John Smith is an exchange student from New York. Here is a letter to his friend in his hometown.
| Dear David, How time flies! It's been 3 months since I came to China. I'm having a great time on my student exchange program here. So far, I've completely got used to the life here and have known a lot about traditional Chinese culture. I'd like to share some with you. In China, there are many different kinds of traditional art forms, such as paper cutting, Chinese clay art and so on. Among them, the kite interests me most. The first ancient Chinese kite appeared more than 2,000 years ago. Then flying kites was spread into Japan, Korea and Malaysia during the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Kites are regarded as the earliest craft (飞行器). They played an important role in the process of inventing the plane. Tea culture is important in China. Tea was discovered as a kind of drink by accident about 5,000 years ago. It is believed that tea was brought to Korea and Japan during the 6th and 7th centuries. It didn't appear in England until around 1660. The tea trade from China to Western countries took place in the 19th century. Now tea has become one of the most popular drinks around the world. Lastly, I'd like to tell you something about one of the traditional Chinese festivals — the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is on the fifteenth day of the eighth month in the Chinese lunar calendar (阴历). Chinese people have been celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival and enjoying mooncakes for centuries. If you'd like to know more about traditional Chinese culture, I will talk about it in the next letter. Best wishes! yours, John |
