China's Economic Growth (Yue San)

China's socialist market economy is the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP, and the world's largest economy according to purchasing parity according to the IMF; the accuracy of the IMF's report on China's purchasing power parity has since been questioned. It is the world's fastest growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years but has been overtaken by India recently due to slowdown in its export driven economy. Due to historical and political facts of China's developing economy, China's public sector accounts for more share in the national economy with the burgeoning private sector. 

China is a global hub for manufacturing, and is the largest manufacturing economy in the world as well as the largest exporter of goods in the world. China is also the world's fastest growing consumer market and second largest importer of goods. Services Account Balance from 2007 -2011 of China's economy has always been in slight deficit, and China is a net importer of Services products. 

Golden Age of Singapore (Yue San)

Before Lee Kuan Yew rose to prominence in Singapore, Singapore was a peaceful fishing village, which slowly became famous by the efforts of Sir Stamford Raffles and the unique geographical location of Singapore. However, before LKY became a popular political figure, Singapore had not reached the Golden Age of the country, just like China which reached the Golden Age during the Tang dynasty.

During the 1950s, LKY rose to prominence as he fought for Asians having some rights in the say towards leading Singapore that was then controlled by the British. He succeeded, and Singaporeans then finally had a measure of control towards how the country was going to be run. However, LKY was not satisfied. He was bent on total independence from the British, even though the British officials cast aspersions on their ability to rule. The British refused his request over and over again, but he persisted until the British gave a compromise- They would free Malaysia from British rule too, and Singapore was to merge with Malaysia for the safety of Singapore.

LKY supported the decision fully, but it was not meant to be. In 9th August 1964, Singapore broke its merger with Malaysia as the countries disagreed with the policies, their morals, etc. which eventually brought about riots between Singapore and Malaysia. LKY was determined to bring Singapore from an uncertain future to great prominence, and implemented many policies, like the building of MRTs, HDBs, and many more which would enhance the quality of life in Singapore greatly.

Currently, Singapore is one of the richest countries, with one of the busiest ports, and we owe it all to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Without him, Singapore would not be led towards the Golden Age it currently is in. Thank you, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, for everyhing you have done and sacrificed for Singapore.

Chinese Fashion (Yue San)

From walkway to street fashion, China's fashion sense has grown and changed dramatically in the last decade.  From post Mao era to current day China, there has been many influences on Chinese fashion.

Chinese adolescents want to be more individualized, stand out, and have their own fashion sense rather than blend in with the crowd.  This has given rise to two of many types of Chinese street fashion today. They are called the "Xiao Qinxin" style and "Zhong Kouwei" style.  "Xiao Qinxin" stands for "little freshness" and was used to describe a kind of indie pop music genre. Now it is used to describe fashion, movies, photography and objects.  This type of fashion features light colors, canvas shoes, along with cotton and linen material, and images with vintage effects.  "Xiao Qinxin" style represents a fresh and angelic type of fashion in comparison to "Zhong Kouwei." Zhong Kouwei stands for "heavy flavor" and was first used to describe food with heavy flavors such as salt, garlic, pepper, curry etc.  This developed into the fashion now described in books, manga, and movies.  "Zhong Kouwei" also represents anything that stimulates the senses occasionally with violence, sexuality, or blood. This type of fashion features dark bold colors, rivets, metal, black and white and angry poses. It also can be used to describe fashion that ties along with the themes of dramatic, sexy, and evil. 

Group Work Articles

Festivals in China (WeiNing)

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (端午节):
dragon boat festival, also known as Duanwu festival (端午节), is a traditional and statutory holiday in China. The main customs of the celebration include eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing.

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节):
The 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calender is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China, also known as Mooncake Festival, Chinese people will have a three-day holiday. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the country and the world to meet their family and have dinner with them, admire the full moon and eat mooncakes.

Hungry Ghost Festival:
People are worshipping ancestors. Like people all over the world, the Chinese have special customs regarding dead people and their ghosts that are thousands of years old.

The Double Ninth Festival:
Enjoying chrysanthemum is a kind of custom in the Double Ninth Festival. The Double Ninth Festival, also known as Chongyang Festival, is held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

The Double Seventh Festival:
The qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival or Chinese Valentine's Day. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. It is also named the Qiqiao Festival, Young Women's Day.

Qing Ming Festival:
Qingming Festival, also called the Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness in English, usually falls around April 4 or 5, the beginning of one of the 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese calendar.

Chinese Lantern Festival:
The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, and traditonally enda the Chinese New Year period. In 2015 it falls on March. There is no public holiday for this festival.

Winter Solstice:
In Winter Solstice, eating dumplings is a kind of custom in the north part of China. In the Gregorian calendar, the Winter Solstice usually falls around December 21 and more often refers in particular to the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial longtitude of 270°. It marks the longest night and the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. In China, the Winter Solstice was originally celebrated as an end of harvest festival. Today, it is observed witha  family reunion over the long night, and pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolize family unity and prosperity.

