Latest news with #HanDynasty
RTHK
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTHK
HK shuttlecock players to debut at National Games
HK shuttlecock players to debut at National Games Hong Kong will be fielding a shuttlecock team at the National Games' mass participation event for the first time ever, when the events kick off on Friday in Zhaoqing, Guangdong. Shuttlecock players have to keep a feathered rubber disc airborne using any part of their bodies, except their hands. While the sport can be traced back to the Han Dynasty -- or even before that -- coach Lam Chi-wai said there is limited local awareness about the sport. "Still, most Hong Kong people don't know what shuttlecock is, and we are trying to make more promotion," he told RTHK. "These few years, we've tried to promote it in primary and secondary schools, and also in universities." Lam, who's also the vice chairman of the Shuttlecock Association of Hong Kong, China, described the ancient sport as a dynamic hybrid. "Many years ago, they would play in the playground or on the streets, and now, we've moved this sport to the inner court. We use badminton courts to play this sport," he said. The coach said the game is mostly played in a best-of-three format, with each set running up to 21 points. One of the 26 shuttlecock athletes representing Hong Kong at the Games is Stella Lui, a former table tennis player who fell in love with the sport after a friend introduced it to her. Lui said she values the sport's collaborative intensity. "Because it is similar to volleyball - you cannot play by yourself," she said. "You need to set a successful attack and that means you need skills, and it requires communication and agility, balance, flexibility, a lot of things." During the day, Lui teaches physical education and mathematics at a primary school. By night, she's back on the court training for the mass participation event. She said while the Hong Kong team is expecting to face strong competition during the Games, her squad is focused and ready to give it their all.
Barnama
14-07-2025
- Barnama
2025 Hunan Red Tourism And Culture Festival Kicks Off In Xiangtan City
XIANGTAN, China, July 14 (Bernama) -- 2025 Hunan Red Tourism and Culture Festival & the 4th Xiangtan Tourism Development Conference was held in Shaoshan County, Xiangtan City of Hunan Province from July 10 to 11. Centering on the theme of "Aspiring to Shaoshan ・ Meeting in Hunan for the Future", the event carefully planned two main activities: the "Motherland is So Beautiful" Poetry Recital and the opening ceremony of the conference. Xiangtan is an important part of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Metropolitan Circle. Located at the transportation hub in central China, it has a long history of more than 1,500 years, giving birth to many cultural celebrities in modern times, including Jiang Wan, a famous prime minister of the Shu Han Dynasty, Zeng Guofan, an important minister in the late Qing Dynasty, Qi Baishi, a world cultural celebrity, as well as Wang Kaiyun, Yang Du and Xiao San. It is an important source of Huxiang culture.
Express Tribune
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Gaming revives China's heritage
Chinese video games are increasingly connecting ancient culture with younger generations. Through immersive digital design and real-world collaborations, homegrown titles are inspiring young players to rediscover traditional arts, driving tourism and reinforcing cultural confidence. One prime example, Ashes of Kingdom, immediately captured players' imaginations after its domestic launch last September, attracting fans with its richly detailed late Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220-280) world. In Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, young gamers flocked to the city's historic landmarks, including Slender West Lake, Ge Garden, and He Garden, as they were transformed into immersive in-game quest hubs. From mid-May to late June, the collaboration project drew thousands of visitors eager to trace the lacquerware motifs featured in the game. "The game has drawn many Gen Z travelers to Yangzhou to discover its beauty through its landscapes, cuisine and traditions," said Dai Bin, deputy director of the city's culture and tourism bureau. During the three-day Dragon Boat Festival, the Yangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Treasure Museum welcomed approximately 20,000 visitors daily, a significant portion of whom were gaming enthusiasts. Under the guidance of master artisans, visitors sketched, inlaid and polished Luodian - also known as mother-of-pearl inlay - on wooden panels, transforming digital motifs into tangible artworks. This "game-plus-heritage" model turns cultural landmarks into living classrooms, Dai added. Cultural tourism-related online searches of the city surged by 300 percent during the month-long project as Gen Z travelers flooded in to experience Han culture firsthand, according to data. Behind these