Martian2
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Taiwan's 2011 GDP is $504 billion and per-capita income is $21,592 U.S. dollars! (Photo: Taipei 101 skyscraper and Taipei City)
It's been another wonderful year for Taiwan with economic growth at 4.38%. Yay!
I wish a Happy New Year to everyone and their families. I hope all of you are looking forward to the launches of Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft in 2012.
China to launch Shenzhou-9 and 10 spacecraft next year - China.org.cn
"China to launch Shenzhou-9 and 10 spacecraft next year [in 2012]
CNTV, December 30, 2011
China will launch the Shenzhou-9 and Shenzhou-10 spacecraft and achieve space rendezvous and docking missions with the orbiting Tiangong-1 vehicle in 2012, a spokesman for the China National Space Administration said Thursday."
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Also, I would like to ring in the New Year with pictures from China and Taiwan province.
People in China welcome 2012 New Year in various ways
Students of Jiujiang Primary School show Chinese lanterns with "2012" written on them, in Jiujiang, east China's Jiangxi Province, Dec. 31, 2011, to greet the New Year. (Xinhua/Hu Guolin)
Staff members of He Garden show their homemade glasses in the shape of "2012" in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 31, 2011, to welcome the New Year. (Xinhua/Meng Delong)
Dragon for Lantern Festival unveiled - Taipei Times
"Dragon for Lantern Festival unveiled
By Shelley Shan / Staff Reporter
Wed, Dec 28, 2011
Winged dragon lanterns are displayed in Taipei yesterday at a preview for the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which will be held in Lugang Township, Changhua County, from Feb. 6 to Feb. 19. Visitors to the festival will receive one of the lanterns. (Photo: CNA)
The Tourism Bureau yesterday unveiled the main lantern that will be displayed at the Taiwan Lantern Festival in Changhua Countys Lugang Township (鹿港 in February.
Next year is the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac and the main lantern features a silver dragon perched on a cloud holding an orb in its hand.
Children hold dragon lanterns in front of a big illuminated dragon at a preview in Taipei yesterday for the Taiwan Lantern Festival, which will be held in Lugang Township, Changhua County, from Feb. 6 to Feb. 19. (Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times)
Tourism Bureau Director-General Janice Lai (賴瑟珍 said the lantern is 20m long and weighs 40 tonnes, making it the largest in the history of the nations lantern festival, adding that it is equipped with more than 200,000 LEDs and 2,500 electrical circuits.
The festival runs from Feb. 6 until Feb. 19.
Changhua County Commissioner Chuo Po-yuan (卓伯源 said the entire town of Lugang would be beaming during the festival.
In addition to the Lugang Sports Stadium, where the main lantern will be located, the main street in Lugang and other tourist attractions will be lit with lanterns.
Since Changhua is famous for its flower production, Lai added that visitors could enjoy the flowers and other scenic spots in Changhua during the day, before attending the lantern festival at night.
Lai said representatives of the Tokyo Disney Resort were so impressed with this years Miaoli Lantern Festival that they have decided to dispatch performance groups to the Changhua festival.
The bureau yesterday also introduced small paper lanterns that will be freely distributed to festival attendees.
Hung Hsin-fu (洪新富, who designed the mini-lanterns, said it was called the Spirited Dragon, adding that it has hang-gliding wings, wears a backpack and rides on a rainbow-colored cloud.
Hung also cut out the No. 101 on the chest of the Spirited Dragon. He said people will be able to see the shape of a heart when a light inside the lantern shines through the 0.
I wanted to create something that parents can do with their children, Hung said. The lantern has the characteristics of an Eastern dragon deer horns, fish scales, horse ears and the whiskers of a catfish. You can also move the dragons hands.
To get to the festival, visitors are advised to take advantage of the shuttle buses arranged by the Changhua County Festival, which are available at the high-speed rail station in Greater Taichung, as well as the Taiwan Railway Administration stations in Changhua City and Yuanlin (員林.
The bureau estimated that the festival in Lugang would draw 6 million visitors. The Changhua County Government has provided a total of 27,000 parking spaces outside the town, as cars will be banned from the downtown area during the festival."
References for Taiwan's 2011 GDP and per-capita income: List of countries by past and future GDP (nominal) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and List of countries by past and future GDP (nominal) per capita - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia