Dalian culture

Dalian cultureDalian Spring Fireworks FestivalPeriod: 2nd to 8th, January depending on lunar calendarActivities: Ice carving exhibitions, fireworks displays, acrobatic shows, folk art performances including ballad singings, story telling and locally-flavored snacks. This is a great festive event in the city and thousands of tourists both at home and abroad come to participate in it.Dalian Chinese Scholar Tree (Pagoda Tree) Blossom AffairsPeriod: Later May (around 20th, May)Activities: Dalian is reputed to be the City of the Scholar Tree and in May Scholar Trees blossom in the city. The Scholar Tree Affair is a big annual event in the city. Kite flying contests, folk dancing performances, Chinese painting and calligraphy displays are usually held. In the kite flying contest participants from over all the country bring all sorts of Chinese kites to compete. The Dalian Commodity Export Fair also falls in the period between 23rd and 28th May.The first Dalian International Winter Swimming Festival was held in Golden Pebble Beach in October, 2002.Winter swimmers from more than 40 cities of over 20 provinces in over 10 countries including America, Canada, Japan, Russia, France, Korea and Australia will get together to swim here every October. The youngest swimmer is 9 years old and the eldest one is 84 years old.Dalian International Beer FestivalPeriod: Begins from late July or August and lasts for half a monthActivities: This is a summer carnival held on Xinghai Square each year, which has been successfully held for seven years. Usually the opening ceremony begins with a parade of festooned vehicles and drum dancing groups. A variety of beer companies advertise new products by sponsoring activities including disco performances, beer culture exhibitions, beer drinking contests, photography contests, artwork displays and other festival events. It is a large celebration time for local people and foreigners alike. In 2009, the beer festival is expected to be held during 7th to 23rd of August.Dalian International Fashion FestivalPeriod: Early SeptemberActivities: Dalian is at the forefront of the country's fashion industry. The International Fashion Festival is a highlight in the city in which thousands of dazzling celebrities, stars and artists both in China and abroad get together and present the top in fashion in the world. It is a good opportunity for clothes designers from western counties to communicate with their oriental counterparts.Dalian International Marathon ContestPeriod: The last Sunday of OctoberActivities: It is a great event for sports lovers to challenge each other and compete. Participants come from China and other countries all over the world. Local people love sports and many famous track and field athletes grow in this energetic city. The first marathon contest in the city is launched in 1987 and held annually since then. Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and Qingdao also have marathon contests, but only in Dalian Marathon Contest, the disabled can participate together with the physically capable people.Dalian International Hotspring and Skiing FestivalPeriod: DecemberActivities: Annual held in winter, the festival aims to explore Dalian's tourist market in winter. This year, it will be held for the second time from 18th December, 2008 to 26th February, 2009. Performances by skilled ski racers will be put in the opening ceremony. In addition to skiing competition, ice and snow carnival, hot spring health care, mountaineering, equitation invitational tournament and winter tour routes promotion, visitors can also go to the country fair to spend Chinese New Year with local people.Dalian International Cherry Festival is held every June. There will be many kinds of activities including performances, the competition of eating cherries, cherry expo during the festival. Dalian International Cherry Festival attracts more and more people to enjoy themselves in the process of picking and tasting cherries.Combined with Bordeaux, the leadership of the world wines, China Dalian International Wine & Dine Festival will strive to build Dalian an important distribution center of the wine trade in China, bring the wine culture into the homes of ordinary people and make Dalian the capital of the Chinese wine culture.1. On the first month of the Chinese lunar year, people will celebrate Dalian Spring Fireworks Festival at Xinghai Convention & Exhibition Center.There are two large themed galas at the Xinghai Bay, combining laser light, music and fireworks show together. It will provide a powerful spectacle in sight and sound for the locals and tourists at home and abroad.The spring festival garden gala and lantern show is due to be held at the Laodong Park, displaying more than 40 large-scale colorful lights and over 200,000 lanterns in different varieties.The sightseeing activities involve a tour to hotsprings and purchasing goods for the Spring Festival.Dalian will hold lots of commercial and cultural activities during the festival, and the media will also broadcast special programs to celebrate the Spring Festival.Fork cultural activities will also be held at the urban districts and counties, adding a festive air to the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year.Carved Tigers SquareIn : Sculptures, SquaresTigers Sculpture in DalianLocated on the eastern side of Tiger Beach Ocean Park the marble tigers at the mountain foot are the largest sculpture of animals in Cina.These tigers were designed by Chinese famous