Beijing Calling

If there a time NOT suitable for traveling to China?

Yes, there sure is!

No one wants you here during the month-long Spring Festival celebration, no matter how handsome, beautiful and nice you are. Just stay away!

We don't want to find you crushed, crumpled, flattened, or squashed, trying to find your footing among the millions, wait, maybe billions of travelers on the move at the train stations, airports, bus stops...

Oh wait! We shouldn't worry.

You won't be able to get tickets to go anywhere anyways, ha!

Is it that serious?

Yep! Believe you me!

Find out more in this episode!

China is in the midst of the post-Spring Festival travel rush.While people planning to catch public transport home battle to find a ticket, people who are driving are facing a struggle of their own: trying to fit all their gifts from their families into their trunk!

When you've finally taken down your holiday lights and put away your Christmas tree, the Chinese people are getting ready to roll up their sleeves to prepare for the most important festival of the year-the Chinese Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year. But it's not as simple as putting out some milk and cookies for Santa and wrapping up presents to put under the tree, there is a series of activities that lead to the last night of the winter and the first day of the spring. And by then you've only got to the middle of it. If you don't believe me just click "Play" and have a listen!

Li Yuan brings you the latest from China's contemporary music scene. In this week's show, we meet Haowei Guo, record producer and film composer who just finished the score composing of the animation White Snake. He talked about the creation of the the film's original music, and shared his understanding of music. Let's take a listen!

With the Chinese Zodiac Year of the Pig fast approaching, Peppa Pig has once again captured the

public's attention in China, thanks to a video released online to promote the new Peppa Pig film that will hit the screens in China during the Spring Festival holiday. The video, called "What Is Peppa?", tells the story

of a grandfather living in a small rural village trying to work out what "Peppa" means, so he can give his grandson a New Year gift to remember.

When jazz music meets Chinese traditions, what do we expect to hear? In this episode of Beijing Calling, we have pianist Jiang shan presenting her latest 2 singles that blend two different cultural roots together.

Seriously, are you a Pig?

You are if you were born in 2007, 1995, 1983, 1959, 1947, 1935, 1923, 1911 or 1899 (and what's your secret for longevity?)

Don't be sad if you are, I'm only talking about the Zodiac sign and the Chinese consider the sign of the Pig to be prosperous and lucky. I mean, a lifetime of rolling in the mud and basking in the sun without ever worrying about where the next meal will come from sounds mighty desirable for the toiling masses. 

The Zodiac signs have a ubiquitous presence in Chinese people's lives. The signs are checked before marriage proposals are made (most likely in secret by the parents and the grandparents). And couples skip certain years to avoid having babies of a sign they don't like.

Speaking of which, many couples have been saving up their eggs and sperms to make a Golden Pig baby, how precious!

Don't believe in the power of the Zodiac signs? Why don't you click on "Play" and let us win you over.

"Today we are going to talk about some words that you will hear from nowhere else. These are slang, phrases, buzzwords that have emerged in the past year from online and offline. They have become part of everyday talk, popular especially among the younger generations in China. The first five we're sharing in this episode are: soul gaze, Buddha-like, official announcement, cheesy pick-up lines, and prankish.

Do they mean what you think they mean? Tune in and find out!"

Three Moms and three kids make a video that gets millions of hits! Yeah, that rhymes!

Four generations living under one roof might sound two to three generations too much to you, but for centuries in China, it's been a symbol of heavenly bliss. Though no longer common in today's China it's still looked upon with fondness and warmth. Recently, a series of videos with this theme have been garnering the hits overseas. One child, her parents, then the grandparents and then the great grandparents come into the scene one by one and call the other """"Mom"""", simple as that. But’s that’s enough to get the tears flowing.

Click “Play” and let the story melt your heart too!

"Today we are going to talk about some words that you will hear from nowhere else. These are slang, phrases, buzzwords that have emerged in the past year from online and offline. They have become part of everyday talk, popular especially among the younger generations in China. The first five we're sharing in this episode are: soul gaze, Buddha-like, official announcement, cheesy pick-up lines, and prankish.

Do they mean what you think they mean? Tune in and find out!"