<font face="宋体" size="3">By ANITA CHANG – Jan 8, 2009 </font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">BEIJING (AP) — The number of travelers to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place> dropped by 2 million in <st1:chmetcnv w:st="on" unitname="in" sourcevalue="2008" hasspace="True" negative="False" numbertype="1" tcsc="0">2008 in</st1:chmetcnv> what was supposed to be a banner year for tourism but became one dampened by Olympics-related security measures and the global economic crunch.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">It was the first decline in visitor numbers since 2003, when a deadly outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, kept many people away.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">The number of inbound travelers fell to 130 million last year, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s National Tourism Administration said on its Web site.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">"All major inbound source markets, except for Hong Kong and Russia, slumped last year amid the economic downturn," the administration's director, Shao Qiwei, was quoted as saying by the official China Daily newspaper Thursday.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">Neither statement mentioned other factors affecting travel to <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>, though industry experts also blamed tightened visa restrictions before the Beijing Olympics and a May earthquake in southwest <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> that left 90,000 dead or missing.</font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="5">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</font>
<font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jump to: </font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_In_Chinese#column-one"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">navigation</font></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">, </font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel_In_Chinese#searchInput"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">search</font></a><font size="3"><font face="宋体">
<a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/travel-chinese.html">Travle in chinese</a> is a 15 minute segment on <a title="CCTV-9" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CCTV-9">CCTV-9</a> that is hosted by <a title="Dashan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashan">Dashan</a>. The segment is a <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/travel-chinese.html">Chinese lesson</a> that is broken down into:</font></font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">On occasion, the entire program is a review of past lessons with guests consisting of Chinese language students who will converse completely in Mandarin while Dashan responds in English. Typical students are usually not of Chinese origin.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">This programme particularly focuses on aspects of the </font><a title="Chinese language" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_language"><font face="宋体" size="3">Chinese language</font></a><font face="宋体" size="3"> and the </font><a title="Mandarin Chinese" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese"><font face="宋体" size="3">Mandarin dialect</font></a><font face="宋体" size="3">. </font><a title="Dashan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashan"><font face="宋体" size="3">Dashan</font></a><font face="宋体" size="3"> usually points out many language points such as idioms that don't particularly translate to English and the use of the </font><a title="Measure word" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Measure_word"><font face="宋体" size="3">measure word</font></a><font face="宋体" size="3">.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">Although anyone can start <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/travel-chinese.html">learning chinese </a>through this program, the program is geared for many levels from beginner to advanced. In parts of the program </font><a title="Dashan" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dashan"><font face="宋体" size="3">Dashan</font></a><font face="宋体" size="3"> goes pretty quickly, especially when he is discussing about particular language points, increasing the level of difficulty for beginners.</font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">Development began in 1984 at Beijing Language and <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Culture</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> and in 1992 the <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html">HSK</a> was officially made a national standardized test. By 2005, over 120 countries had participated as regular host sites, and around 1 million had taken the test.<sup><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSK_test#cite_note-test2-1">[2]</a></sup> While today one may register online, all testing is still done in person, and all assessment is still handled within <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>.</font>
<font size="3"><font face="宋体"><a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html">The HSK test</a> approximates the English TOEFL, and an HSK certificate is valid without any limitation in The People's Republic of China. The test aims to be a certificate of language proficiency for higher educational and professional purposes. Generally, according to the test's current (and original) format, a rank of 6 is needed to enroll in a Chinese university as an undergraduate. A score of 9 or higher is a common business standard.</font></font>
<font face="宋体" size="3">Each year <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html">HSK</a> certificates are issued to those who meet required scores. The HSK is primarily administered in Simplified Chinese. In addition test takers with outstanding results have the chance to win a scholarship for a short-term language study in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>. Resource from </font><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSK_test"><font face="宋体" size="3">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HSK_test</font></a>
Ranking
There are currently 11 possible ranks (1-11) and 3 test formats (Basic, Elementary/Intermediate, and Advanced). A revision of the test is underway.
A student taking the Basic test (基础HSK) may attain a rank of 1 through 3 (1级-3级) or fail to meet requirements and not receive a rank. The Elementary/Intermediate test (初中等HSK) covers ranks 3-8 (3级-8级), and ranks below 3 are not considered. Likewise, the Advanced test (<a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html ">高等HSK</a>) covers ranks 9-11 (9级-11级), with scores below 9 not considered.