painter and sculptor, Han Meilin, and finished in 1991. The total weight of six tigers exceeds 2 000 tons. The length of the sculpture is 35,5 metres and height 6,5 metres.The tigers sit on the square which has an area of over 15,700 square meters.But why the tigers are here ?Once upon a time the daughter of the King Dragon went to the slopes of East Mountains for the fresh flowers to pick. Suddenly she was caught by a vicious tiger, which was going to take her to its cave. Her cries were heard by a young hunter, named Shicao, who then ran after immediately. The tiger was frightened by the fearless fight of the hunter,dropped the dragon daughter and run away.The dragon daughter fell in love with the brave young man and married him. But it was not the end of problems with the tiger, which kept on going down from the mountains to eat the nearby villagers and their cattle. Finally Shicao was told, that the only way to kill the beast is the divine sword from the palace of the King Dragon. So the next day, the dragon daughter went back to his father to fetch the divine sword. But the tiger appeared again, ans angry Shicao didn‟t want to wait for the sword, he picked up his own sword instead and went on fighting. He chopped off the tiger‟s teeth, which fell into the sea and changed into what is now called Tiger Reef.He pulled off the tiger‟s tail with great strength and threw it into the Lvshun Bay.He cut off half of the tiger‟s head, which fell onto the ground and became a hill, where today the Park is.Thie tiger was dead, but Shincao missed the step and suddenly dropped into the sea, changing to another reef. When the dragon daughter came back later and heard the bad story, she changed herself into a reef to be close to her husband.The reef today is called Fairy Lady reef.That‟s the story. Remember the story and remember the Tiger Beach, for peace, and for love.Tiger Beach Ocean Park (老虎滩海洋公园)9 Binhai Middle Road,Zhongshan District, Dalian CityRenmin SquareIn : Squaresthe side of Renmin Square in DalianFor a long time the square was known under the name Stalin‟s Square built for commemorating the liberation of northeastern China by the Red Army of the Sovi et Union‟s.It was changed to its present name in 1994, and five years later the huge statue of a Soviet soldier was moved to Lushun Soviet Army Martyr Cemetery.The monument form the middle of the square has been replaced by a massive European-style fountain and white marble waterfall cloister.The fountain features the Chinese style “Dancing Water” display with the splashes of water “dancing” in the rhythm of the music.This is one of Dalian …must see‟ places, especially interesting at sunrise and dusk wh ere emanating water creates specific atmosphere liked by locals who gather there to join the dancing water.The square consists of four lawns each measuring some 10,000 square meters, often occupied during people‟s morning exercises and holiday leisure activities.As the name literally means People‟s Square (Renmin guanchang) like in many of other Chinese cities, the square is adorned with many of national banners, usually hanging out on governmental buildings around.[photo courtesy of donde quieras]Xinghai SquareIn : SquaresXinghai SquareLocated in Xinghai Business District of Dalian, Xinghai Square with the total area of 45,000 square meters is the biggest municipal square in Asia.It is almost three times larger than Tiananmen Square.Built in 1994 the square is full of symbolic meanings. Its name literally means “the Sea of Stars”, and so the square centre looks like a star with two White Marble Cloud Pillars,and999 red marble bricks paved on the ground, surrounded by nine big ancient Chinese vessels. Between the vessels are five huge lanterns in the shape of the navigation light.The inner circle is199,9 m in diameter to represent Dalian‟s 100th anniversary in 1999 this event i s also commemorated in centennial sculpture which looks like the open bok of history with the pages to be written by citizens of Dalian.The general idea of the square represents the “New Spirit of Dalian . The square was built to honor Hong Kong‟s return to China in the year 1997, and in the middle features the tall white marble column 19.97 meters high as the year of th return.8 carved dragons at the base of the column imply that Chinese are descendants of the dragon.The square hosts numerous events and parades, including the International Fashion Festival, the International Beer Festival and the Spring Festival Firework and Firecracker show.Zhongshan SquareIn : SquaresFinancial side of Zhonshang SquareThe oldest square in Dalian, Zhongshan Square has been built n 1899 by Russians as Nikolai square, named after temporary tsar.Later Japanese added around the square several buildings in the fashion following European classic style.Th ey also change the square‟s name to …Big Plaza‟, and after Japanese colonization, it was finally named Zhongshan Square, after Sun Zhongshan, the first president of the Republic of China.The old buildings became the residences of important financial institutions, like Bank of China [on the photo ]. The diameter of this round-shaped square reaches 200 meters, which makes it the second in Dalian after the famous Xinghai Square.10 streets going out of the Zhongshan, make the square the central traffic point in Dalian.There is a green zone and the paved area broken by five lanes, where people gather together to dance in summer evenings, and play Chinese chess or shuttlecocks.In 1995, 36 sets of acoustics