Launch of the Chinese New Year celebrations (Wednesday 22 January) – open to all students and staff
With the arrival of the Year of the Snake on Wednesday 29 January, we would like to send our best wishes to all those who celebrate it and its variations (Lunar New Year in some Asian countries) and invite staff and students to join together on Wednesday 22 January for the main launch event, as below.
This is a collaborative event, organised by The Language Centre, One Elmwood Student Experience Team, Queen’s Students’ Union, CSSA, MSSNI, Ppi Belfast, and Queen’s iRISE Staff Network, supported by People and Culture Diversity and Inclusion team.
12:00 – 13:00 Welcome Reception (Auditorium, McClay Library) –please register for this here.
13:00 – 13:30 Dragon Dance and Parade – departing from McClay Library through Lanyon, finishing at One Elmwood Student Centre and Students’ Union)
13:30 – 16:00 Cultural Fair and Performances (One Elmwood Foyer – Ground Floor) –no registration required
Chinese Culture Forum
The celebration of the Year of the Snake also announces the start of our Chinese Culture Forum in 2025, with the following talks contributed by Queen’s staff and students, including visiting academics and students from a range of disciplines. Check the programme button and book the events that you are interested in.
We are open to proposals for a variety of events that you would wish to help with or contribute to developing our CCP2025 programme. Please do not hesitate to submit your proposals via the form below and we will get in touch with you in due course after your submission.
Happy Laba Festival (腊八节 Làbā jié)! Falling on the 8th day of the 12th month (called 腊月 làyuè) in the lunar calendar, this Laba Festival is often seen as the signal of the arrival of the Chinese New Year (aka. Spring Festival 春节 Chūn jié in China).
Laba congee cooked | Image@LiangWANG
On the day, in many places across China, mainly the north, northwest and southeast, people cook and eat Laba congee (腊八粥 làbāzhōu), typically made of rice, mixed beans, various nuts and dried fruits, etc., all of which are believed to be good for health. Having Laba congee can keep one feel warm and spirited in the cold and wet weather.
With the Laba Festival arriving today on 7th January this year, one can be certain that the Chinese New Year – Year of the Snake (蛇年 Shénián) starting from 29th January, is just around the corner.
Call for CNY participation
While we are busy preparing for the CNY2025 Programme, we would like to invite you to join us in a few activities that can bring the celebrative elements together. The following calls for participation are totally voluntary and you are welcome to attend one or all, as long as you feel like relevant and meaningful.
This event is for staff and students at Queen’s to volunteer at our series of events such as the CNY Gala, CNY Interactive Fair, Culture Workshops, etc.
While the 3rd semester Language Centre course enrolment is still underway, we would like to share with you the study tips from Isabella Souza Mclaughlin, who is currently working as Global Marketing and Recruitment Coordinator after her graduation from Queen’s.
I graduated from International Business with Mandarin at Queen’s University Belfast. Studying Mandarin was one of the best experiences I’ve had, and in this blog post, I will share some study tips!
Isabella Souza mclaughlin 苏曼伊 QUB Global Recruitment
Studying languages is incredibly rewarding, but it can be challenging! Familiarising yourself with your learning style is key. It’s important to try different techniques until you find the one that is best for you. Below are the tips that I would like to share:
Flashcards
Flashcards are a great way to practice vocabulary and keep your notes on-the-go. When studying Mandarin, I wrote the Chinese characters, known as 汉字 (hànzì) alongside the English translation on one side, and the 拼音 (pīnyīn) on the other, to focus on recognising characters. However, you may decide to focus on translation and have 汉字 on one side, and English on the other. Digital flashcards are also a convenient option.
Handwriting
I personally find I can memorise information best by writing. Handwriting notes in Mandarin can be time-consuming. However, if you are regularly writing 汉字, not only will you be revising your notes, but also practicing your handwriting. Remembering the stroke order of 汉字 will be a big help in writing faster over time.
The type of equipment you use can also help. I like using notebooks, so erasable pens found their way into my stationery. I like colour and decoration, so I used highlighters, colourful pens, sticky notes and washi tape in creating diagrams and mind-maps to help categorise them into topics, lessons, vocabulary or grammar.
