Chinese Culture & Tradition: Mid-Autumn Festival is Coming Soon

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Mid-Autumn Festival, the second biggest traditional festivals in China ( the first one is Chun Jie - Spring festival), will be coming on 12th Sept., 2011. This is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the Chinese solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have related the vicissitudes of life to changes of the moon as it waxes and wanes - joy and sorrow, parting and reunion. Because the full moon is round and symbolizes reunion, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as the festival of reunion.

All family members try to get together on this special day. At the night, the family will enjoy the beauty of the full silver moon, eat moon cakes, drink wine together to celebrate their happy life. Those who can not return home watch the bright moonlight and feel deep longing for their loved ones. So for lovers who have to be apart at the moment, the moonlight of Mid-Autumn's Day brings particular warmth to their hearts. When sharing the beautiful moonlight in this peaceful evening and sending out your best wishes over the distance, two hearts are beating closer towards each other...

Give her a most romantic Mid-Autumn festival with a gift from your heart Now!


Mid-Autumn Festival – Another Bitter-Sweet Love Story in China

Like a fair amount of Chinese holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival is also a posthumous celebration of bitter-sweet romance. There’s a lot of beautiful legends about the moon in China, but the most popular one tells an archer named Hou Yi who, in typical awesome-hero fashion, had a beautiful Chinese wife named Chang’e.

A long, long time ago, a terrible drought plagued the earth. Ten suns burned fiercely in the sky like smoldering volcanoes. The trees and grass were scorched. The land was cracked and parched, and rivers ran dry. Many people died of hunger and thirst. The King of Heaven sent Hou Yi down to the earth to help. When Hou Yi arrived, he took out his red bow and white arrows and shot down nine suns one after another. The weather immediately turned cooler. Heavy rains filled the rivers with fresh water and the grass and trees turned green. Life had been restored and humanity was saved.

Dating traditional Chinese women in this Mid-Autumn Festival

One day, a charming young Chinese woman, Chang'e makes her way home from a stream, holding a bamboo contaiver, A young man comes forward, asking for a drink. When she sees the red bow and white arrows hanging from his belt, Chang'e tealizes that he is their savior, Hou Yi. Inviting him to drink, Chang'e plucks a beautiful flower and gives it to him as a token of respect. Hou Yi, in turn, selects a beautiful silver fox fur as his gift for her. This meeting kindles the spark of their love. And soon after that, they get married.

A mortal's life is limited, of course. So in order to enjoy his happy life with Chang'e forever, Hou Yi decides to look for an elixir of life. He goes to the Kunlun Mountains where the Western Queen Mother lives. Out of respect for the good deeds the has done, the Western Queen Mother rewards Hou Yi with elixir, a fine powder made from kerndls of fruit which grows on the tree of eternity. At the same time, she tells him: If you and your wife share the elixir, you will both enjoy eternal life. But if only one of you takes it,that one will ascend to Heaven and become immortal. Hou Yi returns home and tells his Chinese wife all that has happened and they decide to drink the elixir together on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month when the moon is full and bright.

A wicked and merciless man named Feng Meng secretly hears about their plan. He wishes Hou Yi an early death so that he can drink the elixir himeslf and become immortal. His opportunity finally arrives. One day, when the full moon is rising, Hou Yi is on his way home from hunting. Feng Meng kills him. The murderer then runs to Hou Yi's home and forces Chang'e to give him the elixir. Without hesitating, Chang'e picks up the elixir and drinks it all.

Overcome with grief, Chang'e rushes to her dead husband's sied, weeping bitterly. Soon the elixir begins to have its effect and Chang'e feels herself being lifted towards Heaven.

Chang'e decides to live on the moon because it is nearest to the earth. There she lives a simple and contented life. Even though she is in Heaven, her heart remains in the world of mortals. Never does she forget the deep love she has for Hou Yi and the love she feels for the people who have shared their sadness and happiness.

Another legend explained the role of the Old Man on the Moon, the Divine Match-maker. The Chinese believed that marriages were made in Heaven but prepared on the moon. The Old Man on the Moon tied the feet of young men and women with red cords for marriage. Thus a maiden made offerings and prayed to him during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping that some day she would ride in the red bridal sedan chair.