successful activities stand young development teams who weave authentic history into modern gameplay. "We chose a few representative cultural fragments - lacquerware, guqin music and traditional attire - to spark curiosity," said Xiao Meng, the producer of Ashes of Kingdom. "It's a two-way journey: We invite players in and they, in turn, bring new perspectives to our shared heritage," she said. Booming industry National policies and education initiatives are fuelling this cultural craze further. In April, the Ministry of Commerce rolled out a game export plan that calls for the development of overseas gaming operations, the expansion of application scenarios, and the establishment of an industrial chain spanning IP development, game production, publishing and international operations. Industry data underscores this momentum. According to the 2024 China game export report, Chinese-developed games achieved overseas sales of USD18.56 billion in 2024, representing a 13.39 per cent increase from the previous year. In April this year, the Ministry of Education approved game art design as an undergraduate major at three institutions, including the Communication University of China and the Beijing Film Academy, with courses covering player psychology and the digital preservation of traditional aesthetics. "A systematic design theory is needed in the gaming industry in China, and through education, we aim to instill more professional design principles and drive the sector's healthy development," said Liang Qiwei, a guest professor at the Communication University of China's School of Animation and Digital Arts and the founder of Beijing's S-GAME. Thanks to the gaming boom, the revival of China's traditional culture has moved beyond a mere trend, coming alive through a rich array of vivid cultural symbols and platforms. Take Black Myth: Wukong as an example. The game was inspired by classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, which features the Monkey King, and became an instant global sensation, selling over 10 million copies across all platforms within three days of its launch. The game's global acclaim has marked significant progress in China's endeavours to promote its culture overseas, demonstrating its increasing ability to break through barriers and overcome obstacles on the global stage, said Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University. Video games have become one of the most important media forms for cultural exchange, but developers must first ensure gameplay remains entertaining and cultural elements enrich rather than overshadow the overall experience. The key to tapping into China's cultural resources is to present them through innovative contemporary expression, Liang said.
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Top 10 most visited museums in the world
Written By Prachi Mishra The world-renowned Louvre Museum in Paris made headlines a few days back not for a new exhibit, but for an unexpected temporary shutdown. And, the reason being, overcrowding. With daily visitor numbers swelling beyond manageable limits, the museum staff raised concerns about safety and work environment. The staff from various departments including gallery attendants, ticket agents and security personnel joined forces to go on strike against the mentally and physically draining working conditions. This incident highlighted the global trend, especially after the pandemic, where people in mass numbers have been attracted by museums despite lack of infrastructure and staff. Amidst this surge in cultural tourism, let's take a look at the other top 10 most frequently visited museums around the world. The museum registered a footfall of more than 6.8 million in 2024. The Vatican museum is organized in a manner that the visitors can enroute different paths to explore it. The key attention of the museum is the Sistine Chapel which is famous for Michelangelo's frescoes on the ceiling and altar wall. Other attractions include papal carriages, historical documents, vestments, and religious relics. The museum spans over 70,000 square meters with a construction area of nearly 200,000 square meters and 48 exhibition halls making it one of the largest museums in the world. Annually, 6.7 million visitors come to explore the museum. This museum showcases China's rich history and artistic heritage. The highlights of the museum include the 'Simuwu Ding' (the world's heaviest ancient bronze vessel) and the 'Gold Thread and Jade Garment' (a Han Dynasty burial suit). Founded in 1753, the museum holds the record of the first national museum that became open to the public. Drawing over 6.4 million visitors in the year 2024, the museum showcases items from all over the world. The museum's premise has been used as film sets on numerous occasions and the film-series, 'Night at the Museum' was also filmed here. Famous artifacts that are on display include Rosetta Stone, Sophilos Vase, The Parthenon Sculptures among many others. In 