Apps for writing 汉字 are an interactive way to practice. When not in class, I sometimes found myself even using notes apps on my phone to practice handwriting.
Language Class
If you are self-studying Mandarin, I highly recommend joining a class, as the classroom environment can help with speaking practice, meeting new people and help answering tricky questions. These can be in-person or online classes. The Language Centre at Queen’s offers a good range of language courses, including Mandarin Chinese.
I recently had the opportunity to study with the Beijing Institute of Technology on their 2024 Chinese Language and Multicultural Practice Winter Programme. This was an excellent opportunity to study Mandarin Chinese in interactive classes, as well as learn more about Chinese culture through lectures and seminars in Paper Cutting, Chinese Cuisine, Chinese Traditional Music and more. Not only did it give me the opportunity to improve my language skills in listening, speaking and reading, but I also met new people and built my confidence. This was an excellent opportunity to study with a University in China, particularly a partner University of Queen’s and I was also asked to present at the Closing Ceremony which was such an incredible honour.
Take as many notes as possible in class. I liked using my laptop, to which I downloaded a Chinese keyboard, to take notes in class and had a notebook on the side for handwriting. Alternatives such as Google Input Tools are useful as well.
Tandem Language Exchange
The Tandem Language Exchange at Queen’s was one of the best ways I improved my language skills. I met many language exchange partners who helped me significantly in improving my Mandarin, and I was able to share my experience and help them with English or Portuguese. Everyone was really encouraging in helping me develop my language skills and I had the opportunity to make life-long friends.
I scheduled meetings with my language partners regularly, often weekly, to work on new tasks each week. We picked a new topic to cover each week in each other’s target language, where we asked questions regarding culture and learned new vocabulary.
Cultural Experiences
Immersing yourself in the culture of your target language as much as possible is a great way to remain motivated in language learning and develop knowledge.
Cuisine
Belfast has many great Chinese restaurants, so be sure to try Chinese dishes to familiarise yourself with the cuisine. I also enjoy visiting the many great Chinese restaurants when travelling, such as in London.
Local Chinese dishes in BelfastChinese cuisine in London
Try making some Chinese dishes yourself too! A friend of mine from China and fellow graduate of Queen’s, invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year (春节, chūnjié) with her and her friends, where I learned to make jiaozi dumplings (bāo jiǎozi 包饺子) from scratch.
包饺子
Work Experience
During my placement year, despite the challenges of COVID, I was fortunate to get a placement in an international company, working with a team based in China. Not only was I getting experience in the work environment, but I was learning more about Chinese business culture and working with supportive colleagues from China. During that summer, I also took online evening classes in Mandarin Chinese through the Language Centre at Queen’s, to help maintain my language skills and get back into a classroom environment to prepare for my final year of University.
History and Modern Culture
If you enjoy history, try visiting some museums or exhibitions surrounding Chinese culture, reading books, articles, and watching documentaries. I enjoy music and entertainment, so I regularly listen to Chinese artists and watch dramas and films.
Many Chinese dramas are now on streaming services, such as, Netflix and Amazon Prime. If you can, try adding both English and Simplified Chinese subtitles. Watch dramas back a second time with only Simplified Chinese subtitles, you’d be surprised with how much you can pick up! Try watching your current favourite shows in your first language dubbed in Mandarin, as you will already be familiar with the plot, this will be an entertaining way to practice your listening skills.
Cultural Events
Ensure you attend cultural events. Queen’s hosts numerous Chinese cultural events throughout the year, including Spring Festival/CNY (春节, Chūnjié) and Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节, Zhōngqiū jié). This is a great way to learn more about these festivals, enjoy the celebrations and get involved! During my studies, I assisted in maintaining a stand at the Chinese New Year Festival, sharing information about the Chinese Zodiac (十二生肖, shí’èr shēngxiāo).
Social Media
Try using social media apps from the countries of your target language. I use WeChat (微信, Wēixìn) to chat with my friends regularly and find information on Red (小红书, Xiǎohóngshū). If you are a fan of TikTok and YouTube, why not try DouYin (抖音, Dǒuyīn) or Bilibili? Download a Chinese keyboard to your phone to make it easier when using social media apps.
