Vietnamese New Year Facts - Tet Nguyen Dan Celebration and Festival

Tet Nguyen Dan - Vietnamese Lunar New Year

Tet Nguyen Dan (also called as Tet) is the Vietnamese Lunar New Year. Tet is the most popular and important festival and holiday in Vietnam. Tet or Vietnamese New Year is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year and it lasts for 3 to 7 days. It takes place from the very first day of the Lunar calendar (around late January or early February).

Preparation for Tet starts many days before New Year’s Day. Families save money, store many food and plan far in advance for these special events. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tet by cleaning the house and cooking special holiday foods. Some people paint their houses to give it a new look. They also buy new clothes and pay off all debts before the New Year. The color red, symbolizing happiness and good luck is seen everywhere.

Singapore Old Chinatown - History and Information

Singapore Old Chinatown - 1955

Chinatown, estate, an important part located in the Outram area in the Central Region. It is located within the larger district of Outram.

Singapore’s Chinatown evolved around 1821 when the first Chinese junk from Xiamen, Fujian province in China, arrived. Conditions were harsh. The passengers (which is all men) set up home around the south of Singapore River (today known as Telok Ayer). Each household had to go and collect fresh water in bullock-drawn carts – that is why Chinatown’s local name is called “Niu Che Shui” (Bullock Cart Water). The name is echoed in the Malay name “Kreta Ayer” which has the same meaning. The only source of fresh water were from the wells in Ann Siang Hill and at Spring Street.

Facts About Edison Chen

Edison Chen is a Hong Kong Canadian film actor, producer, musician, fashion designer, and entrepreneur.

His long name is Edison Koon-hei Chen and  also known as Chen Koon Hei, Chen Xing Hua, and Chan Hing Wah. He is of Chinese and 1/8 Portuguese descent.

Born in Vancouver on 7th of October, 1980. Chen has two older sisters and spent his early childhood in British Columbia but his teen years in Hong Kong.

His father, Edward Chen is an entertainment industry mogul in Hong Kong. His father was rumoured to have dated Taiwanese actor Hu Bing and Ryan Zhu (2012’s Mr. Asia winner). He has been spotted frequently dining with handsome male celebrities.

His parents divorced during Edison's early childhood and Edison did not discover his parents had separated until he reached the age of 14.

Chen was in the same tenth grade class as famous actor Nicholas Tse.

Edison searched for a successful way to become a celebrity in Canada but he failed to receive recording contracts within Canada or the States due to his Chinese ancestry, so he returned to Hongkong to make another try with the help of his father and networks.

Chen is the CEO of Clot Media Division Limited, and the founder of CLOT Inc.

Chen spoke English as his first language before learning Mandarin and Cantonese later on. Chen also speaks some Japanese as well.

Chen’s career took a dramatic downfall soon after his photo scandal got leaked in 2008 – he was involved with a number of famous female celebrities including Bobo Chan, Candice Chan, Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung.

A collection of such related photos (involving six other identifiable females and other unidentifiable males) were also confiscated by the Hongkong police.

The technician was jailed for eight and a half months for copying, stealing, and distributing more than 1,000 of the ‘sick’ photos.

On February 2008, Chen held a press conference in order to apologize, saying that he had “failed as a role model”. Chen also announced that he would “step away from the HongKong entetainment industry” indefinitely.

The pop star also received a death threat in the shape of a bullet, 13 days after making a public appearance in Singapore. A letter containing the bullet warned Chen to stop making public appearance, or else.

The Nicholas-Edison’s friendship deteriorated after the 2008 photo scandal, as Cecilia Cheung was involved in it – Nicholas’s wife then.

Three years later, he was involved again in another photo scandal but this time with Cammi Tse, a 16-year-old Hong Kong model. The photos were uploaded to the internet after the schoolgirl lost her mobile phone, which contained the photos of them being intimate.

Facts About Jet Li

Jet Li is a Wushu martial arts champion and Chinese film actor. Born in Beijing, China on April 26, 1963, he won his first national championship in Wushu at the age of 11.

After he reached 17 years old, he retired from the sport and made his film debut in Shaolin Temple, and therefore became a star in his home country.

Jet Li (born Li Lian Jie) is the youngest of five children. He lost his father when he was only 2 years old. Jet Li began learning Wushu at the age of 8.

