Tag: History

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All the Tea in China: An Interview with Tea Expert Johnny New

Few aspects of Chinese culture are as easily identifiable or universally appreciated and enjoyed as tea. But with a history spanning more thousands of years, and so many types, it can be a little intimidating to know where to start learning more about it.

As with most things of course, the best place to start is usually talking to an expert. Cultural Keys took time to drop by Gengxiang Tea, a well-known tea shop in Beijing’s Chaoyang District to say hi to owner Johnny ‘New’ Niu and get his insight on many aspects of all the tea in China.

Read on to see what Johnny had to share with us, plus see how you can save money the next time you visit Gengxiang Tea! 

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Best of Beijing: The Best Places for Actively Exploring the Capital City!

It’s often said that spring is the best time to visit Beijing and see everything the city has to offer. While getting out and about and experiencing everything isn’t exactly possible at the moment, that doesn’t mean you can’t start to make plans!

To that end, we have started our Best of Beijing series, introducing you to the best that the Chinese capital has to offer, from food to flowers and from classical architecture to useful words and phrases especially for Beijing! 

Today we bring you part 2 of our series: the most interesting places to actively explore around Beijing!

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Best of Beijing: The Most Beautiful Places to See this Spring!

It’s often said that spring is the best time to visit Beijing and see everything the city as to offer. While getting out and about and experiencing everything isn’t exactly possible at the moment, that doesn’t mean you can’t start to make plans!

To that end, we have started our Best of Beijing series, where we will introduce you to the best that the Chinese capital has to offer, from food to flowers and from classical architecture to useful words and phrases especially for Beijing! 

Today we start with part 1 of our series: the most beautiful places to visit around Beijing!

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Shanghainese-American Bromance – Seeing Shanghai from a new perspective

As anyone who has been following Cultural Keys for a while knows, we are a very Beijing-centric company. That isn’t to say we don’t like other cities, but we certainly know more about Beijing than anywhere else!

But what of other cities, perhaps ones that might have a history of tiffs with our beloved Beijing? Shanghai, for example. We decided it was time to explore a bit further afield, and were lucky enough to come across just the person to help us understand our southern cousins a bit better.

Read on to find out what we learnt about Beijing’s southern sister, Shanghai!

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Marking Guanyin’s Birthday – March 12th 2020

March 12th, the 19th day of the second lunar month, is celebrated by Buddhists as Guanyin’s birthday. Guanyin, an enlightened being called a Bodhisattva, is also known in Sanskrit as Avalokitesvara and in English as the Goddess of Mercy, and her statue can be found in most Buddhist temples.

Read on to find out more about her and the celebration!

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