Read Bilingual Literature
Reading is a great way to keep up practice. You’re already reading a lot in your classes and on social media, so why not try some bilingual literature? If, like me, you enjoy cuisine, I recommend ‘Tiny Moons: A Year of Eating in Shanghai’ by Nina Mingya Powles, a collection of essays about food and belonging, that incorporates vocabulary in Mandarin.
Motivation and Advice
A key aspect of learning any language, is focusing on your progress and avoid comparing yourself to others. Everyone learns languages at their own pace. It can be easy to compare yourself to others without considering the things that make your language learning experience unique. You may feel like you are falling behind, when in fact, you are right where you need to be and making incredible progress!
Though this is primarily aimed at studying Mandarin, I hope these study tips will be useful for any other languages.
The Start of Spring (立春) falls on Sunday 4th Feb according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which well announces the arrival of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebration in China and elsewhere.
Spring Festival Gala
On Saturday 3rd Feb, the Chinese Students’ Society presented a fabulous Gala of performances to entertain not only QUB students and staff members, but also their families and local communities, with an intoxicating atmosphere that brought people together, no matter what cultural backgrounds they belong to, for a bustling night at the Mandela Hall, One Elmwood.
Culture Talk
The success of the Spring Festival Gala has extended its inviting arms to welcome more audience to join in a great variety of cultural events that are to come, with a culture talk presented by Dr Ibrar Bhatt and Heng WANG on their research reflections on Chinese Muslim Heritage Literacy, which is scheduled between 3 pm and 4:30 pm on Monday, 05/02, at the Auditorium, McClay Library. The talk will also include a display of notable pieces of traditional art collected during fieldwork. QUB colleagues and students are welcome to attend this joint event organised by the Centre for Language Education Research and The Language Centre.
To attend this event, please register via the link or scanning the QR code.
Online Exhibitions
We are also pleased to announce the start of our online exhibitions – Drawing The Dragon Competition and ArtEast Exhibition from Sunday 04/02. The audience are more than welcome to leave your comments to the artworks and share their thoughts in line with the themes.
More Celebrations
Last but not least, we are would like to remind that there are two more big celebrations lined up for this week – The Festival of Chinese New Year hosted by the Graduate School on Wednesday and CNY Launch Day with Interactive Fair on Thursday in One Elmwood. Places are limited so advance bookings are required.
The Language Centre is organising a Chinese New Year Celebration Information Session to mark the International Volunteer Day (05/12) on Monday 04/12 (13:00-15:00) at the Auditorium, McClay Library. If you are interested in what’s going to happen and how you can get involved, feel free to pop in and join us in the session.
Call for volunteers
As the Year of the Dragon (龙年春节) is arriving in Feb 2024, we are looking for talented students and staff members to volunteer for our Chinese New Year celebration at Queen’s. It could be in the form of a variety of cultural performances, or language/culture-related topics and skills, and is open to both Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking volunteers.
If you would like to express your interest in volunteering for the preparation and delivery of the proposed events, feel free to scan the QR code, or click the Form URL below to submit your interest.
We also look forward to working with you in our future language and cultural events.
Language Centre Course Enrolment
The second enrolment for courses, including Chinese, to start in January 2024 has now been available online. Anyone wishing to learning Chinese can find relevant course timetable and registration information from The Language Centre Homepage.
As the Chinese proverb goes, ‘What Paradise is to the Heaven, Suzhou and Hangzhou are to the earthly urban (上有天堂，下有苏杭 shànɡ yǒu tiāntánɡ, xià yǒu Sū-Hánɡ)’. This blog post will give you a glance over Suzhou city (苏州) in Jiangsu province, following Jiangyue CHEN (陈江月), a QUB graduate in TESOL, who recently relocated to Shanghai (上海) for her new job and paid her first visit to its neighbouring city.
I set off from Shanghai at 9:00 in the morning and arrived in Suzhou in just half an hour by high-speed train (高铁 gāotiě).
