Confession time: we at YOA have a really, really soft spot for Beijing’s Imperial Palace (aka the Forbidden City, but we prefer the Chinese name Gugong).

You may not know this, but China celebrates its own version of the “Day of Love” and it’s coming up soon! Of course it’s not called Valentine’s Day; it’s ‘Qixi (七夕 or Double Seven)’ and the festival falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, so every year the date shifts around a little bit within August. For 2020, it’s August 25th!

The Chinese couplet refers to two complementary poetic lines adhering to certain rules, often written on red paper or carved on wooden uprights for appreciation. A form of Chinese literature, the couplet varies in content and style, and can be poetic and calligraphic art. Some couplets express people's earnest love to their motherland, some describe the beauty of the nature, and some convey a maxim or best wishes for the coming year.

Why Chinese people celebrate the Winter Solstice?