I watched the whole course of the Shenzhou VII manned spacecraft landing safely and successfully on the TV this late afternoon. I am so proud of our country and also greatly appreciate the three taikonauts who did so well in the passed three days！
It is just near the 59th National Day and we all people would enjoy this great moment!
(Photo by LemonED)
It was really a happy day. Good weather and great bloggers from all over China. The more exciting thing is that Automattic sent Matt Mullenweg and Hailin Wu to us. WordPress is really a great platform that makes almost everyone (who uses it) benefits from it. I've been a WordPress user since Feb, 2007 and the ifgogo blog is also built using WordPress from the very beginning.
Like a lot of other "WPers", I've been contributing to some themes and plugins of WordPress as well. And fortunately that I got a chance to contribute to the upcoming Video feature of WordPress.com service. That's really a great experience to contribute to such a big community.
As the idea of WordPress is everyone contributes and everyone benefits, I hope the ifgogo project would follow the same way. We don't blog for money and fame, we just blog for the readers especially those who leave sweet or critical feedbacks to our interesting (or even bored) stories ;) - Though the ifgogo blog is currently still very young and simple, I am sure it will bring you happiness and friends every author blogs.
However, for some infamous and ridiculous reasons, people in China seldom express themselves to the public but the WordPress system really give everyone a chance to do, or at least to try, and finally becomes a blogger :) The WordCamp then gathers the great bloggers together to meet, and share.
To share, to contribute and also to get the friends, responses and sometimes benefits, that's why we blog for today, and tomorrow.
In China, disable people are almost ignored in China. Although one out of sixteen is disabled in China, they are not receiving enough love and care. China has various neighborhoods but have less communities. Across China, there are less disabled equipments for the disabled. For example: accessible elevator, accessible building, accessible route. They don't have a large amount of pension. Fewer job opportunities, crosswalks, ramps etc are available for them.
Now I flash back to my life in Canada. In Canada, I was told there are four classes existing in Canadian society, which is a common ground to everyone. From the top to the bottom is: disabled people, teenagers, elders, women and men. It is very obvious that men have the lowest status. However, unlike the disabled in Canada, disabled people's status is lower. They got different looks from majority people's eyes. They are considered as abnormal. Apparently, ordinary people's attitudes towards the disabled was compassion. But this is the last thing the disabled expect from ordinary people.
Paralympics, this sport event, is disabled people's scarce chance to let ordinary people to accept them. They are showing to other people no one is different and nothing is impossible to make. They are fighting against the norms in China.These athletes are respectful. Now it's time to yell: everyone is No.1.
I hope Beijing Paralympic game will be a great success and wraped up well.
Yes, the "Mid Autumn Festival"(Beijing time, Sep 13 – Sep 15) is coming! Best wishes to you all!
Mid Autumn’s day, aka "中秋节"(Mid-Autumn Festival) is a very famous Chinese festival. Here are some more information about "Mid Autumn's Day" via Wikipedia in English:
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar (the other being the Chinese Lunar New Year), and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
- Eating moon cakes outside under the moon
- Putting pomelo rinds on one's head
- Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns
- Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang'e
- Planting Mid-Autumn trees
- Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
- Fire Dragon Dances
I also found a very great translation for the famous poem "水调歌头·明月几时有" from Youtube.
明月几时有
How often is there a bright Moon?
把酒问青天
I raise my cup of wine and ask the blue sky.
不知天上宫阙
I don't know about the palace in Heaven,
今夕是何年
What year this really is.
我欲乘风归去
I would like to ride the wind,
又恐琼楼玉宇
But fear wherever the magnificent jade structures are,
高处不胜寒
There is an unbearable chill in high places.
起舞弄清影
Dances clear the image,
何似在人间
As if on Earth.
转朱阁
Meandering through luxurious chambers,
低绮户
And the silk patterned households,
照无眠
All seem to be losing sleep.
不应有恨
Should not harbor misgivings
何事长向别时圆
And long for a full Moon another time.
人有悲欢离合
People can have sorrow, joy, separation and togetherness.
月有阴晴圆缺
The Moon can be dim, bright, full and eclipsed.
此事古难全
This matter has always been true since the beginning of time.
但愿人长久
Wishing we last forever,
千里共婵娟
To appreciate the beauty of the Moon even while thousand miles apart.
Here is another translation from Baidu:
When will the moon be clear and bright?
With a cup of wine in my hand, I ask the blue sky.
I don't know what season it would be in the heavens on this night.
I'd like to ride the wind to fly home.
Yet I fear the crystal and jade mansions are much too high and cold for me.
Dancing with my moon-lit shadow
It does not seem like the human world
The moon rounds the red mansion Stoops to silk-pad doors
Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge
Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?
People may have sorrow or joy, be near or far apart
The moon may be dim or bright, wax or wane
This has been going on since the beginning of time
May we all be blessed with longevity Though far apart, we are still able to share the beauty of the moon together.
Today I found some photos of Shanghai in 1980s via a Chinese blogger feiii. The group of classic photos really reminds me of my childhood in Wuhan, Hubei. The buses were just like those in the photos and so were the crowd…
