Archive for March 8th, 2010

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China Travel – Erlang Mountain

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Erlang Mountain lies 50 kilometers to the west of Tianquan County of Sichuan Province, 3,437 meters above sea level. In May, azaleas flourish in red, blue, purple and white color on the mountain, attracting many beautiful butterflies dancing around. There is a view-watching platform on the mountain, which is actually a cliff with a deep valley below. Across the cliff there are ice peaks, the end of glaciers of ancient times. The rotes of the Qingyi River and springs along clear brooks can be heard through thick pine forest, and white clouds can be seen floating across the blue sky over the mountain, which adds peculiar traits to the scenery of Erlang Mountain.

Erlang Mountain is notorious for its craggedness and bad weather. Being the first critical and dangerous pass along the Chuanzang (from Sichuan to Tibet) Road, it is called Tian Qian (Natural Moat). Perennial heavy snows, storms, thick fogs and mudslides visit this place frequently. It makes transportation even more difficult for that the time of snowing or raining occupies three fourths of one year.

The project of the Erlang Mountain Tunnel started in 1996 with a total investment of RMB 440 million. The tunnel begins in Longdanxi of Tianquan County and stops in Bietuo Village of Luding County. Running across the mountainside, the tunnel is 8,660 meters long with main tunnel of 4,172 meters in length, and 9 meters in net width, 5 meters in height and 2,182 meters above sea level, and is the longest and the highest among all the road tunnels in operation in China.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

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Chinese Culture – Modern Chinese Watercolors(3)

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The 1950s witnessed the second climax of watercolor painting in China, centering in Shanghai. Fan Mingti, Li Ximing, Sheng Roujian, Zhang Chongren, Li Jianchen and many others were all famous for their watercolor works.

The third wave of watercolor painting occurred in the 1980s. During this period, with numerous watercolor painters and frequent watercolor painting exhibitions, a national watercolor painters association was founded. During this period, watercolor painting reached unprecedented popularity and success.

Jiang Zhinan: Impressions of light and shadow

Jiang Zhinan entered the field of watercolor painting in the 1990s. In 1991, his painting “Sea” was displayed at the Watercolor Paintings Exhibition in Beijing for the first time, receiving favorable critiques. In 1992 Jiang was invited to exhibit his “Kangling Stone Tablet” in Taiwan at the First Exhibition of Works by the Renowned Mainland Watercolor Painters. His works were frequently displayed in the following years, and he gradually established his academic status in the field of Chinese watercolor painting.

As a major the art of dyeing, Jiang graduated from the Central Academy of Arts and Design. Before the advent of computers, dyed designs were executed solely by hand, using “gouache” or watercolors. This training provided Jiang with a good foundation for mastering watercolors.

Jiang’s watercolors can be divided into three stages. The first stage consists mainly of sketches from daily life, where subjects include rice fields, flowers, village scenes, his wife and her cat. All though such themes may appear to be random they are all close to his heart. This stage has two characteristics: One is Jiang’s respect for light (using warm colors he creates a sense of intimacy in life) and the second is his careful brushwork (Jiang uses the natural veins of objects as a medium to establish the visual order of his paintings). These concrete images transmit a certain sense of abstractness. It is this abstract quality that appears to be the real backbone of the structural logic of Jiang’s pictures.

（Source: chinaculture.org）

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Learn Chinese Podcast – Sliced Fish with Tomoto Sauce

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Sliced Fish with Tomoto Sauce
Sliced Fish with Tomoto Sauce

Taste: Sweet, with a sour touch.

Features: Shiny red in color.

Ingredients:

1 chunk of 350 grams (0.77 lb) of freshwater fish with the skin on

1500 grams (3 cups) oil (only 100 g or 7 tbsp to be consumed)

150 grams (12 tbsp) sugar

100 grams (5 1/2 tbsp) tomato sauce

10 grams (1/3 oz) mashed garlic

80 grams (6 tbsp) dry cornstarch

2 grams (l/3 tsp) salt

5 grams (1 tsp) cooking wine

50 grams (3 tbsp) water

Directions:

1．Place the fish on a chopping board with the skin side down. Cut the meat deep all the way to the skin and, with the next cut, remove a section of fish. Repeat this process to cut the whole fish away from the skin. Marinate for 1 minute with the cooking wine and salt. Dust on the dry cornstarch and shake off the excess cornstarch.

2．Put the sugar, 1 g (l/6 tsp) of salt, tomato sauce and water in a bowl to make a sauce.

3． Heat the oil in a wok to 200-220℃(390-430℉). Deep-fry the fish chunks and bring them out to drain off the oil when they are golden yellow in color.

4．Keep 5 grams (1 tsp)of oil in the wok and stir-fry the mashed garlic until it produces a distinctive aroma, Pour in the sauce and stir. Then put in the fish to allow the fish chunks to become evenly coated with the sauce. Now fish is ready to serve.

(Source: culture.chinese.cn)

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