The screenshot of the e-ticket from Jiangyue’s mobile app.
Suzhou is a charming city in the southeast of China, famous for its long history, rich culture and exquisite ancient gardens. Suzhou has many attractions worth visiting, among which Hanshan Temple (寒山寺 Hánshān Sì), Pingjiang Road (平江路 Píngjiāng Lù) and Couple’s Garden (耦园 Ǒu Yuán) are three must-sees.
Hanshan Temple寒山寺
Hanshan Temple is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in China, dating back to the 6th century. It is named after a legendary monk and poet named Hanshan, who lived here with his friend Shide. Their poems are full of Zen wisdom and life humor, and are collected in the book “Cold Mountain Poems”. Hanshan Temple has a tranquil and elegant atmosphere, with various buildings such as the Mahavira Hall (大雄宝殿 Dà Xióng Bǎo Diàn), the Bell Tower and the Puming Pagoda. It also houses many precious relics and artworks, such as the Tang dynasty bronze Buddha, the Song dynasty stone carving of the Diamond Sutra, and the Ming dynasty wood carving of the Eighteen Arhats (十八罗汉 Shíbā Luóhàn). Hanshan Temple is famous for its bell ringing ceremony on New Year’s Eve, which attracts thousands of visitors every year to listen to the 108 strokes of the giant bell and pray for blessings.
Hanshan Temple | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Hanshan Temple | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Hanshan Temple | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Hanshan Temple | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Pingjiang Road平江路
Pingjiang Road is the most well-preserved historical street in Suzhou’s old city area, reflecting the style of the Tang and Song dynasties. It was an important grain storage and transport center in southern China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Pingjiang Road is 1606 meters long, and was selected as one of the “Top Ten Historical Streets in China” in 2009. Along Pingjiang Road, there are many quaint shops and bars, selling various Suzhou specialties such as food, handicrafts, tea, etc. There are also many cultural celebrities’ former residences and historical sites, such as Sai Jinhua’s former residence, Zhang Xueliang’s former residence, Couple’s Garden, etc. Pingjiang Road has a beautiful night view when the lights are on. You can take a hand-pulled boat on the river and enjoy the scenery.
Pingjiang Road 1 | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Pingjiang Road 1 | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Pingjiang Road 1 | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Pingjiang Road 1 | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Pingjiang Road 1 | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Couple’s Garden耦园
Couple’s Garden was originally named Shiyuan Garden, built in the late Qing dynasty by Shen Bingcheng, who changed its name to Couple’s Garden after he met his talented wife Yan Yonghua. They lived here for eight years in seclusion. Couple’s Garden is a good place for couples to visit, as well as for those who want to appreciate Suzhou gardens in a quiet environment. Couple’s Garden is a twin garden, with an east garden and a west garden. The east garden is the essence of Couple’s Garden, with magnificent yellow stone rockeries and “Three Friends of Winter” made of boxwood and privet trees. The west garden is small and exquisite, a good place for reading books. Couple’s Garden also has many details and cultural elements that show the love story of Shen and Yan, such as Chengqu Caotang Hall, Wusuyun Pavilion, Tingqin Pavilion, etc. Couple’s Garden is surrounded by water on three sides and connected to the street on one side. It also has a private pier where you can take a boat to explore the surrounding water town.
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Ou Yuan Garden | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
There are many more interesting places in Suzhou worth exploring. The Suzhou Museum is another must-see place on my list. However, it requires bookings at least one week in advance and I missed it. Never mind, I will save it for next time – not too long!
Local delicacies
Besides these three attractions, Suzhou also has a lot of delicious food to offer. Suzhou cuisine is one of the eight major cuisines in China, featuring fresh ingredients, light taste and delicate appearance. Below are three dishes made of fresh water produces – I ordered and tasted the first two:
San-xia noodles (三虾面 Sān-xiā miàn), or Trinity of Shrimps style noodles, is a seasonal specialty in Suzhou. The name comes from the three parts of fresh water shrimps used in the serving: shrimp meat and shrimp roe and eggs. The noodles are topped with a generous amount of shrimps, as well as eggs, lard and scallions. The dish is served dry, with a clear broth on the side. The noodles are chewy and the shrimps are tender and fragrant.
