I Love ...

As an ice breaker, I would like to introduce myself from the following four aspects: my name, my education, my family and my hometown.

My name is Cai Qingming. Some Chinese like to name their children in Chinese idioms. For example, in a family with surname Zhang, if there are 4 children, they may be called Zhang Wen, Zhang Wu, Zhang Shuang and Zhang Quan. Their given names come from a Chinese idiom "Wen Wu Shuang Quan" which means well versed in both polite letters and martial arts. There are 3 children in my family, my elder brother's name is "Cai QingDong", my elder sister's name is "Cai LiFang" and my name is "Cai Qingming", our last characters in names make up of a Chinese idiom "Dong Fang Ming", means the orient is brilliant. If I were a girl, I guess that my parents must name me "Hong", then the idiom becomes "Dong Fang Hong" which is the song that was played by the first China man-made satellite.

My Family

My wife and I have been married for two years. She is so lovely that anyone who knows her will like her. She is also good-looking, which I can't match. What always makes me annoyed is that when many people meet us first time, they may think she must have married a rich man. But the fact is not.

Both My wife and I like playing badminton. Our courtship also started from the badminton. That was about several years ago we fell in love during a badminton activity. So far, we still keep the habit of playing badminton every week. She has become one of the outstanding amateur female players, but I am still at the same level as before.

Another common hobby of us is singing. We look at singing not just as a way of relaxation, but a kind of physical exercise as well. My wife is good at singing popular songs, while folk songs are my departments. Sometimes we will go out for karaoke with friends and we often perform the wonderful duets.

My Education

I was born in a poor family in a small town of north east of China. Every one in 1970's can imagine how poor the life was at that time in China. Especially for a common family with 3 children who needed to finish their education. In my memory, at that time, even a 5-cent ice cream seemed luxurious for me. My grandfather had told me something that I will never forget "We will send you to college even by selling our iron pots". This was encouraging me to keep going forward in my education. Now I feel appreciative that I could finish my education successfully. I also thank my grandfather and my parents so much for their support and dedication.

My Hometown

Located in the central west of Jilin Province, the city of Songyuan has an area of 22,000 square kilometers and a population of 2.62 million. It is richly endowed by nature and has always been known as "an oil city, a grain store, a meat store, a sea of forest and a fish producer." Songyuan enjoys convenient transportation and modern communication facilities. Urban construction has changed the city's outlook with each passing day, while people's livelihood has improved year by year. At present, the overall economic strength of Songyuan holds the fourth place among cities in the province.

Beautiful Songyuan City has its unique tourism resources. Songhua River flows through the municipal region. There are a lot of sightseeing sites along the river, which form a scenic line.

In Chagan Lake, one of the top ten famous fresh water lakes in the nation, there are all kinds birds and fishes. The famous actress "Gao Xiumin" came from SongYuan and her TV serial "At the bank of the Holy Water Lake" was filmed on the location of Chagan Lake. In addition, there are also many historical spots in Song-yuan, such as Triumph Eulogy Stele of Jin Dynasty, Tahu-cheng Ruin, Ruin of Liaojin. They are all among the nation's key protected cultural relics.

In 2008, SongYuan city was luckily selected as one of the torch relay cities. Through this activity, the city will become well-known around China even the world.

Overall, I am absolutely a common person which may not leave you much impression. But you should know that I'm the same as most of Chinese people, I love my family, I love my hometown and I love my China. I am proud of them!