Category: Chinese Culture

A Shandong man who admitted his claim to have killed an alien and stored it in a freezer was a hoax was arrested after his story went viral on Chinese social media.一位来自山东省的男性声称自己杀死了一位外星人，并把它存放在冰柜里。该故事在中国的社交媒体上迅速走红。然而这位男子亲口承认外星人为仿造，当地警方已将其拘留。
Binzhou resident Li was sentenced to five days in detention for creating false reports and disturbing public order after admitting to police that he had engineered a hoax as a publicity stunt on June 10, according to China Radio International.根据中国国际广播的报道，6月10日，这位来自山东省滨州市的居民李某向警方承认，所谓外星人其实是造假，只为制造轰动效应引起关注。李某也因为造谣和扰乱公共秩序被拘留了5天。
Initially, the farmer had posted his close encounter on a Chinese website, together with a shaggy dog story about how he had captured the alien while setting traps for rabbits.最初，这个农民在某网站上贴出了他如何近距离接触外星人的事迹，同时还写了自己如何在设置捕兔器陷阱时抓到外星人的经过，故事非常冗长杂乱。
"I was setting an electric trap for rabbits by the Yellow river when I saw a bright light," he said. "Above my bike, a UFO was floating. One by one, five aliens came down, but one of them stumbled into one of my rabbit traps and was electrocuted. The others went back into their ship and flew away."“当时我在黄河边设置电动捕兔器陷阱，然后我就看到了一道亮光，”他说。“在我自行车的上方，一个UFO漂浮着。五个外星人一个接一个地下来，但他们其中一个失足跌入我的捕兔器，并被电死了。其他人回到飞船飞走了。”
After Li uploaded photos of the "dead alien" online, his encounter was instantly questioned and ridiculed by thousands of net users. Many others seemed simply entertained by Li’s outrageous story and "amateur" alien photos.李某将“外星人尸体”的照片上传网络后，他的经历立即引来众多网友的质疑和嘲笑。其他很多网友则觉得李某的故事和非常“业余”的外星人照片实在是太欢乐了。
Shandong police said on Monday that Li had admitted his story was a hoax after he was called in for an investigation. Li had spent 120 yuan to buy the rubber and other materials from local farmers to make the alien, said police.山东警方在本周一表示，在警方对李某进行传讯后，他承认自己的故事是造假。据悉，李某是花了120元从当地农民手里买下了橡胶和其他材料做成的外星人。
"After the police interrogated me, I confessed I was a fan of UFOs and the alien was a fake. I just wanted other people to believe that aliens existed," he told the Shandong Evening News.“在警察审讯我之后，我承认我是个UFO爱好者，外星人是假的。我只是想让其他人相信外星人的存在。”他对山东晚间新闻这样表示。 

九寨沟以有九个藏族村而得名,位于四川省阿坝藏族羌族自治州九寨沟县境内，是白水沟上游白河的支沟。Literally meaning 'nine-village river', Jiuzhaigou got its name from the nine Tibetan villages that surround it. Located in Jiuzhaigou County in the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province, Jiuzhaigou is the branch of Baihe River, the upper reach of Baishuigou River.