Jet Li traveled to United States in 1974 and gave a martial arts demonstration for the U.S president Richard M. Nixon. In that year, he also became the All-Around National Wushu Champion, a title he held for five consecutive years.

Jet Li played Wong Fei-hung in Once Upon a Time in China (1991), a legendary hero who fights against foreigners in the 19th century.

His Hollywood debut was the ‘Lethal Weapon 4’ movie in 1994, in which he played as a villain alongside actors Danny Glover and Mel Gibson.

Because of his wife's pregnancy, the actor turned down a role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Jet Li married to Miss Asia Pacific 1986, Nina Li Chi.

Jet Li married his wife Nina in 1999 and they have two daughters. Previously married to Qiuyan Hwang from 1987 – 1990, and has two daughters from the first marriage; Si and Taimi.

When he was young, Jet Li practiced Tibetan Buddhism and became the lifelong apprentice of Loh Kunsang of the Kagyu school.

On 28 July 2009, the Charity fund of Jet Li (the chairman of One Foundation) announced that the actor had indeed become a Singaporean citizen. Jet Li was said to have chosen Singapore for his daughters because of its education system.

Li was in the Maldives when the 2004 tsunami hit. The actor suffered only a minor foot injury while guiding his daughters to safety.

According to Li, once, as a child, when he went to perform for the U.S president Richard Nixon, he was asked by the president to be his personal bodyguard. Jet Li replied that he did not want to protect any individual. The actor said when he grows up, he wants to defend his one billion Chinese countrymen”.

The Forbidden Kingdom (2008 film) was the first film to feature Jet Li and Jackie Chan together, with Jet Li playing the silent monk and Jackie Chan playing the Drunken Master Lu Yan, both based on roles from their classic films.

In Cradle 2 the Grave, Jet Li played a Taiwanese Intelligence officer named Su, who teamed up with a friend and they try to retrieve some precious stones. On the way Li even got to fight a group of UFC fighters (including Tito Ortiz).

Facts about Teresa Teng - Taiwanese Singer

Teresa Teng was a Taiwanese pop singer. Her songs and voice are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and many other areas with large Asian populations.

There is a popular saying “Wherever there are Chinese people, Teresan Teng’s songs can be heard”. Her songs enjoy popularity among Thai, Korean, Indonesian, Malaysian, Khmer, Vietnamese and Japanese listeners as well.

Facts About Anita Mui

Mui was the youngest daughter of the family. Her father died when Mui was a small child.

Ann Mui, her elder sister was also a singer. All the four children were raised in a single parent family.

She dropped out of school at the age of 13. After that Mui sang at nightclub and bars for several years.

In 1982, Mui’s big break came after she defeated 3,000 contestants in the New Talent Singing Competition and win first prize.

However, Mui’s fame did not bring happiness. The singer felt lonely under the pressures of show business and had to continue working hard to support her family.

She appeared with Jackie Chan in the film Rumble in the Bronx.

She performed at the 1988 Summer Olympics alongside Janet Jackson.

She once held a sold-out concert in Hammersmith, London, where Mui was dubbed the “Madonna of Asia” and that title stayed with her throughout her career.

In 2003, Mui career came to a halt when the singer announced that she had cervical cancer, and died at the age of 40. According to some reports, the singer died of lung failure due to the drug's side effects Mui was taking to fight the cancer.

According to Mui, many people asked her which one she want to be: an eminent star or a happy ordinary person. The singer then said “if I could, I would choose an ordinary but happy person”.

After her death, Anita's mother had been trying to gain legal claim to her daughter's estate, which is estimated to be worth approximately s$16 million (HK$100 million). However, her appeal was dismissed by the federal court.

In order to raise funds for the lawsuit, the old woman planned to release a book about Anita's private life. The 80-year-old revealed that amongst all Anita's boyfriends, she loved Andy lau the most.

Starred in: Rumble in the Bronx , Drunken Master II , A Better Tomorrow 3 , The Heroic Trio , Rouge , The Business of Strangers , Miracles , Executioners , The Top Bet , July Rhapsody , My Foot! , Justice, My Father Is a Hero , Dance of a Dream , Scared Stiff , The Fortune Code , Wu yen , Behind the Yellow Line , The Moon Warriors , The Greatest Lover , 100 Ways to Murder Your Wife , Top Bet , Shanghai, Shanghai , Eighteen Springs , Who's the Woman, Saviour of the Soul , Who's the Man? , Miracles , Midnight Fly.