The 3D animated movie Tea Pets was released in China on July 21 and fired people’s enthusiasm in learning more about the increasingly popular tea pets-porcelain (陶瓷的)figures placed on tea trays. The followings are some typical tea pets with various forms and shapes.

Pi Xiu

Tea pets in the form of Pi Xiu -a mythical animal similar to a Chinese unicorn - are very popular among businessmen. In traditional Chinese culture, Pi Xiu, the ninth son of a dragon, can bring fortune to people. It only takes money as food and never lets it out. Moreover, it is believed that pi xiu can protect a house from evil spirits.

Three-legged toad

In Chinese myths, three-legged toads spit money from their mouth and help the poor. Thus, it has been considered a lucky animal for a long time in Chinese culture. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter series, this little toad might be a good reminder of Hogwarts and magic.

Little foot with a spider

In the shape of a little fat foot with a spider on it, this tea pet might look strange to non-Chinese speakers. In the Chinese language, spider is zhi zhu and foot zu. When the two pronunciations are combined, it would be a homophone (同音字)for “satisfied” in Chinese. It is designed to remind people of having a satisfied attitude towards life and being grateful for every little gain.

The best way to raise a tea pet is to brush it with the fresh tea you are drinking. Only use one kind of tea to pour on a tea pet, rather than many kinds. Oolong, such as Tie Guanyin, and green tea are better choices to raise a tea pet apart from Pu’er tea.

The winter solstice(冬至)is an important solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, and means the coming of winter. It generally occurs between December 21st and 23rd. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, one year is divided into twenty-four solar terms. On this day, in the northern hemisphere the period of daytime is the shortest of the year and the period of night is the longest.

In northern China there is a custom of eating dumplings during the winter solstice. The tradition of eating dumplings during the winter solstice has its origin in early times. It is said that dumplings were invented by Zhang Zhongjing, a well-known doctor in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

One winter, he noticed that many people's ears were frostbitten, which made him sad. In order to prevent and cure the freezing injury caused by cold, he asked his followers to boil mutton, chilies and other ingredients with medicinal properties in a pot for fending off cold. After these were boiled, they ladled(舀)the mutton and other ingredients out of the pot, cut them into pieces, and then wrapped them in dough skins in the shape of ears. Afterwards, they put these into the pot to boil again.

On the day of the winter solstice, people whose ears were frostbitten were sent to eat the dumplings. People who ate dumplings felt warm from head to toe and had their cold injury healed. Thereafter, people ate dumplings every winter solstice. Then it became a custom that if you eat dumplings during the winter solstice, your ears won't get frostbite.

Afterwards, Zhang Zhongjing died on the day of the winter solstice. In order to honour him, every year on the day of the winter solstice every household makes dumplings.

Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture is in a traditional pub. But these friendly pubs can be dangerous places of potential gaffes（失礼）for the newcomers.

A team of researchers have discovered some of the unknown customs of British pub-starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters-you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths waiting 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose.

Pub culture is designed to promote sociability in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served.   The bar counter is possibly the only' site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely suitable and really quite normal behavior. "If you haven't ben to a pub, you haven't ben to Britain." This tip can be found in a booklet,   Passport to the Pub: The Tourists' Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers' rule of conduct for those wanting to sample a central part of British life and culture"。

The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat.   For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing annoys the regular customers and bar staff more than a group of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and hesitate about what to order.