It's called "Shanghai's 3rd Annual Love and Marriage Expo." But the atmosphere at this massive gathering for single Chinese men and women was decidedly unromantic.这场活动叫做“上海第三届婚恋博览会”。但这场为中国单身男女们举办的大型聚会的气氛却一点也不浪漫。
More than 18,000 people preregistered for the weekend event, located rather incongruously in a sprawling shopping complex specializing in home and office furniture.超过1万8千人抢注参与了这场周末活动。活动的举办地点很怪异，在一个专卖居家办公家具的大型购物中心里。
The crowds were met by billboards posting lists of thousands of single men and women — one list in pink and the other in blue. Within minutes of the doors opening on a rainy Saturday morning, visitors huddled to study the lists and take in vital intel about potential suitors — age, height, education, annual income and their registered hometown, also known as hukou.面对人群的是张贴着成千上万单身男女信息的广告牌——一列是粉色，一列是蓝色。博览会在一个下着雨的周六早晨开始，开门短短几分钟，参与者就挤成一团，开始研究广告牌上的内容，并记录下可能对象的重要信息——年龄、身高、教育背景、年收入、户口所在地。
Some people took notes, while others snapped photos of single entries with their cellphones.有的人在记笔记，有的人则用手机拍照记录单身者们的信息。
In one hall more than a hundred men and women in their twenties and thirties sat facing each other at tables decorated with red and yellow tablecloths, the soothing tones of a Norah Jones love song spilling out from loudspeakers.在一个大厅，一百多位二三十岁的男女在铺着红黄桌布的桌子前面对面坐着，广播里传来爵士女伶诺拉·琼斯的舒缓情歌。
"Welcome everybody to our 8-minute speed-dating event," announced the master of ceremonies eventually. When the eight minutes was up, each dater was instructed to move on. "Male guests please move two seats to your left," boomed the announcer.“欢迎大家参加我们8分钟快速约会环节，”大会主持人终于宣布。8分钟一结束，每个约会者都必须挪动位置。“男嘉宾请向你的左手边挪动两个位置，”主持人大声说。
For some participants, this was the first time they had ever been on a date. "It's useful…it's just like research," said Yixin Bai, a 20-year-old man home for the summer holidays from a university in Canada.对于某些参与者来说，这是他们第一次约会。 “这很有用……就好像做研究一样，”20岁的白毅新（音译）说，他在加拿大读大学，现在回家过暑假。
Bai said he has never had a girlfriend before. This is not uncommon amongst young Chinese, considering many teens are discouraged from having any romantic relationships in high school and told to focus on school work instead. He came to the expo to learn what women want from men.白毅新说他从没有交过女朋友。这在中国的年轻人中并不少见，因为许多青少年在高中时都不被允许谈恋爱，而要专注于学习。他来这场博览会是想要了解女人对男人有哪些要求。
"After asking them, I now know something: Women don't like men to rely on their parents," he said.“问过她们之后，现在我明白了一些：女人不喜欢男人依赖父母，”他说。
Bai was participating in a speed-dating event organized by Zhenai Inc., one of China's largest Internet match-making websites. The company says it has more than 58 million registered users and is growing by one million users a month.白毅新参加的这场快速约会活动是由珍爱网组织的，这是中国最大的相亲网站之一。公司称他们拥有5千8百多万的注册用户，而且还在以每月一百万的速度增长。
Zhenai's founder and CEO is a Columbia University-educated former investment banker named Song Li. He says the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese government in 1979 has resulted in young adults having poor social skills — crucial in the dating game.珍爱网的创始人和CEO李松曾就读于哥伦比亚大学，之前是一名投资银行家。他说，中国政府从1979年开始执行的计划生育政策让许多年轻人的社交技能非常弱，而这在约会当中是至关重要的。
"A lot of kids who were born after 1980, they don't have siblings. So they grow up in an environment where you don't have the experience to meet with people of the opposite sex," Li opined.李松认为，“很多80后的孩子没有兄弟姐妹。所以在他们成长的环境里没有和异性接触的经验。”
Many participants said they came to the convention because they needed help. They said they found it difficult to meet potential romantic partners outside their immediate circle of friends and family.许多参与者说，他们来参加这次大会是因为他们需要帮助。他们说他们发现在自己身边的朋友圈之外遇见可能的对象非常困难。
And many Chinese approaching their late twenties, especially women, are under immense pressure to get married. "My mother asks, 'Why are you still single? Are you a freak?'" said Elsie, a 26-year-old woman who was taking part in a speed-dating session.许多年近30的中国人，尤其是女性，承受着巨大的结婚、压力。“我妈妈问，‘为什么你还是单身？你不正常吗？’”一个参加快速约会的26岁姑娘Elsie说。
The woman next to her, who asked to be called May and is also 26, said her father asked the same question.她旁边的女孩也是26岁，自称叫May，说她的父亲也问了她同样的问题。
"Everyone has the same story," said May laughing. "I feel free because I'm single… but I know this is the time I need to date somebody. I need to get married before thirty." Both women said they did not want to become shengnu, or the "leftover women."“每个人都有相同的故事，”May笑着说。“我感觉很自由，因为我是单身……但我知道我得开始约会了。我需要在30岁之前结婚。” 两个女孩都说她们不想成为剩女。
"It is one of the most talked about issues in Chinese society because a lot of educated women are left behind because they set a very high standard for their future husbands … and they are less willing, unlike their parents' generation, to compromise," said Zhenai's Li.“这是中国社会里谈论最多的问题之一，很多受过良好教育的女性被剩下了，因为她们对于未来丈夫的标准定得太高……而和她们父母那一代不同，她们不太愿意妥协，” 珍爱网的李松说。
May, who has a good job in human resources at an international firm and speaks fluent English, said this was her first time at a match-making event. She said she had never had a boyfriend before or been in love.May在一家外企有一份不错的人力资源工作，会说流利的英语。她说这是她第一次来参加相亲，之前从没有过男朋友，也没有恋爱过。
"I have no time to get to know other males at a similar age … that's why I can't find my Mister Right," she said. "I just wish that I have some luck today."“我没时间认识和我年龄差不多的男人……这就是为什么我找不到我的真命天子，”她说。“我只希望我今天能有点运气。”
Despite being rejected by two men, May was in good spirits. She said that the two men needed a women who had a registered hukou in Shanghai.虽然已经被两名男士拒绝，May的情绪还不错。她说那两个人想找一个有上海户口的女人。

