Flying kites in BeijingWritten by Jacklyn Chen
The sky in spring is kites' paradise. When brilliant multi- colored kites embellish in deep blue sky, you can immerse in contented mood, enjoy rare leisure and carefree, perhaps this is most romantic thing in spring. Kite, not only is it a kind of toy or a traditional continuing, it is more a cultural accumulating. In "Three Stone Rooms", capital's youngest kite master Liu Bin from kite aristocratic family, said that kite containes too many different cultures, flying a kite also must emit affective tone.There are three kinds of kites that are unique in their own ways. In "Three Stone Rooms" at Dianmen, rooms are full of all kinds of kites making human feeling dazzled, nonprofessionals really don't know where to start. Actually, most popular kites are categorized into three kinds: hard wing, soft wing and dragon. Liu Bin said that hard wing is like a man, mature and strong; soft wing is like a woman, slender and elegant; while dragon kite flies a breadth of spirit and power. Hard wing kites like "Shayan", "Triangle", use bamboo strips all around to outline shape, strips are glued together with paper in center, but designs on paper can be created at your own will. Soft wing kites are made especially attractive - dragonfly, butterfly, goldfish..., list goes on and on. The bamboo strips are only put on top half of a kite, bottom half that dances in breeze of wind is in fact made with colored silk or nylon silk. Dragon really should be called "string" because it is actually a long kite that is formed by many small kites, for instance, Gigantic Dragon, Centipede, Shoulder Pole kite. Among kites, modern one is also a spotlight. Three-dimensional kite is just like a hot-air balloon, turtles, crabs each crawl happily and freely in sky; "Plate Hawk" (Pan Ying) is most difficult to fly, 'hawk' spreads wings and spirals in airborne circle recklessly with tremendous momentum; motion kite is simply like an aviation performance, it uses chute cloth and two operating ordinates, actions like turnover, gliding, diving, and other high level difficult movements can all be performed.
| | Travelling Overseas – Staying HealthyWritten by Felicity Walker
Every year, millions of people visit developing countries. Of these, many are business people looking for new opportunities.With a myriad of development potential available in Asian region, business people are flocking overseas in order to get in at ground floor. Many travel to these regions on a regular basis, exposing themselves to diseases ranging from differing strains of hepatitis to typhoid and polio. Unfortunately, many of these diseases are not discriminating - they can be caught even when staying in 5-star accommodation. Also, some of them require long convalescent periods. For example, hepatitis A can mean an absence from work of up to 8 weeks, depending on severity of attack. The problem facing business people and travellers is that often they have not been exposed to a wide range of infections. This means they have little or no natural immunity to diseases common in other parts of world. For example, even when staying at resort-standard hotels in areas such as Taiwan, traveller still has a 1 in 300 chance of developing hepatitis A. Budget travellers increase their risk by as many as six times. The sensible solution is to make sure you receive recommended vaccinations for any overseas country you visit. It is important, however, to realize that for many vaccines to be totally effective, a series of doses over an extended period of time are required. For example, hepatitis B vaccines usually require a couple of months before they reach their full effectiveness. Vaccination is not only precaution that should be taken when travelling in a developed country. Many diseases are transmitted through food which has been handled by a carrier of disease. This means that uncooked vegetables, salads, raw meat, shellfish, and drinks made with water or ice are all potential health hazards, and should be approached with caution.
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