Bao zi (steamed buns)

vinegar

filled with vegetables and meat

Preparing presentation on Macedonia

A lot of Chinese are not familiar with my country, Macedonia. So, i got an assignment to present it in school this week. The problem is I've got so many photos and can't select the best. ;)

Maybe some of you are not quite familiar with Macedonia as well.
Today, I'm sharing only flowers.
Have a lovely Sunday!

Italian-style town, Tianjin, China

This was the Italian Concession in Tianjin in the old days, when foreign powers established their own settlements in various Chinese cities.

Standing this part of Tianjin as reminders of the past are some Italian-style villas, which used to be Italian Consulate, Italian Barracks and residences of foreign and Chinese celebrities.

The Italian style town in Tianjin City China is a pleasant surprise to the eye.

It was built in the early 1900s not far from the City center. There is a good selection of bars and restaurants, giving this part of the city a European flavor.

china house museum

Opened on 2nd, Sep, 2007, Porcelain House, also known as the "China House" or Yuebao House, is located in Tianjin Commercial Center.

In September, 2002, the porcelain collector Zhang Lianzhi (张连志) spent 1 million yuan (US$125,000) buying the house. Then in the following four years, the 49-year-old Tianjin native devoted most of his time to refurnish it with hundreds of thousands of porcelain pieces dating from Tang (AD 618-907) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It is calculated that more than 400 million pieces of ancient porcelain, 16 thousand pieces of ancient chinaware, 300 white-marble carvings, and 20 tons of natural crystals were used in the process.

About 80 percent of the porcelain used in the house is broken or damaged antiques.

The house is covered with various porcelain pieces such as plates, vases and figurines, making it come into the spotlight in the neighborhood. Elements of Chinese culture can be seen at every turn of the house, for example, the four "China dragons," entwining the exterior wall of the building, auspiciously symbolize the power in ancient China and is one of the dominant features in ancient Chinese architecture. Each "dragon", which has a length of more than 200 meters, is actually pieced together by mosaic of porcelain pieces.

I'm linking this heart to Guest Heart Thursday

Covered with more than 3,000 porcelain vases, the wall around the courtyard gets a very auspicious name "Ping'an Qiang" (Wall of Wellness). The pronunciation of Chinese word for vase ("ping") is the same as the word for wellness.