 22% is composed of plains and waters. Most of its mountains lie on the provincial borders. Mount Huaiyu in the northeast has the province's largest copper reserve; Wuyi Mountain, a World Cultural Heritage site, lies in the eastern part; the Dageng Ridge and Jiulian Mountain in the south are known as the "capital of tungsten"; in the west there is the Luoxiao Mountain; and in the northwest lie the mountains of Mufu and Jiuling.

Climate: Jiangxi's annual average temperature is around 18°C. Temperatures in the northeastern and northwestern areas and that along the Yangtze River are lower than other parts of the province, ranging from 16°C to 17°C. The other parts of the province are warmer, with temperatures ranging from 18°C-20°C.

Jiangxi has plentiful rainfall. The average annual rainfalls range between 1,341 mm and 1,940 mm. Precipitation is richer in its southern, eastern and mountainous regions and less in the northern, western and basin areas. The average annual rainfall in the mountains of Wuyi, Huaiyu and Jiuling can be as high as 1,800-2,000 mm while that of the area along the Yangtze River and the Poyang Lake and the Jitai Basin is between 1,350 mm and 1,400 mm. The other parts of the province have average annual rainfalls of 1,500-1,700 mm.

Natural resources: Jiangxi has abundant mineral resources. Of the 150 known minerals, more than 140 have been found in Jiangxi. Among these, the deposits of 89 have been verified, with 33 of them ranking among the top fives of the country. Ferrous metals in Jiangxi include iron, manganese, titanium and vanadium. Among the 13 non-ferrous and precious metals are copper, lead, zinc, gold and silver. There are also 29 rare and rare-earth minerals, such as niobium and tantalum. The province has developed the largest copper mine in Asia and its copper smelting base is the largest in China.

59% of Jiangxi's territory is covered with forest. Its timber reserve amounts to 250 million cubic meters, in addition to 1 billion plants of bamboo, both figures taking leading positions in the country. Most of the forests in the province belong to natural secondary forests. Coniferous forests occupy a larger proportion, with pine and masson pine being the major species. Tea-oil tree, tung tree and Chinese tallow tree are the major economic species scattering across the province.

The province boasts more than 4,000 species of seed plants, some 470 types of pteridophyte and over 100 types of bryophyte. Among the low plants, the varieties of large fungus alone are as many as 500. There are more than 2,000 species of woody plants, including over 400 kinds of arbor. Jiangxi is also home to many ancient trees, such as ginkgo, known as the "living fossil" of plants.

The good ecological environment characterized with rich water resource, changing topographies and wide coverage of vegetation ensures Jiangxi's abundance in wildlife. The 30 nature reserves cover a total area of 9,016 square km, accounting for 5.4% of the province's territory.

Jiangxi now has over 600 kinds of vertebrates, including over 170 species of fish which account for 21.4% of the national total of freshwater fish. There are more than 40 species of amphibious animals, accounting for 20.4% of the national total; some 70 species of reptiles, accounting for 23.5% of the country; 270 species of birds, accounting for 23.2%; and 50 species of beasts, accounting for 13.3% of the nation's total.

Fish and birds, large in number of species, have great economic value and therefore have the priority for protection. Poyang Lake presents an ideal winter shelter for migratory birds.
Jiangxi boasts more than 2,400 rivers and streams, some 160 of which, totaling 18,400 km in length, having water running all year round. Ganjiang, Fuhe, Xinjiang, Xiuhe and Raohe are the five largest rivers in the province. Jiangxi's total water reserve is 150.5 billion cubic meters, with the per capita figure standing at 3,491 cubic meters, 1,393 cubic meters more than the national average. The annual rainfall in 2005 totaled 1,661 millimeters, an increase of 16.1% from the year before. The total water storage in 253 reservoirs of the province amounted to 9.15 billion cubic meters at the year-end. The yearly consumption of water stood at 20.805 billion cubic meters, at a rate of 10.5%.

