Food and Language

What type of food would you like to try? Each region in China has its own unique style of cuisine. What will you eat when you visit China?

Chinese cuisine/food embeds the country’s geography and history, forming a rich cultural content. Each region has its own unique style of cuisine, Chinese cuisine can be divided into 8 main regional cuisines, they are Guangdong (Cantonese), Szechuan, Shandong, Huaiyang, Fujian, Hunan, Zhejiang and Anhui. Of course, there are many other local cuisines that are famous, e.g. Beijing and Shanghai. The most popular style of Chinese cooking outside China is Guangdong (Cantonese) cuisine, as most of the “Chinese restaurants” in Western countries serve Cantonese style dishes, such as “Yum Cha”.

Chinese cuisine focus on 3 key aspects: Colour (display), aroma and taste. The variety of flavours, aromas and textures are all designed to satisfy your taste bud. Personally, I like excitement, I think I would try the Szechuan cuisine which uses a lot of chillies and is famous for its spicy and pungent taste. It’s said that it wold make your mouth and tongue feel numb.

I don’t know which part of China I will visit but I think I will go for the regional flavours and snacks which the locals eat rather than the tourists food.

Prior Knowledge

What do you already know about China? What would you like to know?

China is the earliest contributor to the civilization of the world. It has the oldest civilization, the longest history and the largest population. The four great inventions of China - papermaking, printing, gunpowder and the compass, have had a significant contribution to world civilization. The early China civilization was ruled by emperors from different dynasties. Then came the era of modern China - the Republic of China, followed by the People's Republic of China.

China has many attractions, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Yellow Mountain, the West Lake are some of them.

With its long history, China has a rich culture. Chinese Arts, Cuisine and KungFu enjoy high reputation in the world.

I would like to know more about China, the way people live, the history ,the culture and of course the Chinese food.


Which place do you think sounds the most interesting? Why would you like to visit it?

Mystical Tibet sounds very interesting. I have seen Tibet in some movies and am attracted by its mysterious monasteries, breath-taking sceneries and rare wild animals.

Tibet, averaging more than 4000 meters above sea level, is located in Qinghai-Tibet plateau, and is known as the "roof of the world". I want to be up there to feel the air, to explore the monasteries, the Potala Palace and to travel with the Tibetan nomads. I hope I won't get the altitude sickness.

I would take a train to Tibet on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway - the world's highest rail way. It took about 50 years to build. The total length is 1956 km. I believe the scenery would be magnificent and it would offer a fascinating experience.


What does, making the most of your holiday in China really mean?
Will it mean the same to other people? Why or why not?
What may influence peoples decisions about what to include in their trip to China?
What other reasons may people visit China?

It means to plan ahead, get your visa, have your vaccinations, take enough local currency (credit cards are not accepted in a lot of places) and check the official websites to see what you can and cannot bring into and out of the country. Have an enjoyable and hassle free holiday.

China is one of the most popular tourist destinations, it has much to offer. Every visitor has different taste and purpose, so it will not mean the same to other people.

Peoples decisions may be influenced by their purpose to travel; the weather and their personal taste.

Reasons : business; education; visiting friends and family; adventures; employment; experience ethnic minority people; leisure; sight seeing.............

Travellers

Because of Australia's physical isolation, overseas travel has always been difficult and time consuming.
It has been a recent development for Australians to travel as much as they do today.
Isolation and our multicultural society mean that we travel to other countries for

• Business


• Education


• Holidays


• Employment

Can you think of any other reasons for overseas travel?

• To experience other cultures, food, religions, languages


• To take a break from study, work


• To meet people


• To see the world


• To discover new places


• To discover new YOU

Australians and overseas Chart

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Ag49uC7znRugdGhETHBTMDJub25lWDY3VklmYmp5MGc&hl=en&authkey=COyynYAG

According to the Australians and overseas Chart, the most popular purpose for travelling overseas is "Holiday & visiting people".

The chart aslo shows that the most popular destination for Australian travellers is New Zealand. This is because NZ is closed to Australia, it's only a few hours away by plane. If you have only a few days, there is enough time to go to NZ to get away from crowds, to enjoy the nature and experience the local culture. Besides, Australia has a lot of business dealings with NZ, so company representatives need to go to NZ for business purposes or attending conferences.

The five most popular destinations (without taking 'other' into account) for business and conference are:

1. New Zealand
2. USA
3. Singapore
4. United Kingdom
5. Hong Kong

Whereas the five least popular destinations are:

1. Other
2. Middle East, North Africa
3. Italy
4. Other Africa
5. Philippines

Reason for the most popular (NZ) - it is the closest neighbour among the top five.

