In some parts of north China, people have jiaozi soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat jiaozi, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in south China, it is commonplace for the whole family to get together to have a meal made of red beans and glutinous rice. They believe, by doing this, they can drive away ghosts and other evil things. In other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice rice dumplings may be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relatives. The Taiwanese even keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. They made cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layers of a pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition.
大熊猫(Giant Pandas),作为中国的国宝,被认为是活化石。中 国大熊猫主要生活在中国中西部和西南部,是目前濒临灭绝的物种。换句话说,中国大熊猫的故乡是四川。四川成都大熊猫繁育和研究中心(Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre) 大熊猫的家,是市区附近最大的大熊猫基地。
Giant Pandas, regarded as a national treasure of China, are considered a living fossil. Chinese Pandas mainly lives in central-western and southwest China,and is currently an endangered species. In other words, the hometown of Chinese panda is Sichuan. And Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre in Suchuan — home of the Panda is the biggest panda base near the urban district.