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Hi Colly,
I sent an email before we left China but I'm not sure if you received it. I just wanted to thank you for organising our tour in Beijing. We had a wonderful time and think Kathy was a great guide, with very good English.
We will certainly recommend your company to any friends who visit Beijing.
Regards
Lynn Porus and family (from New Zealand)
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Double
Ninth Festival()
 The
9th day of the 9th lunar month is the traditional
Chongyang Festival, or Double Ninth Festival.
It usually falls in October in the Gregorian
calendar. In an ancient and mysterious book
Yi Jing, or The Book of Changes, number "6"
was thought to be of Yin character, meaning
feminine or negative, while number "9"
was thought to be Yang, meaning masculine
or positive. So the number nine both in month
and day creates the Double Ninth Festival,
or Chongyang Festival. Chong in Chinese means
"double." Also, as double ninth
was pronounced the same as the word to signify
"forever", both are "Jiu Jiu,"
the Chinese ancestors considered it an auspicious
day worth celebration. That's why ancient
Chinese began to celebrate this festival long
time ago.
The custom of ascending a height to avoid
epidemics was passed down from long time ago.
Therefore, the Double Ninth Festival is also
called "Height Ascending Festival".
The height people will reach is usually a
mountain or a tower. Ancient literary figures
have left many poems depicting the activity.
Even today, people still swarm to famous or
little known mountains on this day.
On this day, people will eat Double Ninth
Gao (or Cake). In Chinese, gao (cake) has
the same pronunciation with gao (height).
People do so just to hope progress in everything
they are engaged in. There is no fixed ways
for the Double Ninth Cake, but super cakes
will have as many as nine layers, looking
like a tower.
 The
Double Ninth Festival is also a time when
chrysanthemum blooms. China boasts diversified
species of chrysanthemum and people have loved
them since ancient times. So enjoying the
flourishing chrysanthemum also becomes a key
activity on this festival. Also, people will
drink chrysanthemum wine. Women used to stick
such a flower into their hair or hang its
branches on windows or doors to avoid evilness.
In 1989, the Chinese government decided the
Double Ninth Festival as The Senior's Day.
Since then, all government units, organizations
and streets communities will organize an autumn
trip each year for those who have retired
from their posts. At the waterside or on the
mountains, the seniors will find themselves
merged into nature. Younger generations will
bring elder ones to suburban areas or send
gifts to them on this day.
Double
Seventh Festival(夕)
 The
Double Seventh Festival, on the 7th day of
the 7th lunar month, is a traditional festival
full of romance. It often goes into August
in the Gregorian calendar.
This festival is in mid-summer when the weather
is warm and the grass and trees reveal their
luxurious greens. At night when the sky is
dotted with stars, and people can see the
Milky Way spanning from the north to the south.
On each bank of it is a bright star, which
sees each other from afar. They are the Cowherd
and Weaver Maid, and about them there is a
beautiful love story passed down from generation
to generation.
Long, long ago, there was an honest and kind-hearted
fellow named Niu Lang (Cowhand). His parents
died when he was a child. Later he was driven
out of his home by his sister-in-law. So he
lived by himself herding cattle and farming.
One day, a fairy from heaven Zhi Nu (Weaver
Maid) fell in love with him and came down
secretly to earth and married him. The cowhand
farmed in the field and the Weaver Maid wove
at home. They lived a happy life and gave
birth to a boy and a girl. Unfortunately,
the God of Heaven soon found out the fact
and ordered the Queen Mother of the Western
Heavens to bring the Weaver Maid back.
 With
the help of celestial cattle, the Cowhand
flew to heaven with his son and daughter.
At the time when he was about to catch up
with his wife, the Queen Mother took off one
of her gold hairpins and made a stroke. One
billowy river appeared in front of the Cowhand.
The Cowhand and Weaver Maid were separated
on the two banks forever and could only feel
their tears. Their loyalty to love touched
magpies, so tens of thousands of magpies came
to build a bridge for the Cowhand and Weaver
Maid to meet each other. The Queen Mother
was eventually moved and allowed them to meet
each year on the 7th of the 7th lunar month.
Hence their meeting date has been called "Qi
Xi" (Double Seventh).