Tourism resources: Jiangxi has beautiful landscapes with green mountains and clear waters. The major scenic spots include: Mount Lushan, Jinggang Mountain, Longhu (Dragon and Tiger) Mountain, Sanqing Mountain, Poyang Lake, and the cities of Nanchang and Jingdezhen.
Mount Lushan has been listed as a World Heritage site by the UNESCO. Together with Jinggang and Sanqing mountains, it offers charming peaks and quiet valleys.

Guifeng Peak and Dragon Palace are noted for their precipitous cliffs and deep caves. The landscapes of Poyang Lake and Ganjiang River are attractive while ancient temples at Longhu Mountain, Qingyuan and Donglin attract visitors with unique religious architectures.
Other scenic attractions or sites of historical interest include Tengwang Tower, Bajing Terrace, the former residences of historical nobilities in Linchuan and Jiujiang, headquarters of the Red Army on Jinggang Mountain, Memorial Museum of Nanchang Uprising and Ruijin, the first capital of the Communist administration in China.

The northern Jiangxi triangle tourism zone comprising Nanchang, Lushan Mountain, Jiujiang, Poyang Lake and Longhu Mountain is one of the 14 major international tour routes in China. The province has 11 cultural relics put under state protection and 2,406 of its scenic spots or tourism areas have been registered as major provincial projects.

China Facts:

• the total number of cities is 659
• 11 cities with a population over 2 million
• 23 cities with a population between 1 and 2-million
• 44 cities between 500 thousand and 1 million
• 155 cities between 200 thousand and 500 thousand
• 390 cities with less than 200 thousand
  

BEIJING - Mcdonald’s Corp (MCD.N), the world’s largest fast-food chain, has cut some prices by as much as a third in China where once booming economic growth has slumped amid the global financial crisis.

In what the company calls “the best ever value meal combination” in China, McDonald’s cut about 40 percent of prices, the company said. Fifty percent of its products were now selling at the same level as 10 years ago or lower.

Popular items with a downsized price include Filet-O-Fish, Double Cheeseburger, McNuggets, McPuff and the new Mala Pork Burger. The Big Mac was not mentioned in a company statement.

A growing number of Chinese restaurants and shops are reducing prices in a bid to lure customers and lift lackluster sales in a country where millions have been thrown out of work by the economic crisis.

This is the item that I have been waiting for. This is a Z visa, and will allow me to teach, but not preach, have a good time, but no politics.

Sadly this one is not mine. I will be in possession of one of these in the near future?

China demands that most people get (purchase) a visa. As a Canadian I pay $ 50.00 CAN and it takes 3-5 days. For $ 100.00 it can be done in one day. The extra $ 50.00 must be for the stress of having to rush with the paperwork? But look on the bright side. An American citizen has to fork over $ 130.00 US. Not sure how long the visa process takes.

This is what your name would look like in Madarin. It looks like you!! Very classy!!

hugg & gk

This is a typical double dorm room. No! I have not been sneaking around the girl's dorm. On Orrientation Day we were toured around and shown one of the rooms. Their are also single rooms and rooms with 6+ living in the same room.

Here is the Great Wall of China. It makes Hadrian's Wall in Britain look like a picket fence. It was a hot day and not a snack cart in sight.

Afer a hardy breakfast of sardines we went off to do some shopping. Qianmen Street in Beijing was practically dead. Not sure where everybody was.

Yes! It is true, sardines are a breakfast food in China. It was incredibly inexpensive and an experience not to be missed!!!!

Monday Morning Language Lab

Here are a group of students listening to the morning news. A couple in the back look like they are sleeping.

Here is the banner for the university. The English website is not very big. The Mandarin site is huge but a knowledge of Mandarin is necessary.
On the logo is Mt. Jinggangshan, it is famous in these parts and a well travelled tourist site. s

This is what my name in Mandarin would look like!

Can you imagine how long it would take to write all of these characters.