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Chinese paper cutting art from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Falconry demo by the Kyrgyz (Image from Xinhuanet)

Falconry (hunting with eagles/falcons) has a long history in the region; Kyrgyz nomads have been hunting with golden eagles for thousand of years. The eagles are known as Berkut in local language, and the activity is called Berkutchi.

Falconry Festival, Xinjiang, China from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Today (Feb 9) officially marks the end of CNY 2009; CNY is traditionally celebrated from New Year’s Eve to the 15th day on the New Year, each day with its own significance.

Chinese these days don’t have the luxury to celebrate the entire festival though; most people would have resumed their daily (working) routine by the 5th day of CNY, and waited until the last day (the Lantern Festival) for some final celebrations.

Happy Chinese New Year once more… best wishes to everyone.

Chinese New Year, fireworks, kids from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Foshan’s Manggong Cake which my sister bought back from Guangzhou last week

The Manggong Cake is a popular souvenir for foreigners who visit Foshan or Guangdong… and the most well known brand is Heji (pic above). Not the tastiest biscuit I’ve had to be frank, but we got to appreciate a traditional recipe that has existed for over two centuries.

Foshan’s Manggong Cake aka blind-man biscuit from YeinJee's Asian Journal

Some photos of a Chinese banquet, taken during my family dinner at Kok Thai Restaurant in Ipoh, Malaysia last weekend…

The appetiser, or the ‘cold dish’ in Chinese, is often the indicator of how good the restaurant is; the food presentation is vital and sometimes more important than the taste

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Chinese banquet, Kok Thai Restaurant, Ipoh from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The photos are not photoshopped, but a combination of performance art and photography. The illusions are created with the help of mirrors and wire-cables etc… and despite some dangerously looking scenarios, the artist said that the stunts were done with reasonable safety.

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Bizarre works from Chinese artist Li Wei from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The ceremony started off well. The fou (the drum like instrument) performance managed to draw the crowds’ attention, the giant footsteps’ fireworks were cool, and the countdown managed to boost the mood very well.

Then came the splendid fireworks, followed by the formalities of flag raising and national anthem singing.

The masterpiece of the show was revealed after that… the giant paper scroll, which was quite captivating at first. The initial performances still managed to keep me in front on the TV, but things started to turn boring for a few reasons…

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Beijing Olympics opening ceremony – my thoughts from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The game has started

The women’s soccer tournament of the Beijing Olympics kicked off at 17:00 Beijing time on Wednesday, two days before the opening ceremony. It’s common for soccer (and some other team sports) to start the games earlier.

Women soccer game, Germany vs Brazil, ended 0-0 (Image from Xinhuanet)

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Beijing Olympics roundup (1) from YeinJee's Asian Journal

The festival is celebrated to commemorate ancient poet Qu Yuan, who jumped into a river and killed himself after his country was conquered by the other.

Locals who admired his patriotism fed rice dumplings to the fishes in the river which he committed suicide so that the fish would not disturb his body… some others also rode on boats and beating on drums to scare away the fishes for the same purpose.

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Dragon Boat Festival, zongzi, bakchang from YeinJee's Asian Journal