2024, the museum welcomed a record-breaking 6.3 million visitors, making it the second most visited UK attraction that year. The museum offers free entry to its permanent exhibitions, which adds to the visitors tally. The museum's dinosaur gallery, including the famous 'Dippy' (Diplodocus cast), and the 'Our Broken Planet' exhibition, are consistently popular with visitors. Popularly known as The Met, the museum houses over two million works of art, encompassing a wide range of cultures and time periods. With the footfall record of 5.36 million visitors in 2023, the museum features the largest collection of American Art in the world. The Met is renowned for its collections of classical antiquity, ancient Egyptian art, European paintings, American and modern art, medieval art at The Cloisters, and its Costume Institute. Founded in 1869, the museum complex comprises of 21 interconnected buildings. With around 5 million annual visitors, the museum is famous for its fossil dinosaur and mammal halls, as well as its lifelike dioramas. The Rose Center for Earth and Space, featuring the Hayden Planetarium, is also a major attraction. The museum also boasts of over 30 million research specimens, including one of the world's largest collections of fossils and insects. Tate Modern houses a vast collection of modern and contemporary art, including international and British works from 1900 to the present day. In 2023, it recorded 4.74 million attendees. It is housed in a former power station on the south bank of the River Thames, a site that has been transformed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The major attraction is the museum's Turbine Hall, renowned for its large-scale, often spectacular, art installations. The museum size is comparable to 18 football fields. The museum boasts over 146 million specimens and artifacts, making it the world's largest natural history collection. This includes plants, animals, fossils, minerals, rocks, meteorites, and human cultural artifacts. In 2023, arond 4.4 million people visited the museum. Also, the museum does not charge any entry fees, making it more widely accessible. Other notable exhibits include African elephants, paleobiology (dinosaurs), and gemstones. The museum boasts a vast collection of over 166,000 items, including ceramics, wood carvings, calligraphy, paintings, and gemstones. The museum with approximately 4 million visitors in the year 2023, is a key institution for understanding the unique culture of the Lingnan region, which encompasses Guangdong, Guangxi, and parts of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. Notable exhibits include a dinosaur hall with fossils and information about the region's prehistoric life, and a calligraphy and painting hall showcasing traditional Chinese art. The museum is situated on a golf-course, which was earlier part of the Yongsan Garrison. The museum's famous collection includes Gold Crown, Pensive Bodhisattva, Ten-Story Pagoda among others. Moreover, the museum's six permanent galleries showcase a comprehensive collection of Korean artifacts and art, covering prehistoric times through the Joseon Dynasty is the reason for its footfall of 3.5 million visitors. (The author is an intern with The Indian Express)
Epoch Times
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Epoch Times
A Strategy Board Game With a Focus on Ancient Imperial Militaries
Graduation season is here and high school students will be maneuvering toward college or their careers. Most high school students will exit their 12 years of education without much, if any, knowledge of the ancient world, especially the militaries of the ancient world. There may be a simple method to bridge that educational gap. Ways of the Game Osprey Games has recently issued a new board game called 'Battalion: War of the Ancients.' It enables two to four players to command the ancient armies of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Carthaginians, or the Han Dynasty. Choosing any military enables players to learn some of the methods of ancient warfare, the similar and dissimilar tactical maneuvers of these competing empires, as well as the type of units each possessed, such as cavalry, archers, and foot soldiers (and their empire-specific names). 'Battalion' may be a simple method to introduce anyone to the world of ancient warfare, but the game is anything but simple. This isn't like the 'Battleship' game of my youth. It's much more like 'Risk,' but a bit more complex. There are a lot of combat options: 144 rank tiles identify specific military units, such as the Carthaginian Scutarii, the Greco-Bactrian Hoplites, or the Roman Hastati, 72 cards label specific maneuvers that units can make (some specific only to a particular military), and two to four camps are separated by sector markers used to illustrate small-scale or large-scale conflicts. And as with any actual military engagement, there are major risks and, in this case, the literal roll of the dice.
