KUNG FU
Made famous by the likes of Jackie Chan in martial arts moves, Kung Fu is most strongly associated with the Shaolin Temple. This ancient temple is located in the foothills Song Shan mountain range in the city of Deng Feng, Henan Province. While Kung Fu didn’t have its origins here, this was where it began to flourish. Shaolin monastery housed many fugitives from justice, and many warriors became monks, which sets the roots for Kung Fu.
The man credited with introducing martial arts to China is said to be an Indian monk known as Bodhidarma, who devised a set of 18 movement exercises around the time of the fifth century and taught these to his disciples in the Shaolin temple, believing the development of a strong body would prevent them from falling asleep during meditation. For those visiting the Shaolin Temple, a minimum of a half day is recommended and a whole day is even better. Most people use Zhengzhou, two hours away from Dengfeng, as their base for making a day trip to the temple.
PORCELAIN
There’s disagreement over when the first Chinese porcelain was made, however fragments of pottery vessels dating from around the year 9000 BC found at the Xianrendong (Spirit Cave) site in the province of Jiangxi represent some of the earliest known Chinese ceramics. Some experts believe the first true porcelain was made in the province of Zhejiang during the Eastern Han period. Over the following centuries countless new ceramic technologies and styles were developed. Blue and white porcelain was first produced under the Yuan dynasty, while potters of the subsequent Ming dynasty perfected these blue and white wares and they soon came to represent the virtuosity of the Chinese potter.
The city of Jingdezhen, located in the Yangtze River in Jiangxi Province, became the centre of a porcelain industry that not only produced vast quantities of imperial wares but also exported products to other countries. Porcelain was further developed and enriched during the Qing dynasty. More than 30 ceramic historical ruins have been found in Jingdezhen, which has become known as the Porcelain Capital, and it’s worth visiting this scenically splendid destination to check out some of these protected sites as well as its many other historical attractions.
KITES
The jury is still out on how exactly kites came to exist. Possible sources of inspiration were the wind blowing bamboo hats or leaves of trees, or seeing birds flying through the air. But it’s understood that the first kite to fly in the air was in China. One story is that a philosopher called Mo Di (468-376 BC) once made an eagle out of wood, and managed to fly it. Another story is that the first kite was developed in Shandong province, around 475 to 221BC. It’s believed that a master of joinery called Mu Zi constructed a man-lifting kite, known as the Wooden-Black-Eared-Kite, and this was followed by another, called Lu Ban, constructing a similar one.
Early Chinese kites were employed to relay information and also to survey the force and direction of wind. The first descriptions of kites made with bamboo frames covered by paper and silk, date back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The city of WeiFang in Shandong province, is known as the capital city of kites. It hosts the largest international kite festival on earth, which is held in late April every year, attracting kite experts, fans and visitors. During the festival, Weifang city comes alive with lanterns and colourful streamers as well as traditional folk music performances.