Remove carbon build-up by wiping the nib across a piece of fine sandpaper.
7. To fill in the eye of the bird or any other subtly shaded area, switch to a very fine nib, turn the heat to low and gently work over the area several times, gradually building up the color and texture.
8. Use white watercolor to highlight some of the whitest feathers on the breast of the kookaburra and the flannel flowers; this will give an overall upgrade to your work.
9. Apply one coat of sanding sealer and allow it to dry. Lightly sand the surface with very fine sandpaper and wipe with a damp cloth.
10. If you intend to mount your finished piece, apply several coats of varnish, brushing each coat on a right angle to the previous one.
Use a photocopier to enlarge the kookaburra pattern to a desired size.
Tip: Although the pen’s handle is insulated, it is a good idea to wear cotton gloves to protect your fingers from the heat, especially if you’re working for an extended period of time.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
With cold winters, a short growing season, and a relatively arid climate, northern China developed a cuisine based on wheat, millet, and soybeans. Northern cooks developed wheat pancakes, like those that accompany their famous Peking duck, and thin wheat skins for meat-filled pot-sticker dumplings. Modern Beijing (Peking) chefs are proud of their hand-pulled noodles (lai mein) said to have originated in the north during the Han dynasty some 2000 years ago, shortly after the technique of flour milling reached China, via India, along the new Silk Road between what is now Afghanistan and Xian. Trade along this route, which took silk robes to the Roman emperors and much later brought Marco Polo from Venice, enriched the northern provinces with herbs, fruits, vegetables, and spices.
At the Yuen Tai restaurant on the 21st floor of the Great Wall Sheraton, a master noodle-maker twists, kneads and bounces a rope of dough, doubling it back over itself again and again, until almost magically, it turns into a single, long strand, which the noodle maker holds wrapped around and between his hands, like a skein of yarn. The chef of the Chinese kitchen, Zhao Chuan Quing, who has mastered the regional cuisine’s of China, creates spicy Sichuan preparations, like hot and sour shark fin soup and braised mandarin fish with chili bean sauce. Just as fine is his version of Peking Duck (Chengdu Smoked Duck). In the 1800′s a young entrepreneur took the centuries-old court secret of separating the skin of the duck from the flesh by pumping air between them to release the fat during roasting, and brought this royal feast to the restaurants of Peking. As a result, hardly a visitor to the Chinese capital has returned home without sampling this unequaled delicacy. The crisp skin and succulent meat of the roasted duck are cut thinly and eaten in pancakes along with spring onions, cucumber and sweet plum sauce.