It is not uncommon to simply refer to a standard or level of proficiency by <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html ">the HSK level</a> number, or "score." For example, a job description might ask for foreign applicants with "HSK5 or better."
Test dates and locations
The HSK is held in China and at designated test sites abroad. A list of test sites can be found at the HSK website. Test dates are published annually, and while a test date often includes more than one format, all three rarely overlap. The <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html ">Advanced HSK</a> occurs only twice per year.
Content
Test Date:
Place: Foreign Language Labs (D301 and D306), <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Pasadena</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype></st1:place>
(Please refer to Directions to locate the Foreign Language Labs.)
Registration Deadline: .
<em>show(event)" class="t_tag">The</em> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html">Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi,</a> also known as HSK, or the Chinese Proficiency Test, is the national standardized test of Chinese as a foreign language, as recognized by the People’s Republic of China and numerous countries worldwide. Established in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city></st1:place> in 1988, the HSK is widely recognized as the most comprehensive of Chinese language proficiency tests.
The <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html" target="_blank">HSK</a> measures the proficiency level of non-native speakers of standard Chinese, which may include foreigners, overseas Chinese, and students from Chinese national minorities. It is used as a guideline for admission to colleges and universities in <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region> and Southeast Asia, as well as a reference standard in job recruiting, both within <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> and in countries around the world where Chinese language skills are necessary. All <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/test-preparation-hsk.html" target="_blank">HSK tests</a> are designed by experts at HSK headquarters located in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region></st1:place>. As an official testing site, <st1:placename w:st="on">Pasadena</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">City</st1:placetype> <st1:placetype w:st="on">College</st1:placetype> is authorized to administer the test, as well as handle matters of registration, payment, and inquiry, under the supervision of the <em>National Committee for the Chinese Proficiency Test </em>in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Beijing</st1:city></st1:place>.
All tests are scored at the HSK office in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beijing</st1:place></st1:city> itself. Then, the results are sent back to the PCC/HSK site, where they will be distributed to examinees within 90 days of the test date. After this period, score reports and certificates will be available for pick-up or mailed directly to examinees. HSK proficiency certificates are issued to those who have successfully demonstrated mastery of HSK standards of Chinese proficiency. Those who perform well on the test may also be qualified for scholarships offered by the <em>National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language</em>. Resource from <a href="http://www.pasadena.edu/divisions/language/chinese/hsk/">http://www.pasadena.edu/divisions/language/chinese//hsk/</a><o:p></o:p>
<font size="3">It is a<a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/kids-chinese/customized-classes.html?a_aid=post">Chines custom </a>to go visit the family relatives when a <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/chinese-new-year-2009.html">chinese new year</a> comes. They visit to close relatives in the first day of a year or in the first two or three days. As for those distant relatives visits are welcome in any day of the first fifteen days. And those visits are called Zou Qinqi, with Qinqi standing for relatives and Zou for visiting. <o:p></o:p></font>
Chinese would take gifts to relatives and the visited family would give gifts in return. Gifts include everything that symbolizes good luck.<a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-reading/give-present.html?a_aid=post">The exchange of gifts</a> is just nominal and courtesy. When visiting relatives, people would recall everything in the past year and wish everyone good luck in the upcoming new year.<o:p></o:p>
<font size="3">If you are interested in Chinese culture, you can <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/?a_aid=post">learn more at echineselearning.com</a>.</font>
<font size="3">On the <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/chinese-new-year-2009.html">Chinese New Year's Eve</a> or anytime during the spring festival holidays, the aged would give <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/kids-chinese/index.html?a_aid=post">Chinese kids</a> money, known as lucky money, which is put in small, red packets called Hongbao in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/about-us/our-school.html?a_aid=post">Chiense language </a>with Hong for red the color and Bao for packet. In southern <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, not only <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/kids-chinese/index.html?a_aid=post">Chinese kids </a>or Chinese teens can be presented with Hongbao, but also <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/services/adults-chinese/index.html?a_aid=post">young adults</a> as long as they are not married.