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SHENZHEN, PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Date Established: 1989, under Mayor Kathryn Whitmire
GEOGRAPHY Location: China is located in southeast Asia. Shenzhen is situated in the
province of Guangdong, just north and across the border from Hong Kong.
PEOPLE Ethnicity: Han Chinese
ECONOMY Natural Resources: Seashore and marine resources, minerals, sand, marble,
granite
HISTORY
FACTS
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT Head of State: Jiang Zemin
MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT Head of City: Mayor Yu Youjun
An Educational Packet Prepared for the Houston International Protocol Alliance by Kathleen Silva
Shenzhen, China
China is a country located in east Asia. When most people think of China, they think BIG. China is the third largest country in the world and it has more people than any other country - over 1 billion! The Himalaya Mountains, which are located in China, are the tallest mountains in the world. China is also famous for the “Great Wall.”
Shenzhen (pronounced shen-ZIN) is located in the southeast corner of China, in the Guangdong Province. Like Houston, it is a modern city with lots of tall buildings and a population of more than 3 million people. It also has a port in which large boats bring goods from around the world, and send goods to many countries, including the United States. Shenzhen wasn’t always a large modern city. Before 1980, it was a small fishing village. The Chinese government decided to make Shenzhen into a “special economic zone”, meaning that Shenzhen would specialize in developing strong industries and businesses for China.
Shenzhen and Houston have been sister cities since 1986. Both Shenzhen and Houston enjoy sports, and many of their exchanges involve playing recreational games against each other. Houston has sent high school and college athletes to Shenzhen to play basketball, soccer, and football against student athletes in Shenzhen. Shenzhen gave Houston a gift of authentic Chinese gates, which will be placed in downtown Houston at the entrance to “Chinatown.” This will serve as a permanent reminder of Houston’s special relationship with our Chinese sister city, Shenzhen.
Did
you know…?
Let's Go Fly a Kite!
The Chinese invented the kite around 3,000 years ago! From China, the kite spread to other Asian countries and around the world. Today, kites are still very popular in China, and Chinese people spend a lot of time making and flying their kites.
The children in China play a game with their kites: they coat a portion of the string the kite is attached to with glue and small pieces of glass. The kites are flown close together, and the children guide their kites to try to cross strings and cut the other kite’s string with the pieces of glass. When the string breaks and the kite falls, the children run to try to catch the kite before it touches the ground. The child who catches the kite gets a prize!
Kites come in all shapes and sizes. Have you ever made your own kite? It’s easy – just follow the directions below…
You will need: (1) A white or light-colored plastic bag (or trash bag) at least 23 1/2” x 29” (2) Two 3/16” dowels (3) Tape (4) String (5) Permanent markers Spread the bag flat, and measure and mark the cutting lines. Open the bag and color one side of it with markers. Let it dry. Turn the kite over and tape the dowels in position. Use tape to reinforce the corners of the cut-out and the wing tips.
Poke a tiny hole in each wing tip, and tie one end of a 10’ piece of string through each one. This is the kite’s bridle. Tie a loop at the end of the bridle, and attach your flying line to this.
Chinese
Inventions
The Chinese invented many things that have greatly helped us today. Many of the inventions are still used as they were thousands of years ago, and others have led to other useful things.
China is believed to be the home of umbrellas, which are still universally used in the country. The earliest umbrellas are known to have existed at least two thousand years ago and were made of silk.
The abacus was invented by the Chinese. This is the earliest calculating machine in the world, and it is still used today by many people. Many believe this invention led to modern-day calculators and computers!
The compass was invented in China. Originally, it was used to “align” the forces of the earth to help them maintain balance in their lives. Later, it became an important navigational tool. Many discoveries (such as Columbus’ voyage to America) could not have happened without this instrument.
The Chinese invented paper in 200 BC Paper comes from the fibers of the papyrus plant. Could you imagine what school would be like if there was no paper?
The Chinese made the first firecrackers. Originally, they were used to scare off wild animals and they were made of bamboo. Later, firecrackers were used for happy occasions such as New Year celebrations. It didn’t take long for firecrackers to spread to other parts of the world.
Did you know…? The Yangtze River in China is the 3rd largest river in the world (after the Nile and the Amazon.) At 3,964 miles, it’s even longer than the distance between Houston and Honolulu!
In general, the Chinese like simple, fresh foods. The most famous cooking utensil is the wok, which has existed for over 1,000 years. The Chinese use chopsticks to move the food around the wok while it is cooking. They also use chopsticks to eat the food when it is done, much like we use a fork and knife.
One of the main ingredients in Chinese cooking is rice. In some dishes, noodles are used. The traditional Chinese meal has a variety of choices, including chicken, fish, beef, vegetables and soups. There may be five or six small dishes to choose from.
Have you ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant? What are some dishes you are familiar with?
Make Your Own Fortune Cookies
Ingredients: 4 egg whites 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup flour 1/4 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 tbsp. Water Small strips of paper containing “fortunes” Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend the egg whites with the sugar until fluffy. Melt the butter but do not get it too hot. Blend the flour, salt, vanilla, water and butter and add to the sugar mixture. Beat the ingredients until smooth. Pour 3” circles of batter onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and place “fortune” on each circle, then fold each circle into thirds and then bend each cookie in the center. This must be done quickly before the cookies cool!
Did you know…?
Giant Panda
Giant pandas have special front paws that allow them to grab stalks of bamboo. They also have very powerful jaws and teeth to crush bamboo. Can you guess what the giant pandas eat? Bamboo, naturally! In 1972, the people of China gave the people of the United States
two giant pandas as a gift of friendship.
The pandas were named Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing and they lived in the
National Zoo in Washington, D.C. They
were the most famous giant pandas in North America. Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing are no longer living, but the zoo
is hoping to replace them with two new pandas What else can you learn about giant pandas? Are they friendly? How long do they live? Do we have any giant pandas in the Houston Zoo? Did you know…?
The giant panda must eat 20 to 40 pounds of food each day to survive, and spends 10 to 16 hours a day eating! Imagine eating from sunrise to sunset!
The Chinese Language Chinese is the oldest language in the world today! The written language is very different from English. Chinese does not use letters like we do. Instead, it uses pictures, or characters, that stand for things or ideas. In the English language, there are 26 letters in the alphabet, but there are over 50,000 characters in the Chinese language! Chinese writing is so beautiful, that it is considered an art and is compared to paintings.Practice drawing some of the Chinese characters below:
Did you know...?
The money used in China is called yuan.
Bibliography
Culturegram 2000 – People’s Republic of China. Millenium Star Network and Brigham Young University, 2000.
Houston International Festival 1997 Curriculum Guide – Spotlight on Chinese Culture. Authored by the Junior League of Houston, Inc.
Insight Guides – China. Third Edition. Edited by Manfred Morgenstern, 1994 APA Publications (HK) Ltd.
Various websites on the World Wide Web, including:
www.askasia.org/frclasrm/lessplan/l000019.htm www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/gpanda.htm
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