Reason for the least popular (Other) - I assume they are some third world countries or somewhere we have never heard of. Thus there is nothing to trade.

Have you been overseas? Where & why you travelled?

Yes, I have been to a few places in Asia. The one place that I go every year is Macau because my grandparents live there.

Macau is a small peninsula and is the most densely populated region in the world. It is also known as Las Vegas of the East. There are Casinos everywhere. They are all Art Deco buildings, which are very beautiful in the day but are extremely spectacular at night with all the display of lights that they put on. The lights glimmer all night, with the reflection in the water, you wonder whether you are in the wonderland. I went to the dragon laser show last year, it was just fantastic. I especially like the food there, they are sort of fusion food, Portuguese and Chinese. Yum,Yum.... Macau is a fun place to visit. I enjoy it every single time. Not to mention being spoiled by my grandparents..............


What are some of the benefits of overseas travel and visiting foreign countries? Do we benefit by experiencing other cultures? In what way?

Overseas travel is a fascinating way to discover the world, travel opens your eyes and your minds. It will change your view. No one place is the same, every country has much to offer, different sceneries, cultures, languages and food.
By experiencing other cultures will help us to understand, respect and appreciate the cultural diversity of the world. This will make us a better person and ultimately a better world.

Survey 2

Use the information you gathered in your survey to list the three most frequently mentioned countries and what they were mentioned for.

1. America -BlackEyed Peas; Owl City; Tennis; Golf

2. China - PC; iPad; Tennis

3. Japan - Toyota; Keroro Gunso; Nauruto

'We all live in a global village'.

New technologies enable us to live in a global village. The world is interconnected in one way or another. The advance in technology brings the world together. The media e.g. phones, televisions and computers link us together. Telephones become our extra ears whereas televisions and computers extend our visions. We are able to communicate with our relatives and friends on the other side of the globe instantly. We are able to see events, such as FIFA World Cup, that happened in another country in a matter of seconds. When there is a natural disaster in other country, we know instantly and can join together and lend a helping hand. We are now a big family.

Which category on your survey was the most global? Can you explain why?

Television - it enables us to watch new, live telecasts, movies from all over the world.

Which category in your survey was least global? Can you explain why?

Motor Vehicles - Japanese and German dominate the car industry.

Use the data collected in your survey to indicate the countries you are globally connected to. You may need to use a key. ( you will need to print this out)

Survey 1

Global Life Survey
Appliances	Appliance	Country of Manufacture
List three appliances that are used in your home. Indicate where in the world they were manufactured	* Eee PC * Sony LED * iPad	* China * Malaysia * China
Music	Musician/Group	Country of Origin
List your three favourite musicians or groups. Indicate the country of origin	* Coldplay * BlackEyed Peas * Owl City	* England * America * America
Motor vehicles	Motor Vehicle	Country of Manufacture
List three makes of popular motor vehicles. Indicate where in the world they are manufactured	* Toyota * Audi * Kia	* Japan * Germany * Korea
Television	Television program	Country program made
List your three favourite television programs. Indicate in which country they are made	* Keroro Gunso * Nauruto * MasterChef	* Japan * Japan * Australia
Sport	Sport	Countries which play the sport
List your three favourite sports. List two other countries outside Australia that play those sports.	* Tennis * Soccer * Golf	* America; China * Brazil; Germany * America; England

Globally Connected

There is a Chinese saying which says,

" one will benefit more from walking million miles than studying million books."

I like travelling because I like to experience the world, to savor new cuisines, to learn others' cultures and to have fun.

Have you traveled overseas?

Yes, I have been to various places in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau and New Zealand.

Do you have relatives or friends overseas? How do you keep in contact with them?

Yes, I have relatives all over the world, namely, Canada, United States, Britain,

France, Chile, Hong Kong, Macau, China and Singapore. We mainly keep in touch via

phone and email.

Do you keep in touch via phone, instant message, social networking sites, or email? What communication works best for you and why?

As mentioned earlier, we keep in touch via phone and email. Phone works best for me because there is an instant response and I can hear their voices clearly.

Think about your belongs. Where are they made? If not in Australia, where are they made and why?

Oh, it depends. They are from all over the world e.g. Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, UK, China..... Globalization makes it freer to trade, thus I can buy goods that are not made in Australia. Also, technological change means I can buy goods on-line from all over the world. However, majority of my belongings are made in China. It is because it is cheaper to manufacture in China, many manufacturing factories have relocated to China.

What do you think the term 'Global Village' means?

I think 'Global Village' means that there is no geographic boundary due to the advance in technologies; the world is brought closer and closer and

the 'village' is getting bigger and bigger.