Scholars have shown the Double Seventh Festival
originated from the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD220).
Historical documents from the Eastern Jin
Dynasty (AD371-420) mention the festival,
while records from the Tang Dynasty (618-907)
depict the grand evening banquet of Emperor
Taizong and his concubines. By the Song (960-1279)
and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, special articles
for the "Qi Xi" were seen being
sold on markets in the capital. The bustling
markets demonstrated the significance of the
festival.
Today some traditional customs are still observed
in rural areas of China, but have been weakened
or diluted in urban cities. However, the legend
of the Cowhand and Weaver Maid has taken root
in the hearts of the people. In recent years,
in particular, urban youths have celebrated
it as Valentine's Day in China. As a result,
owners of flower shops, bars and stores are
full of joy as they sell more commodities
for love.
Dragon
Boat Festival()
 The
Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th
lunar month, has had a history of more than
2,000 years. It is usually in June in the
Gregorian calendar.
There are many legends about the evolution
of the festival, the most popular of which
is in commemoration of Qu Yuan (340-278 BC).
Qu Yuan was minister of the State of Chu and
one of China's earliest poets. In face of
great pressure from the powerful Qin State,
he advocated enriching the country and strengthening
its military forces so as to fight against
the Qin. However, he was opposed by aristocrats
headed by Zi Lan, and later deposed and exiled
by King Huai. In his exiled days, he still
cared much for his country and people and
composed immortal poems including Li Sao (The
Lament), Tian Wen (Heavenly Questions) and
Jiu Ge (Nine Songs), which had far-reaching
influences. In 278 BC, he heard the news that
Qin troops had finally conquered Chu's capital,
so he finished his last piece Huai Sha (Embracing
Sand) and plunged himself into the Miluo River,
clasping his arms to a large stone. The day
happened to be the 5th of the 5th month in
the Chinese lunar calendar. After his death,
the people of Chu crowded to the bank of the
river to pay their respects to him. The fishermen
sailed their boats up and down the river to
look for his body. People threw into the water
zongzi (pyramid-shaped glutinous rice dumplings
wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves) and eggs
to divert possible fish or shrimp from attacking
his body. An old doctor poured a jug of reaglar
wine (Chinese liquor seasoned with realgar)
into the water, hoping to turn all aquatic
beasts drunk. That's why people later followed
the customs such as dragon boat racing, eating
zongzi and drinking realgar wine on that day.
Dragon boat racing is an indispensable part
of the festival, held all over the country.
As the gun is fired, people will see racers
in dragon-shaped canoes pulling the oars harmoniously
and hurriedly, accompanied by rapid drums,
speeding toward their destination. Folk tales
say the game originates from the activities
of seeking Qu Yuan's body, but experts, after
painstaking and meticulous research, conclude
that dragon boat racing is a semi-religious,
semi-entertaining program from the Warring
States Period (475-221 BC). In the following
thousands of years, the game spread to Japan,
Vietnam and Britain as well as China's Taiwan
and Hong Kong. Now dragon boat racing has
developed into an aquatic sports item which
features both Chinese tradition and modern
sporting spirit. In 1980, it was listed into
the state sports competition programs and
has since been held every year. The award
is called "Qu Yuan Cup."
Zongzi is an essential food of the Dragon
Boat Festival. It is said that people ate
them in the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476
BC). In early times, it was only glutinous
rice dumplings wrapped in reed or other plant
leaves and tied with colored thread, but now
the fillings are more diversified, including
jujube and bean paste, fresh meat, and ham
and egg yolk. If time permits, people will
soak glutinous rice, wash reed leaves and
wrap up zongzi themselves. Otherwise, they
will go to shops to buy whatever stuff they
want. The custom of eating zongzi is now popular
in North and South Korea, Japan and Southeast
Asian nations.
On Dragon Boat Festival, parents also need
to dress their children up with a perfume
pouch. They first sew little bags with colorful
silk cloth, then fill the bags with perfumes
or herbal medicines, and finally string them
with silk threads. The perfume pouch will
be hung around the neck or tied to the front
of a garment as an ornament. They are said
to be able to ward off evil.
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