Ann, China

25/9/03              

Dear Marsha and your lovely pupils:
I went to Tianyun Mountain in He Nan province for our National Day. It's in the east of China.There I visited xiaozhai ditch , Laotan ditch and Wenpan valley.The views is very beautiful. It's a marviel of natural beauty. so I can't help shareing with you.

I introduce the Xiaozhai ditch to you first. Xiaozhai Ditch is told to be a place where Liu Wuzhou, a peasant uprising hero at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and Li Shimin, the first founder of Tang dynasty, pitched camps with a length of about 2 kilometers. High mountains stand opposite each other, and there is a gorge between them. On the bottom of the gorge stand great rocks and flow tiny streams. It is known as "Tan Pu Chuan" because there is a spring every three steps, a waterfall every five steps and a pond every ten steps. It is also called "Changchun Ditch" for it is warm in winter and spring and cool in summer and autumn in the ditch.

The most magnificent is Yaputan, where there is a waterfall with a height of over 20 meters shaping like "Y". At the bottom is a pond, which is full of green water and covers an area of more than one hundred square meters. Around the pond is a vast piece of open land where tourist can take a rest.

Other water landscapes include Water Curtain Cave, Fengwei Chained Pearls, White Snake Exiting Cave, Divine Tortoise Vomiting Pearls, and Black Dragon Spraying Mist. The end of the ditch lies among bold cliffs, where you are sure to feel like sitting in well when looking up at the vault of heaven. In the col of the ditch, spring water gathers and forms a shallow lake, which is told to be Li Shimin's horse drinking tank. In the lake are precious stones varied in postures, such as Butterfly Stone and Sword Testing Stone, as well as Task Assigning Platform and Stone Boat.

Dear Friends From the 6th grade of Ein Ganim school
I'm so glad to see your letter. I am very excited writing you.

Do you know what date it is today in our country? Today is Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional festival of China. We have another name called Moon Festival, chase monthly festival, or play with monthly festival. It prevail at the whole country. It is on 15 August such as lunar calendar. It It is said recently, the moon is nearest to the earth tonight, the people have custom that have drink, dinner and admire the full moon from ancient times to the present. Wife must return to her mother's house today, in order to reside satisfactory, auspicious.

In Hong Kong, pass and have not given full express to the enthusiasm the Mid-autumn Festival, revel once again in 16 nights. " chasing the moon" by name. There are many legends about this festival. Do you want to know?
From Ann.

Dear Marsha:
I'm glad to know you are celebrating your Jewish New Year. Happy New Year my dear friends. You know we'll celebrate our New Year in four months. The Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year, is the greatest traditional festival. It is usually a time between late January or early February, which means rest and relaxation between winter and spring after a year's toil, and means celebration as well. Before the Spring Festival, people clean their houses, put red couplets on their gates, and set off firecrackers, according to fairy tale, for driving a demon, named Nian, away. On the eve of the Spring Festival, a get-together banquet is a must, and the most popular food is Jiaozi, which is supposed to bring good fortune. On the first day of the new year, everybody wears new clothes and greets relatives and friends with bows and congratulations wishing each other the best during the new year.
from Ann