2008 and 2009 have been announced as the Tour Taiwan Years, as Taiwan aims to attract a record-breaking number of tourists to the country.
Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau is organising different events and attractions and focussing on Taiwan as a fabulous destination for healthcare tourism.
As one of these attractions, Taiwan invited more than 2,000 to take part in a new Guinnes world record. The record was for the largest number of people having a foot massage at the same time! The invites included 1,000 foot reflexologists and around 850 tourists. The previous world record was for just 200 reflexologists so Taiwan broke the record quite easily.
In addition, Taiwan is hoping to get the Guinness world title for the largest ever game of ‘head, shoulder, knees and toes’.
Taiwan has been described in a Lonely Planet travel guide as a:
“modern industrialised megalopolis clinging to the fringes of an ancient culture”
flights to Taiwan are available from most major UK airports.
Around 50,000 tourists are expected to take flights to Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.
For those who have been before, they may be relieved to hear that many of their city restaurants are changing their menus to remove the strange and sometimes off-putting meal names.
For example, one delicacy was called ‘husband and wife’s lung slice’! This meal will now be renamed to the slightly more aptly named ‘beef and ox tripe in chilli sauce’. Similarly, ‘bean curd made by a pock-marked woman’ will be changed to ‘mapo tofu’ and ‘chicken without sexual life’ to ’steam pullet’.
Although these names, which amount to around 2,000 different meals, are being renamed, some fear the changes are removing some of the individuality of the city. The names have been published in a book that is being passed around between the Beijing hotel chains and restaurants.
One hotel manager said:
“Thanks to the pamphlet, we do not have to struggle to come up with the English translations of dishes any more, which is usually time consuming.”
The Chinese meal names were often based on the appearance of food and were intended to have an element of fun. In comparison, our western names are based purely on ingredients and the way in which they have been cooked.
The 2008 Olympics will commence in Beijing on the 8th August.
The name “Shanghai” is made up of two Chinese Characters that mean up or on or above the sea. Shanghai is becoming a hotspot of modern China, a cosmopolitan going through a swift cultural change. Shanghai is one of the busiest ports in the world and is the business centre of China.
Shanghai may not have the grandeur of Beijing or Xi’an but it boasts of some lovely sites. A short distance of 40 km away is the ancient China. Yuyuan is an old Chinese garden in the old part of Shanghai. The four hundred year old garden has beautiful pavilions, miniature lakes, crisscrossing bridges and enchanting rockeries.
The Jade Buddha Temple or Yùfó Sì is an active Zen Buddhist monastery. It’s popular tourist attraction are the two gorgeous white jade Buddhas and the monks’ serving ceremony. Shanghai Museum on People’s Square houses ancient Chinese art. The museum has a big collection of ceramics, calligraphy, bronzes, ancient coins and paintings.
The Bund is a famous tourist attraction. It has 52 buildings influenced over hundreds of years by European architecture. They all face the Huangpu River. The Bund waterfront has smart restaurants and shops.
Zhujiajiao is Shanghai’s Venice. It is a 1700-year-old water town. The town is crisscrossed with ancient bridges. The bridges, the ancient North Street and Ke Zhi Yuan (Course Plant Garden) were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Shanghai is a must-see city for anyone who visits China.