云冈石窟与甘肃敦煌莫高窟、河南龙门石窟并称"中国三大石窟群"，也是世界闻名的石雕艺术宝库之一。云冈石窟位于中国北部山西省大同市以西16公里处的武周山南麓。石窟始凿于北魏兴安二年（公元453年），大部分完成于北魏迁都洛阳之前（公元494年），造像工程则一直延续到正光年间（公元520～525年）。石窟依山而凿，东西绵亘约1公里，气势恢弘，内容丰富。现存主要洞窟45个，大小窟龛252个，石雕造像51000余躯，最大者达17米，最小者仅几厘米。窟中菩萨、力士、飞天形象生动活泼，塔柱上的雕刻精致细腻，上承秦汉（公元前221年～公元220年）现实主义艺术的精华，下开隋唐（公元581～907年）浪漫主义色彩之先河。Yungang Grottoes in Shanxi is known as the most famous of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes, along with Mogao Grottoes and Longmen Grottoes, it is also one of the world's most famous stone carving art treasure houses. Located on the southern ridge of Wuzhou Mountain, 16 km away form Datong City in north China's Shanxi Province, Yungang Grottoes was firstly chiseled in the second year of the Northern Wei dynasty, or 453 AD and most of the work was finished before Northern Wei moved its court to Luoyang City in 494 AD. However, the endeavors of building it lasted until the Zhengguang Years from 520 AD to 525 AD.
The caves are chiseled against the mountain, extending about 1 km from east to west, showing a magnificent appearance and a wide range of themes. It is now composed of 45 caves and 252 grottoes of different sizes, and 51,000 statues and statuettes ranging from a few centimeters to 17 meters.
With vivid images of Bodhisattva, Hercules and Apsaras, and exquisitely delicate carvings on the column, Yungang Grottoes continues from the essence of realism art in the period of Qin and Han Dynasties (from 221 BC to 220 AD), and sets a precedent for romanticism in the period of Sui and Tang Dynasties (from 581 AD to 907 AD).
云冈石窟的造像气势宏伟，内容丰富多彩，堪称公元5世纪中国石刻艺术之冠，被誉为中国古代雕刻艺术的宝库。按照开凿的时间可分为早、中、晚三期，不同时期的石窟造像风格也各有特色。早期的"昙曜五窟"气势磅礴，具有浑厚、纯朴的西域情调。中期石窟则以精雕细琢，装饰华丽著称于世，显示出复杂多变、富丽堂皇的北魏时期艺术风格。晚期窟室规模虽小，但人物形象清瘦俊美，比例适中，是中国北方石窟艺术的榜样和"瘦骨清像"的源起。The grottoes are an outstanding example of the Chinese stone carvings from the 5th century. They are divided into three categories according to the time they were constructed, those in the early phase, middle phase and late phase respectively, with unique characteristics. For the early phase, the Five Grottoes in Tanyao is of tremendous momentum with a thick western flavor. Those in the middle phase are well known for its elaborate carvings and sumptuous decoration, showing the artistic style in the period of Northern Wei dynasty. Figures in the late phase are lean and handsome with a moderate proportion. Despite being small in scale, grottoes in this phase are models of stone carving art in north China and the origin of the sculpture prototype that is elegantly slender and rigorously simple.

丽江地区处于云南省西北部，全区面积2.06万平方公里。丽江境内群山起伏，全区山地面积占95%。由于地处高原，终年太阳照射较强，平均海拔为2400米。丽江境内有玉龙雪山、老君山两大山脉，其中，最高点为玉龙雪山主峰–扇子陡，海拔为5596米，是终年积雪的山峰。此外，金沙江、澜沧江二大水系，从丽江境内穿过。Covering an area of 20,600 square km, Lijiang is located in northwest Yunnan Province. Lijiang has a large area of mountains, accounting for 95 percent of the total area. Because of its position on a plateau, Lijiang boasts strong sunlight. Its average altitude is 2,400 meters. Two great mountain ranges, Yulong Snow Mountain and Laojun Mountain, lie in Lijiang. Shanzidou, the peak of Yulong Snow Mountain is the highest point, which is 5,596 meters above sea level. It is covered with snow all year round. In addition, two great river systems; Jinsha River and Lancang River, run through Lijiang.