systems were equipped around the square, making Zhongshan the first music square in ChinashellsThe museum hosts the largest number of shells on display in the world. There are more than 5000 kinds of rare shells ranging from several hundreds of kilograms weight, to small tiny items, which require a magnifying glass to see. The shells are from waters of four oceans, shared by 30 countries, including New Zealand, Argentina, Spain, Morocco, Malaysia, Fiji and Philippines.Most of the museum exhibits came from the personal collection gathered for 30 years by famous shell collector, Mr. Zhang Yi.There are also the contributions from shellfish societies and scientists from other countries , like Japan, Taiwan and the United States.For about 6 years the exhibition has been located in the building resembling the European medieval castle, opened in 2003 just east of Xinghai Square.From the location the museum was also referred as Xinghai Seashell Museum or Dalian Castle Museum.At present the museum is in the process of transfer to the modern exhibition building constructed nearby. Dalian Modern MuseumIn : MuseumsThe new exhibition at Dalian Modern MuseumOpened on March 22, 2002 Dalian Modern Museum is the first museum building in Dalian which follows the modern western style.The exhibition is organized in clean, transparent way, ant the information is presented with a bit of luxury and big space providing good visibility.Black and white, the dominant colors of the interior correspond with yin-yang theory, traditional in Chinese culture.The impressive building with total space of 21 600 square metres soon became the 21st century cultural landmark of Dalian.The three floor exhibition introduces a visitor to the long history of the area, and presents rapid development of the city.The examples of different architectural styles present in Dalian are largely commented, there are old means of municipal transportation and infrastructure.The modern sculptures corresponding to the ones placed in various places thorough the city, allow to better understand Dalian and its citizens.[ photo courtesy of Yewenyi]Dalian Modern MuseumNo.10, Huizhang Road, Shahekou District, DalianOpening hours: 9 am-4 pm ( Tue-Sun )Dalian Natural History MuseumIn : MuseumsDalian Natural History MuseumLocated in a new of modern European architecture along beautiful Heishijiao beach, Dalian Natural History Museum is the leading natural museum in China.It is a successor of founded in 1907, Museum of Natural Science and displays fossils, animals and plants from western Liaoning area and other various places in the world,The collection of 50,000 items occupies an area of 15,000 square meters, 10 thousand of which are designed for exhibition halls.The marine collection features the fossils of 20 sea animals, including a black back-bare whale, which with length of 17.1 m and weight of 66.7 tons is the biggest existing in Asia.Most of the exhibited species come from …Jehol Biota‟ – the ecosystem of northeastern China existing some 120 million years ago.The 40 m long dinosaur hall presents the models of dinosaurs along the landscape painting. The visitors can trace the dinosaurs‟ life from the beginning to the end.The most spectacular item in the collection is the discovery of local farmers, the fossil nest of adult surrounded by 34 juveniles of parrot like dinosaur – Psittacosaurus. The Animal Gallery resembles the jungle, and in an interactive part, visitors by pressing button are able to hear tweets of about 30 birds from the nature.There are also various topic exhibitions, like the Insects of the World, or rock mineral samples in Geology and Minerals.Dalian Natural History Museum40 Xicun Jie, Heishijiao, Shahekou District, DalianOpening hours:8:30-16:30 ( Tue – Sun )Free entry but reservation neededSun Asia Ocean Worldone of the habitants of Sun Asia Ocean World in DalianOpened in 1994, Sun Asia Ocean World is the first modern amusement park of its kind in China.Although in the shade of its bigger rival, Tiger Beach Ocean Park, Ocean World features recent addition, which make the drop in worthwhile.The longest underwater aquarium tunnel in the world (116 m / 380 ft) leads visitors through a fantastic and mysterious voyage under the sea.More than 10, 000 fish of 200 rare species from all parts of the world play around while the tourists move along the transparent tunnel via an automatic footpath.New attraction is the polar aquarium with marine creatures from both poles.There is also a possibility to do a guided underwater tour of the aquatic environment with an English-speaking guide explaining the chosen species.The service facilities in the Sun Asia Ocean include an exhibition hall with models of ships and boats, a rock pond,a shop with aquatic products, fast-food store, bathrooms and lounges for children.Shengya Haiyang Shijie (Sun Asia Ocean World)West Binhai Road, Dalian, 21, Liaoning, China, CNopened8:30 am – 5:30 pm ( Summer )9:00 am – 4:00 pm ( Winter)Admission(to Ocean World only) ¥ 100 adults, ¥ 50 children.Polar AquariumIn : ActivitiesBeluga plays at Pole Aquarium in DalianLocated in Tiger Beach Ocean Park soon after opening in 2002 Polar Aquarium became one of the most popular tourist attractions in Dalian.The building of Pole Aquarium has two floors, divided into 5 sections, namely, Large Polar Animals, Polar Experience, Animal Knowledge, Mysterious Ocean world, and Polar Animal Performance.There are altogether 153 polar animals of 11 species, like seals, polar bears, sea otters and sea