Travel

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-02 07:05

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Song festival gets ready to glow

Kaifeng in Henan province, which used to be the capital of Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126), will host the Song Culture Tourism Festival from Feb 3 to Feb 22.

Tourists can experience unique Song traditions during the upcoming Spring Festival and attend the traditional temple fair, sacrifice ceremony, folk plays and lantern show. A 26-meter-high mountain holding 10,000 Chinese red lanterns has been selected as a great spot for visitors and locals to pray for blessings.

Sand meets ice at Ningxia

During the Ningxia Ice and Snow Tourism Festival in February, Shahu Lake in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region will become a wonderland of ice and sand.

Tourists can enjoy performances such as winter swimming, skating and ice hockey in the park. They will also be able to participate in winter recreational games such as snow motoring, ice biking and on a horse-driven sled. There will even be snow-covered sand dunes, on which visitors can ride camels and drive cars.

The road to enlightenment

Tourists heading to Huangyuan, Qinghai province, will get a chance to see a dazzling array of Chinese folk culture in February. The city was the trade center of the Ancient Tea and Horse Route, a narrow and dangerous commercial pass that was used to transport tea and sugar from Yunnan and Sichuan provinces to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for trade in horses and salt.

Tourists can discover Tibetan Buddhism culture, learn about colorful folk culture and customs of different ethnic groups, and attend traditional temple fairs.

Harbin ice festival in full flow

Harbin in Heilongjiang province is hosting its annual International Ice and Snow Festival, famous for featuring snow and ice sculptures, group wedding ceremonies and ice lantern exhibitions.

Visitors can check out ice sculptures taken from household fairy tales, such as castles in Beauty and the Beast, as well as scenes from Sleeping Beauty. They can also stroll around an icy world, lit up at night by an abundance of dazzling colors.

Lions dance at Jiangsu festival

Tourists will be fascinated by a range of folk culture activities at China's Intangible Heritage Tourism Festival in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, during the Spring Festival.

Performances include lion dances, martial arts, stilt walking, a fireworks party and a face changing show.

Also on display are more than 30 groups of colorful lanterns, designed to meet the theme of Buddhism. Tourists will be able to take part in Buddhism ceremonies hosted by the local Tianning Temple around Tianning Tower.

Airline news and deals

China Southern Airlines to launch country's first airline to New Zealand: China Southern Airlines will launch the airline, between Guangzhou and Auckland, on April 8. This will be the country's first airline to New Zealand and it's fourth to Oceania.

An Airbus 332 will shuttle three flights each week with the round trip starting at 2,800 yuan ($425), or 1,580 yuan when purchased online.

Singapore Airlines to Sao Paulo: Singapore Airlines will initiate the flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 28. Tickets are already on sale. Passengers are welcome to book tickets on the airlines' website or through authorized agents. The airline will have three flights each week shuttling between Singapore and Sao Paulo with a transfer at Barcelona.

China Daily

(China Daily 02/02/2011 page10)