San-xia noodles (三虾面) served in a large plate, with side dishes to accompany | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Crab roe rice (蟹黄饭 Xièhuáng fàn) is also a seasonal delicacy that can only be enjoyed in autumn, when the hairy crabs are at their best. The rice is cooked with the roe and meat of the crabs, as well as some seasonings such as ginger, soy sauce and sugar. The rice is rich and creamy, with a strong crab flavor and aroma. The dish is usually served with vinegar and ginger shreds to balance the greasiness.
Serving the crab roe on rice in a bowl | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
Drunken crab (醉蟹 zuì xiè) is a cold dish that is made by marinating raw hairy crabs in yellow rice alcohol, salt, sugar and spices for several days. The crabs are then refrigerated until they are ready to eat. The crabs are soft and juicy, with a hint of alcohol and spice. The dish is said to have health benefits such as nourishing the blood, clearing the heat and moistening the lungs. I hope to try this dish on a later visit.
In addition, I have enjoyed tasting various local snacks and drinks, as below. Hope you all get a chance to visit Suzhou and taste the difference one day.
Suzhou brand – Mung bean soup | Photo: Jiangyue CHEN
The date for the Chinese day was selected from Guyu (“Rain of Millet”), which is the 6th of 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars, to pay tribute to Cangjie. Cangjie is a very important figure in ancient China, claimed to be an official historian of the Yellow Emperor and the inventor of Chinese characters. Legend has it that he had four eyes and four pupils, and that when he invented the characters, the deities and ghosts cried and the sky rained millet. From then on, Chinese people celebrate the day Guyu in honour of Cangjie. In the Gregorian calendar, it usually begins around April 20.
On this occasion we provide this special edition to invite you to join us in celebrating the charm of the Chinese language – in its written form through calligraphy and spoken form through recitation.
SONG Yihui (宋一卉), a recently graduated doctoral student from School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, has a number of hobbies rooted in traditional Chinese culture, including calligraphy, classic dancing and Hanfu costume. Below she tells us how she has maintained her practice of Chinese calligraphy since childhood.
I first learned calligraphy when I was eight years old, probably because of my curiosity facilitated by my parents. At that time, I started from learning to write the basic strokes – horizontal and vertical, which required a lot of patience and perseverance. I was so envious of other fellows who could exercise their skillful hands freely. However, after learning Yan-style of calligraphy for three years when I wrote with more confidence, I had to put down my brush and switched my full attention to my study which became more demanding. It was not until in my college time that I picked up my brush again with my genuine passion for calligraphy. This flame of enthusiasm has been kept for my life in the UK. When I was packing up my luggage, I had no hesitation to include my beloved set of calligraphy treasures in the suitcase.
To me, calligraphy is a journey of time and space through the written form of our language, with which I could always conduct spiritual dialogues with our ancestors thousands of years ago.
Below is a selected collection of Yihui’s calligraphic works.
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
SONG Yihui’s calligraphy
WEI Ziqing (魏子晴) is currently doing MA Interpreting at the School of Arts, English and Language. Among her many talents she has a strong passion for recitation. In the recent QUB Multilingual Poetry and Music Festival she contributed to the event by doing a Chinese poetry recitation – ‘The Chinese Language’. With her kind permission, we invite her to share with us her recitation.
To be honest, my performance on the day was not really as perfect as I thought. However, I found that at least three girls from the audience were moved to tears, to my great surprise. One of the girls later said to me that even though she could not understand the language, her heart was greatly touched by the sound of language and she couldn’t help shedding tears.
Below is the Ziqing’s Instagram post on her recitation, followed by the bilingual text versions.
The Chinese Language There is a language – it is very mysterious and contains the emotional ups and downs of a nation for thousands of years;
There is a language – it is so ancient that its origin cannot be found in the characters engraved in bones;
There is a language – it is very rich, resonating with generosity and passion, warmth and tenderness in the alternation of Yin and Yang;
This is the Chinese language.
