Chinese Paintings are famous all over the world for their unusual combination of materials and different techniques. Chinese Paintings is a traditional form of painting and has been in existence since a very long time. A large number of exquisite wall paintings were produced in the initial period of China's history, but very few of them have managed to survive. Many of the Chinese paintings enable historians to understand the Chinese way of life in early periods and offer insight into the styles and tastes of the early artists.

Some of the main features of Chinese paintings include colophons and seals, and different materials. The Chinese brush, which is used for painting, has a very fine tip to draw in different styles. Brush techniques include line drawing, cunfa (texture and shade), and dianfa (dotting methods). The brush strokes in Chinese paintings impart a kind of rhythm as well as aesthetic beauty. Brush strokes can greatly vary according to the individual styles of the painter. Different types of Chinese painting brushes include the "hsieh chao pi", which is a crab claw brush available in large and small sizes, and the "hua jan pi" brush, which is specifically used for painting flowers. A "lan yu chu pi" brush is generally used for painting bamboo and orchids. Chinese artists hold their painting brush in a peculiar fashion.

Typically, artists use Chinese paper or thick silk for painting. Different varieties of Chinese papers are available and the painting on each variety will come in diverse finishes. To paint on a silk cloth, it first must be treated with glue and alum to make it less absorbent. Contemporary Chinese artists usually prefer paper for their varied textures.

Chinese artists use different shades of a color to depict the features of a particular subject and to give it a natural feeling. These artists enjoy the freedom of structural composition and manner of expression. To emphasize a particular subject, artists may leave the background blank to enhance the impact.

A bright red seal is seen in Chinese paintings that indicate the name of the artist or the owner of the painting. The position of the seal may vary from one painting to another.

If this series offer any upside, I would like to chime in to the Rockets management. I have a list that I compiled during the course of the season and playoffs that the Rockets should do:
Fire Coach Gundy.. his time has come, his plays are obsolete, we need new leadership on this team.

Trade Alston, Howard, Head, and all of those players who cannot shoot consistently. The basic fundamental in basketball is shooting. If you cannot shoot, you should not play basketball.
Trade McGrady or Yao.. or both. We must all come to realize that these two players (their decent players by the way) will not bring a championship to Houston period.

http://www.chinatownconnection.com/houston-rockets-game-7.htm

Texas Renaissance Festival features over 200 daily performances, 300 arts and crafts shops, 60 food and beverage shops, nightly fireworks and more than 3,000 costumed characters strolling the grounds. The festival begins Sept. 30th and lasts through Nov. 19th every weekend. For more festivals coming up, visit Houston Fall Festivals today.

The Forbidden City, rectangular in shape is the world's largest palace complex and covers 720,000 square meters (178 acres, or 0.28 square miles). Surrounded by a six meter deep moat and a ten meter high wall are five halls, seventeen palaces, and numerous other buildings. The Forbidden Palace is reputed to have a total of 9,999.5 rooms. However, according to surveying by the Palace Museum, there are about 8,600 existing rooms. (The majority of buildings in the Forbidden City have an odd number of rooms, distributed symmetrically about an axis. However, the Imperial Library had six rooms as a charm against fire, because the number six is associated with water in astrology. So that the building does not look out of place, the sixth room was built very small, hence the half-room.)

FIBA 2006 World Basketball Championships

The FIBA 2006 World Basketball Championship will be in Japan. The world championships (or "Worlds") take place every four years and feature national teams. It's considered the biggest basketball tournament in the world by almost every country other than the United States, which popularly tends to think of the Olympic basketball competition as king. Both are huge, but the worlds stands out.

Question: Where can I find great Chinese recipes? I love to cook and I am looking for traditional Chinese dishes.

A: A great place to find Chinese recipes is at www.chinatownconnection.com/chinese-recipes.htm. They have recipes of over 100 favorite Chinese dishes. Some of the well known are Chinese Egg Rolls, Chow Mein, and Won Ton Soup.

Come explore Houston Chinatown for a culinary feast and cultural adventure.
Translated literally, dim sum means "heart's delight." Perhaps that's because you eat to your heart's delight when feasting on dim sum. There's pork, shrimp, beef, and vegetable dumplings; steamed barbecue pork buns; crispy egg rolls; Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce-the array is endless and unforgettable.

Thanks to Dorothy Huang, my first Dim Sum tasting came, not in China, but in Houston. A Chinese culinary expert, Dorothy teaches cooking classes and gives tours of Houston Chinatown. I signed up for one through Leisure Learning Unlimited and discovered a new love: the smorgasbord that is dim sum. For the class, we (the eager students) met at Ocean Palace Restaurant for lunch and a lesson. Also, everyone must check out Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai restaurants in Houston for a complete guide to Houston's Chinese - Asian restaurants.