On 9-9-2009, Chinese documentary Da Ming Palace premiered in the UN headquarters in New York, transporting audiences to the flourishing Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.

Tang Dynasty is one of the most (probably THE most) prosperous and influential dynasty and enjoys a “significant and unique status” in Chinese history. “China at that time was a remarkably open society with unprecedented frequent and extensive exchanges and interactions with the rest of the world,” Ambassador Liu Zhenmin said.

Near the Village Qu of Quwo County in Shanxi Province, where located the ancient capital of Jin State, there are nine tombs of Jin marquises and their wives. During the early 1990s, grave robbing was rampant in that region, and many precious cultural relics lost overseas.

In December 1992, Ma Cheng Yuan, the head of Shanghai Museum, found this set of 14 antique bells in a Hong Kong antique shop. At that time, many other people thought it’s fake because of its carved insciptions. Mr. Ma is an expert on bronze wares, and he knew they are precious relics. So he bought them and mailed it back to Shanghai.

Like many other traditional Chinese art, Chinese knotting has a long history. It dates back to prehistoric times, when ancient Chinese ancestors tied knots to record events and things in their everyday life.

The phenomenon of knot tying continued to steadily evolve over the course of thousands of years with the development of more sophisticated techniques and increasingly intricate woven patterns. During the Qing Dynasty, knotting finally broke from its pure folklore status, becoming an acceptable art form in Chinese society and reached the pinnacle of its success.

This masterpiece soon became popular since its debut in 1939. World-renowned singers, such as John Denver (as shown at the top), Paul Robertson, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, and lots of others, have this song as a reserved track, singing all over the world. Conservatoire de Paris included this song into its Oriental Music curriculum.

This is a touching song, but also a moving story. This song, everyone can sing; the story, not many people know.

Spanning over a vast territory of 9.6 million square kilometers, carrying 1.3 billion people of 56 ancient ethnic groups, China has weaved a series of colorful pictures of different Chinese residential houses: some live in bamboo lofts, some set home above water, some pack their houses on horseback, some enjoy the generous gift of Mother Nature in Yaodong caves…

Here I listed ten types of Chinese residential houses I’ve posted individually. You will get an extensive understanding about what types of houses Chinese people live in.