Life in Changsha, China

Jinse Deng

Changsha is the capital city of Hunan province, South-central China. Hunan is 10 times the size of MA.

Changsha

•A city of 3000-year recorded history

•A city with 3 million people

Historic sites can be found everywhere in Changsha.

At the same time, like almost all other cities in China, Changsha is modern.

• My family• China's One-child policy

Why one-child policy? --enormous pressure to curb population

China: 1,400 million peopleBeijing:19 millionShanghai: 20 million

Too many people !

People waited outside the station for up to one week for a train home.

Too many people !

People swimming at Qingdao Beach

China has to build tall buildings to accommodate so many people.

That's why we see tower cranes everywhere in China

Like most other urban families, we have an apartment in a tall building

157 m2, 3-bedrooms, ¥1million ($150,000)

Can you guess the price of such a home in midtown Beijing or Shanghai ?

(undecorated, unfurnished)

¥ 40,000/m2×160m2=?

¥ 6.4 million$1 million

My family loves touring

Lots of places worth seeing in Chang

sha, Hunan and other parts of China

A historic town 4 hrs drive ride Changsha

A traditional village 2 hrs ride from Changsha

Zhangjiajie, 3 hrs ride from Changsha(Hundreds of majestic peaks surrounded by over 3000 karst upthrusts. This is not seen elsewhere in the world. Seen Avatar?)

We take fast trains to places outside Hunan

Fast, Steady, Safe 320 km/h---480km/h

Hobby No.1: Mah Jong

2-3 million people play Mah Jong for about 4 hours every day.

Complicated and varied rules

over 500 versions of game rules

Now, Let me dwell on

food and eating

Status of Food and Eating

• Chinese used to greet people with "Have you eaten?"--the significance of food in Chinese culture.

• Food is art.• Food is play.• "Food is the heaven for the people."• Food is the window to the mental and em

otional landscape of the Chinese people.

• Dichotomy between fan (rice) and cai (dishes)

• The principles of balance and harmony are applied in everyday life, including fan and cai.

• Yin food, such as vegetables and fruits, are meant to have a cooling effect, nurturing the feminine aspect of our nature; Yang food--fried, spicy or with red meat--are warming and nourish the masculine side

• Any meal should harmonise a variety of tastes, and provide a balance between cooling and warming foods.

Making food is an art• Watching the noodles being made is almost a

s much a treat as eating them.

• Making food is an art---hand-pulled noodles

• Watching the noodles being made is almost as much a treat as eating them.

• Stretches the dough in hands, shakes it gently up and down and swings it so the dough twists around itself many times until it becomes firm.

• Pull and stretch the dough until it becomes very fine. (A needle hole can let through up to 20 noodle threads)

• Noodle-making skill shows.

Making food is time-consuming

Cooking a sea-ear like this usually takes 3-5 days.

Symbolic Foods: sound of the name or shape of the food

• noodle soup: longevity

• whole chicken: family unity

• tangyuan: family unity

• moon cake: family unity

• fish: have enough and to spare

• It is the apex of Chinese dining experience.• The hospitality of the host is demonstrated in wh

ere to eat, what to eat, what to drink, and who are present.

Chinese Banquet

• Dishes are served in sequence, on a rotating glass or wood plate. Cold appetisers served first.

• More often than not, the host serve or order far more than enough food.

• The host will probably serve some "important" dish in guest's plate.

Chinese Banquet

• No one drink alone. Drink via toasts. A general toast by the host, followed by the main guest reply toast, and then frequent toasts to individuals.

• Eating is a way to socialise and friendships are made at dinner table.Banquet tables are usually noisy and "hot".

Chinese Banquet

• Seats arrangement follows certain rules.

Chinese Banquet

• In a rural banquet, people will "fight" to "resist" a previledged seat.

• In a friend gathering banquet, everyone at the table will put up a fight to pay for it.

• "Forcing" other people to drink may look like a fighting.

"Fights" in a Banquet

New Year’s Eve

On New Year’s Eve, Chinese people usually give their houses a thorough cleaning,and decorate their homes with spring couplets and red laterns.

New Year’s Eve

Things are changing !

A land of sharp contrasts

A country undergoing a spectacular transformation

A vast land to seek history or modernity

Welcome toChina!

Welcome to Changsha!