As a traditional and meaningful board game, Weiqi was invented in China more than 2, 500 years ago and it is still played until today.

The playing pieces（棋子）are called stones. One player uses the white stones and the other, black. The players take turns to play the stones on the game board. As we know, the board surface has 361 cross points. The stones are placed on them.

Weiqi is also called Go in the world. Learning it can not only improve people’s logical（符合逻辑的）thinking ability, but it can also keep them calm. That’s why it is more and more popular with modern people.

In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Weiqi traveled to Japan, and then to Europe in the 19th century. Now it has grown into an international competition event. So far, people from over 40 countries have played it. Among them, players from China, Japan and South Korea have the highest level of Weiqi.

On February 19, Chinese-English DictionaryWeii Tem（《中国围棋术语词词典）came out Beijing. It’s the first professional dictionary about Weiqi in China. As a symbol of Chinese culture, Weiqi has its special language. It also has its own way of thinking and the method of communicating. The dictionary will serve as a necessary tool and bridge for spreading Weiqi culture.

One cannot discuss Chinese music without mentioning the Chinese seven-string zither(七弦琴), also known as the guqin. It first appeared over 3,000 years ago and represents China’s solo musical instrument tradition.

At first, the guqin had only five strings, representing the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Later, in the Zhou dynasty, King Wen of Zhou added a sixth string for his son. King Wu of Zhou, added a seventh string to encourage his army to fight with the Shang.

Ambience was important in playing the guqin. Usually, it was practiced in peaceful environment and was not right public performance. Ancient artists enjoyed performing by a stream in the mountains. The sound of the guqin mixed with the echoes(回音) from the mountains, until the musician found himself at one with nature. Playing it in snow was also a favorite pastime for ancient artists. Also, a night with moonlight was considered ideal for playing the guqin. Wang Wei(701—761), a highly talented man of the Tang dynasty, liked playing it in a bamboo forest on nights with moonlight most.

Guqin pieces are usually around three to eight minutes long, with the longest being Guangling Verse, which is 22 minutes long. Other famous pieces include Plum Blossoms in Three Movements, Wild Geese Landing on the Sandbank and Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute.

The guqin and its music was added to the list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity(人类非物质文化遗产) in 2003.

Have you ever seen lions dancing in the streets? The lions dance to the beat of a drum. Of course, they are not real lions. They are dancers in lion costumes. Lion dancing first started in China centuries ago. It is meant to bring good luck in the coming year.

Usually, a lion is made up of two dancers. One dancer controls the head. The other controls the tail.

“I think of it as a sport,” says Anthony Huang, aged 16. He is a member of the New York Chinese Freemasons Athletic Club. Anthony performs as the lion’s head. It can weigh 20 pounds. Lion dancing is important to Anthony. “This tradition really lifts me up,” he says.

In the past, lion dancing was performed mostly by men. But it is different today. LionDanceMe is a lion dancing group in San Francisco, California. There are boys and girls on its team. They dance together.

“Anyone can take up lion dancing. You have to believe that you can do it,” says Ananda Tang-Lee, a 17-year-old girl.

Lion dancing will continue to evolve (演变). But a team’s sense of community will never change. “We call it a family,” Ananda says, “It’s really great, because we always have each other’s backs.”