The 24 Solar Terms:
The 24 solar terms, based on the sun's position in the zodiac, were created by farners in ancient China to guide the agricultural affairs and farming affairs. The 24 solar terms reflect the changes in climate, natural phenomna, agricultural production, and other aspects of human life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The 24 solar terms play important roles and have greatly influenced people's basic needs in life, and they still have an important function nowadays. 

Folks of Hefei (Yinn Yi)

The most popular religions are the Chinese ethnic religion, Chinese Buddhism and Taoism. Zhenfeng Pagoda is in Anqing, Dabeilou Temple and Huacheng Temple are on Mount Jiuhua, a sacred mountain of Buddhism. Hefei has the Temple of Lord Bao. There are Muslim minorities and one of the largest Christian populations of East Asia.

Buddhism

Buddhism spread from India to China some 2,000 years ago. Chinese Buddhism may be classified according to languages into three communities: Mandarin, Tibetan and Bali. Most of the Mandarin Buddhist believers are Han Chinese while Tibetan Buddhist (generally called Lamaist) believers are people of the Tibetan, Mongolian, Yugur, Lhoba, Moinba and Tujia nationalities, and Bali Buddhist believers are people of the Dai and Bulang ethnic groups that mainly live in Yunnan Province. The Buddhist communities are the largest religious communities in China. However, since quite a few of Han believers are not always steadfast followers of Buddhism, it is hard to count their exact numbers.

Taoism 

Taoism is native and has a history of more than 1,700 years. Its founder was Lao tzu and its doctrines are based on his writings, the tao teaching. Taoism, a polytheistic religion, is still quite influential in rural areas inhabited by Han Chinese. 

Islam 

Islam spread from the Arab Countries to China more than 1,300 years ago. It now has more than 14 million believers among the Hui, Yugur, Kazak, Ozbek, Tajik, Tatar, Kirgiz, Dongxiang Sala and Banan ethnic groups. The Islamic followers mainly live in Provinces of Xinjiang, Ningxia, Ganxu and Qinghai in northwest China. There are also Islamic communities scattered in almost every city. The Muslims do not not eat pork, dogs, horses, donkeys or mules. Read more on: History of Islam in China, Mosques in China, Halal food in China and Islamic holidays.

Christianity

Catholicism and other forms of Christianity began to make their way into China very early. In 635, a missionary of the Nestorian sect came to China from Persia, the then called JING. The religion withered long before gaining a strong foothold in China. It was after the Sino-British Opium War in 1840 that the Christian developed rapidly in China. After the founding of New China, Chinese Catholic and Christian communities took the path of independence and self administration. Now there are more than 3.3 million catholic and nearly 5 million protestants in the country. 

Effect of married women's beliefs about gender equity on their use of prenatal and delivery care in rural China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of married women's beliefs regarding gender equity on their use of prenatal and delivery care in China's rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces.

METHODS: In this survey, 1029 women aged from 15 to 69 years, living in rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces, and married, answered a questionnaire designed to collect information on their demographic characteristics, reproductive history (number of pregnancies, level of prenatal care, and mode and place of delivery), and beliefs regarding gender equity. We quantified "belief in gender equity" based on responses to 7 specific statements and graded the responses according to a system scoring the strength of the overall belief (a total score ≥19, strong; 15-18, moderate; and ≤14, weak).

RESULTS: Only 34.3% of the women demonstrated strong convictions about gender equity. Even after adjusting for education and ethnicity, the percentage of women who received consistent prenatal care and were delivered at a maternity facility was highest among those scoring 19 or higher, and the reverse was true for women scoring 14 or less.

CONCLUSION: Overall, women in China's rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces do not hold strong convictions about gender equity. There was a positive correlation between belief in gender equity and use of prenatal and delivery care.

Is Merlion the most suitable icon of Singapore? (WeiNing)

No, I do not think  that the Melion is the most suitable icon of a singapore. It is true that the Merlion was founded due to the fact that Sang Nila Utamaro first saw a lion when he stepped foot in Singapore and since Singaproe was still a fishing village then, Merlion was then introduced as the icon of Singapore.

However,, in my perspective, I do not think that the Merlion is the most suitable icon of a Singapore. The most suitable icon should be referred as one thing which makes everyone in the world know who we are. But the thing is, most foreigners in other countries do not recognise Singapore by the Merlion, they recognise us by our unique language of Singlish. People know we are Singaporeans, just by hearing how we communicate with others.

The Merlion is a perfect despiction of our past, however, not our present and future. The Merlion situated in Singapore is just a famous tourist attraction which is visited by many people. However, that just makes the Merlion the 'most famous tourist attraction in Singapore', but not the best icon for us.

Thus, I do not think that the Merlion is the most suitable icon of Singapore as it only is a famous tourist attraction, a landmark for tourists to visit.