Jan. 4: Dialect:

There are more than 120 dialects still in use today. Most of them are so different that they are only understandable to a particular group of people. A Chinese in the North will feel totally lost when visiting Shanghai. Mandarin, the official language in China, was once a Beijing dialect.

Jan. 5: Chinese Around the World

There are approximately 34 million Chinese living outside China. 80 percent of them live in Southeast Asia. 2.4 million Chinese live in America, thus 1 out of 100 Americans is from China.

Jan. 6: National Day

Oct. 1^st is the National Day of People’s Republic of China. Although China has a history of more than 5000 years, the history of People’s Republic of China started on Oct. 1^st, 1949.

Jan. 7: Long Time No See!

Have you heard of this phrase from your friends? “Long time no see!” Can you believe it is Chinese?! Once only those Chinese students with poor English grammar said so. Later, “Long time no see” was accepted and became popular.

Jan. 8: Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese people believe every 12 years is a circle, with each of the 12 years in control of a special animal. The 12 animals are: rat, ox, tiger, hare, dragon, serpent, horse, sheep, monkey, cock, dog and boar. The animal of the year of your birth may have a mysterious connection with you. Find out your own animal:

1986: the year of tiger.

1987: the year of hare

1988: the year of dragon

1989: the year of serpent

1990: the year of horse

1991: the year of sheep