lions.Marine Animal Performance features a mascot of Dalian – the polar Beluga, the couple of white whales called Peter and Gaja quite often give the special performance to the spectactors.Another show is given by 4 bottlenose dolphins, and there is aslo the showcase with sharks, fed by the workers in front of watching crowds.The special 360 channel goes into the waters which some 3,000 fish flying around spectators.The Polar Animals section features the examples of huge, half ton eaach, polar bears, the true Kings of the North.Animal Knowledge sections boasts the place, where anyone can tuch fur of seals or sea dogs.Polar AquariumLaohu Tan Haiyang Gongyuan (Tiger Beach Ocean Park)Opened7:30am-5:40pmAdmission¥ 15Dalian TransportDalian, as a famous tourism city, equips convenient traffic facilities. To reach this city, you can take trains, highways and also boats and even metro in the future.Intercity traffic AirDalian Zhoushuizi International Airport is 10 kilometers away from the city center. As one of four major airports in the Northeast China, Dalian Airport has 22 foreign airlines to join the operations. The number of opening routes is 118, of which 75 are domestic routes and 43 international routes and special administrative regions 43. It is connected with 15 countries and 89 cities, basically covering the whole country, Japan and South Korea, Russia, Europe, the United States and Macao connecting route network.TrainDalian Railway Station is the terminus of Harbin-Dalian railway line. Dalian Railway connects the railway network in Northeast and North China. There are more than 50 train leaving for Beijing, Shenyang, Harbin and other places of tourist places, and dedicated to " the Liaodong Peninsula Express " " Golden Pebble Beach Road " tourism express train, as well as fully air-conditioned high-speed train to Beijing, Changchun, Harbin etc. ShipThe famous Dalian port has maritime exchanges and more than 150 countries and regional harbors. Except for a couple of flights leaving for Yantai, Weihai, Penglai, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin Xingang and Changhai Town every day, there are also high-speed cruise ships departing from Dalian to Yantai , Qinhuangdao and Changhai County, and there are also regular cruise ships from Dalian to Shanghai and Incheon, South Korea. Boats to Dalian mostly depart in the evening and arrive in the morning, so that passengers can enjoy the fresh sea breeze on the deck, rippling waves and stunning sunrise and sunset at sea. Travelers can even bring the private car with them on the ship, so that they can have self-driving travel in Dalian.Note: Dalian Port is very large and it needs time to walk from the waiting room to Boat Quay and shuttle bus station. So arriving at waiting half an hour before departure room is necessary.RoadsShenyang-Dalian highway runs through the Liaodong Peninsula. It closely connects Shenyang, Liaoyang, Anshan, Yingkou and Dalian. Huanghai Road (Dalian - Dandong) expressway has been passed to the Zhuanghe City.There are five major long-distance bus stations in Dalian cityLong-distance bus station in Jianshe Street: it is located in No.36 Jianshe Street, Xigang Street. It is 391 km away from Shenyang and the bus leaves for Shenyang every 40 minutes; and it is 380 km away from Jinzhou, 467 km away from Xingcheng, 932 kilometers away from Beijing, 720 km away from Changchun, 986 km away from Harbin, 1300 km away from Mudanjiang.North Gang Bridge Bus Station: it is located in No.20, Anshan Road, Xigang District. It is 321 km away from Dandong, 45 km away from Lushun, 217 km away from Bingyugou.Harbor Bridge Bus Station:it is located in No.14 Changjiang Road, Zhongshan District. The buses here leave for Beijing, Tianjin, Anshan, Yingkou, Wenzhou etc.Urban Traffic Public Bus The urban traffic in Guilin is very convenient. You can take public bus. The price is 1 yuan for normal bus and 2 yuan for air-conditioned bus.TaxiDeparture fare 8 Yuan for 3 km, extra distance 2 Yuan/km. After 23:00, the departure fare increasing to 10.5Yuan and extra distance 2.5 Yuan/kmJust as Washington Irving once wrote, '...had I been merely a lover of fine scenery, I should have felt little desire to seek elsewhere its gratification, for on no country have the charms of nature been more prodigally lavished. … but Europe held forth the charms of storied and poetical association. Europe was rich in the accumulated treasure of age. Her very ruins told the history of times gone by, and every moldering stone was a chronicle.'Tourism is always closely related to culture. Cultural tourism becomes a new landmark in the tourist enterprise. For a tourist guide, it is a easy job to introduce or describe the natural scenery to the visitors, but it is not that easy for them to explain the culture. Hence, visitors have to study the culture thing themselves in order to gain an impressive trip.China is a large country with time-honored history. From the ancient times, the ancestors of Chinese laboured, lived, and multiplied on this vast land and have created splendid culture. As one of the four cradles of world's earliest civilizations, it has a recorded history of nearly 4,000 years. Throughout the history of Chinese civilization, its agriculture and handicrafts have been renowned for their high level of sophistication. During these 4,000 years, China has nurtured many great thinkers, inventors, statesmen, strategists, men of letters and artists, yielding a rich cultural heritage and fine cultural traditions.。