Year of the Dragon – Day Nine

Day nine is dedicated to the Jade Emperor, the God of Heaven. He is vegetarian and the ruler of all realms including heaven, earth and man. It is common practice to have two tables set-up in the family home or workplace. One table should hold “three bundles of long noodles, three tea cups with green tea, five different kinds of fruit and six different kinds of dry vegetables” and the second table, dedicated to the Jade Emperor’s guardian soldiers should have five animal sacrifices, different sweet cakes and turtle cake.

Prayers are offered to the Jade Emperor throughout the day – incense, tea and gold paper are also served as a customary protocol.

Are you interested in cooking a sweet treat for the Jade Emperor? Download our recipe for Nian Gao.

Guest Blog: Jeremy Johnson – Sovereign Hill  

Jeremy Johnson has been the Chief Executive Officer of Sovereign Hill, the Outdoor Heritage Museum at Ballarat, since December 2002.  Prior to taking up an appointment at Sovereign Hill in 1995, he held various senior positions within local government. 

He is a member and Honorary Treasurer of the Council of Australasian Museum Directors, President of the Board and the Executive Council of the Victorian Employers’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chairman of the Victorian Tourism Industry Council and Chair of the Tourism Excellence Working Group, Victoria.  Jeremy is also a Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Jeremy has been involved with VTIC since its inception  in 2000 and has chaired it since 2006.

Click here to read Jeremy’s blog on the inbound Chinese tourism market.  

Today’s Horoscopes: (Rabbit):
Tai Yang, which literally means the sun, is the star that brings energy, luck and good interpersonal relationship to Rabbits. There will be people willing to help you when you encounter difficulties. This is also a good year for making new friends and forming new relationships. You can expect a growth in your job-related income. Remember to talk less and do more.

Facts of the day:  

  • China’s geography causes an uneven population distribution; 94 percent live in the eastern third of the country. Shandong province, with its mild coastal climate, has more than 90 million people, but Tibet, with its harsh mountain plateau climate, has less than 3 million. The coastal regions are the most economically developed—acting as a magnet for an estimated 150 million Chinese migrants from the poor rural interior. This figure, from 2008, grows by an estimated 10 million Chinese each year.
  • China has perhaps the world’s longest continuous civilization; for more than 40 centuries its people created a culture with strong philosophies, traditions, and values. The start of the Han dynasty 2,200 years ago marked the rise of military power that created an empire—one that provided a golden age in art, politics, and technology. Ethnic Chinese still refer to themselves as the “People of Han,” and Han Chinese constitute 92 percent of the country’s population.
  • Successive dynasties developed a system of bureaucratic control that gave agrarian-based China an advantage over rivals. By 2030 it’s estimated that some 60 percent of the country’s citizens will live in urban areas.

(Courtesy of http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/china-facts/)

Phrase of the Day:
“nǐ néng bù néng zài dìtú shàng zhǐ gěi wǒ kàn” – Can you show me on the map?
Like to know how to pronounce it? Click here!