Chnlove Tips: Choosing an Online Dating Picture

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Think about your online dating searching process - don't you always check the personal ads with photos first? A dating research has demonstrated that by simply posting a picture, it automatically increases the number of responses - even if you are not overly attractive.
A photo attached to the online dating profile can personalize your ad and reduce others' uncertainty, especially when you choose Chnlove as your dating channel, your ultimate goal must be actually meeting your Chinese girl in person, in this case, choosing a dating picture becomes more essential.

Picture Taking Tips
The key in accurately displaying your best appearance online is taking the best photograph possible. Ideally, start with a new or recent photo. If you are relatively new to photography, here are some basic photography tips:

• Lighting is critical for a good photo. Unless you have access to a professional studio, take your picture outside on a bright day, preferably in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid shadows.

• Focus on the face and shoulders.

• Stand back and zoom on the face. This ensures the picture is clear and sharp.

• Stand up straight. This will make you look thinner and more confident. Just don't be too rigid!

• Take an assortment of pictures with different face angles - facing front, side, profile, head up, down, etc.

• Preview your background. What are you standing in front of? How will it look in the backdrop, and will it create the correct contrast for your face?

• Make sure you are smiling and feel relaxed and happy. This will help you to look more natural in your picture. Try a fun activity before taking your picture; that carefree glow will shine through the lens.

Choosing a Dating Picture
Then, when you have selected a handful of your best pictures, how do you go about actually choosing a online dating picture? While analyzing your assortment, keep the following tips in mind:

• Be honest. Choose a recent photo and never use a fake picture. It is certainly okay to touch up a pimple or two but don't change hair color or stretch your picture so you appear thinner. They are going to see the real you eventually anyway!

• Don't post a picture of someone else, even if you are upfront about it, like a picture of your child. Potential daters simply want to see you.

• Avoid pictures with other people in them, even if you crop their faces out. There still might be a stray arm or hand that will look odd to the viewer.

• For your main profile picture, don't add any props, like a car or pet. If you add other pictures to your ad, that would be the time to add these types of things but only if they are truly significant to you.

• Limit the number of profile pictures to no more than three. Any more and you look a little too full of yourself.

Just as you might brush your hair, floss your teeth and check the mirror one last time before an evening on the town - your online photo is a representation of you. Make sure it is the best ever with above dating tips.

More chnlove dating tips:
Chnlove Tips: Importance of Good Online Dating Profile
How to Find Your Perfect Match On Chnlove
Communication Leads to Better Understanding

Traditional Chinese Festival - Double Seventh Day is Approaching Quickly!

Double Seventh Day

The Qixi Festival, literally "Double Seventh Day", also known as the Magpie Festival, falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar, thus its name. It is sometimes called the Chinese Valentine's Day since the late 1990s. Young girls traditionally demonstrate their domestic arts, especially melon carving, on this day and make wishes for a good husband.


This year, the festival falls on August 6. In the late summer, the stars Altair and Vega are high in the night sky, and the Chinese tell the following love story:

A young cowherd, Niulang, came across a beautiful girl, Zhinü (literally "the weaver girl"), the seventh daughter of the Goddess, who had just escaped from boring heaven to look for fun. The naughty princess soon fell in love with Niulang, and they married without the knowledge of the Goddess. They lived happily and had two children. However, the Goddess of Heaven found out that Zhinü, a fairy girl, had married a mere mortal. The Goddess was furious and ordered Zhinü to return to heaven. On Earth, Niulang was very upset that his wife had disappeared. Suddenly, his ox told him that if he killed it and put on its hide, he would be able to go up to Heaven to find his wife. So he killed the ox and carried his two beloved children off to Heaven to find Zhinü. The Goddess found out and was very angry. Taking out her hairpin, she scratched a wide river in the sky to separate the two lovers forever, thus forming the Milky Way between Altair and Vega.

Once a year all the magpies in the world would take pity on them and fly up to heaven to form a bridge, "the bridge of magpies", over the star Deneb in the Cygnus constellation so that the lovers can be together for a single night, on the seventh night of the seventh moon.

Does Niulang and Zhinü’s situation resemble that of you and your Chinese lady? They are separated by distance and so are you. Think again, you have something they did not have. Cherish what you have with your other half. Don’t take life for granted. Although there is physically a long distance between you and your lady, you can overcome this distance by bringing yourself closer to her – call her, chat to her, write to her, gifts for her– use our online communication tools!