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">The lucky money in the Hongbao is called <st1:personname w:st="on" productid="Ya Sui">Ya Sui</st1:personname> Qian. Ya mean suppress; one <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-materials/chinese-characters.html?a_aid=post">Chinese character </a>with pronunciation of Sui means devils; Qian is the word for money in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/about-us/our-school.html?a_aid=post">Chinese language</a> To put together, <st1:personname w:st="on" productid="Ya Sui">Ya Sui</st1:personname> Qian means the thing that can suppress devils and maintain kids in peace and safety for a whole year. <o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">In some southern area, particularly in <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Guangdong</st1:place></st1:state> province, Hongbao is called Lishi. And there is a saying that kids would say when asking for a Hongbao, Gong Xi Fa Cai Hongbao Na lai, wish you make plenty of money in the new year and please hand me a Hongbao.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">If you are interested in Chinese culture, you can <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/?a_aid=post">learn more at echineselearning.com</a></font>
<font size="3">Chinese New Year 2009 falls on January 26, 2009 when Chinese twelve-year circle will roll into the year of ox. In Chinese language, ox is pronounced as Niu. Niu, as an animal in general, was playing the role of dragging a plough in field before the invention of modern industrialized farm tools in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-materials/mandarin-chinese.html?a_aid=post">Chinese history</a>. The image of Niu in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/chinese-new-year-2009.html">Chinese culture</a> is hard-working and down-to-earth so that it is highly respected by Chinese.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">When there are different terms, such as ox, bull, cattle, etc., to refer to different species of one kind, there is only one, Niu, for all those terms. And in Chinese there is no special term for beef but just the addition of a word, Rou which means meat in general, to Niu that forms a phrase of Niu Rou. Bull market in Chinese is called Niu Shi with shi standing for market. Niu is also a family name in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region> and a commonly used one.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">Thanks to the shape of Niu, being strong and muscular, and its powerful moos, Niu has become a new slang frequently used by Chinese young and more and more Chinese of all ages. It, functioning as an adjective, is used to praise a capable person. And in most cases it is used humorously. Particularly, when the year of ox is coming around,<a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/chinese-new-year-2009.html">Chinese are saying greetings </a>mixing Niu the symbolic animal of the year and Niu the popularly used slang, such as wish you be Niu in the year of Niu, which means wish you a success in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/chinese-new-year-2009.html">the year of ox</a>.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">If you are interested in Chinese culture, you can <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/?a_aid=post">learn more at echineselearning.com</a></font>
<font size="3">As a symbol of <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-reading/ch-vo-fo-ki.html?a_aid=post">Chinese food</a>, Jiaozi, Chinese dumpling is a must at a lot of Chinese festivals, especially on the occasion of Chinese New Year’s eve. A story says Jiaozi was invented by Doctor Zhang Zhongjing, a famous Chinese doctor in ancient <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>, to save poor people from frostbite as filling dough with meat and traditional Chinese medicine.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">The pronunciation of Jiaozi came from the tradition of eating dumplings on <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-reading/ch-vo-fo-ki.html?a_aid=post">Chinese new year's Eve</a>, which became a tradition later after Zhang Zhongjing, the famous doctor, invented it. In Chinese ancient timing system, the time named Zi is twelve o’clock in the midnight. When this moment comes on the eve of the last day of a year <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-reading/ch-vo-fo-ki.html?a_aid=post">the new yerar </a> is coming in time. And in Chinese, the whole process is called Geng Sui Jiao Zi that means the change of years and Jiao Zi means that the change happens at the very moment of Zi. <o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">The shape of Jiaozi is like that of Yuanbao, a Chinese ancient silver currency, Chinese think that the shape is quite auspicious. Northern Chinese eat Jiaozi more while Southern Chinese eat less and call it Huntun. And there were other names for Jiaozi in <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/resources/chinese-materials/mandarin-chinese.html?a_aid=post">Chinese history</a>, Jiao’er, Bianshi, boiled Momo, and etc. <o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">There are sayings about Jiaozi, such as chu men jiaozi jin men mian, which means one needs to eat Jiaozi when leaving home for a long time and eat noodle when coming back home.<o:p></o:p></font>
<font size="3">If you are interested in Chinese culture, you can <a href="http://www.echineselearning.com/?a_aid=post">learn more at echineselearning.com</a></font>