An ancient oriental myth!
Chinese language
is an expression like poetry and painting.
‘The trees rustle and shake their branches, The horses gallop and run freely.’
–which language
has such a vivid illustration?
“Rosy evening clouds and the lonely duck fly together; The autumn water shares the same colour with the sky.”
–which language can tell such picturesque beauty?
‘The spring tide of the river joins the sea, and the bright moon rises with the tide on the sea…’
–Which language can have such an enchanting rhythm?
“I’ve lost my sun, you’ve lost your willow, the willow lightly rises to the Ninth Heaven”
–what other language
Can translate the richness of your meaning in one word?
Chinese language is the breathing of the Chinese people’s soul.
It is the long sigh of Qu Yuan, the roar of Xiang Yu,
The romance of Li Bai, the irony of Du Fu.
It is Li Dazhao cheering and applauding “The Victory of the Common People” on the eve of May Fourth Movement,
It is Lu Xun criticizing “The Silent China” in the face of enemy’s butcher’s knife,
It is Wen Yiduo rising up and promoting justice in the face of bullets from secret agents,
It is Mao Zedong solemnly declaring “The Chinese nation has stood up!” amidst the sound of salute.
The recklessness and fortitude of the Yellow River is Chinese language!
The unrestrained and boldness of the Yangtze River is Chinese language!
The magnificence of the mountains, the ruggedness of the plateau, is Chinese language!
The gentleness of the south of the Yangtze River, the elegance of the water town, is Chinese language!
Listen, the Chinese language is echoing through my voice on the podium of the United Nations
-So friendly, beautiful,
-So powerful, great!
Chinese language , you belong to a great nation, a world where the sun rises!
I love you, our Chinese language!
Sign up for a Chinese course
If you would like to learn more about the beauty of the Chinese language and are interested in attending a course, you are welcome to check our courses below and register as soon as you can. The cutting off date is rightly on Thursday 20 April, the UN Chinese Language Day! Don’t miss out!
The first half of the CNY celebrations went on extremely well, featuring the student-led Interactive Chinese Culture Displays and Demos, the CNY2023 Launch Event, and the art exhibitions both online and in-person. We would like to send our ‘thank-you’ to all of you who have contributed, participated in and helped with promotion. We hope that you have enjoyed yourselves.
In the following part of the CNY Programme, we continue to warmly welcome you to attend a series of culture talks, a fun time table tennis event and a guzheng introductory workshop. All QUB students and staff members are welcome!
With the approaching of the new semester we are pleased to announce that the Language Centre course enrolment starts at 00:30 on Thursday 1st September. We offer over 80 classes in 14 different languages, including Chinese, that have both online and in person teaching. All classes will commence week beginning Monday 10 Oct 2022.
Online registration will be closed on Thursday 6 Oct and we welcome all to make an early registration as courses are extremely popular and fill up quickly.
We are looking for talented students and staff members to volunteer for our Chinese language and cultural events at Queen’s. It could be in the form of a variety of cultural performances, or language/culture-related topics and skills, and is open to both Chinese-speaking and non-Chinese speaking volunteers.
We look forward to working with you in our future events.
Our previous article, My Journey to Henan Museum written by Yang LIANG, has been invitingly responded with a new but related article contributed by a current MA in Irish Studies postgraduate at QUB, Martin Duffy, who, with great interest, shared his experience and perspective of visiting the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors in his early years when visiting Xi’an, China.
[The author happily acknowledges the copyright of all videos and pictures included in this article which are reproduced under fair use policy for educational purposes only.]
Frontispiece of the Museum site: Photo: China.org.cn
Statute of the First Qun Emperor on the Great Wall, Photo: China.org.cn
This is undoubtedly one of the “must see” sights of China. Tickets can be obtained by web, agent or at the admissions desk, and there are a variety of discounts. The Great Wall of China was augmented by the emperor to protect the newly founded Qin dynasty (221–206 BC.). In many ways this is Emperor Qin’s greatest legacy. However, the Emperor’s personal mausoleum and world-famous Terracotta Warriors are treasures to rival even the Great Wall.
