Birthdays are celebrated（庆祝）all over the world. Some ways to celebrate birthdays are rather similar from county to country: candles, cakes, and birthday wishes. But there are also different ways to celebrate birthdays. Here are a few:

    Most English people have three names: a first name, a middle name and the family name. The family name comes last. For example, my full name is Jim Allan Green. Green is my family name. My parents gave me both of my other names.

    People don't use their middle names very much. So "John Henry Brown" is usually called “John Brown”. People never use Mr., Mrs. or Miss before their first names. So you can say John Brown, or Mr. Brown; but you shouldn't say Mr. John. They use Mr., Mrs. or Miss with the family name but never with the first name.

    It is different from Chinese names. In China, the first name is the family name, and the last name is the given name. For example, a man called Zhou Jian puts his family name Zhou first.

    Langshan Mountain, lying in Xinning County, is about 500 kilometers away from Changsha. It is one of China's National Geological Parks and is famous for its special Danxia landform(丹霞地貌).

    Covering an area of 108 square kilometers, Langshan Mountain has rich natural scenery and lots of tourism resources. There are more than 60 scenic spots (景点) in Langshan Mountain, among which the most famous are Tianyi Lane(天一巷), Chili Peak(辣椒峰), Bajiao Stronghold(八角寨) and so on.

    On August 2nd, 2010, Langshan Mountain was recorded in the World Heritage List(世界遗产名录) and became China's eighth world natural heritage.

    If you would like to visit Langshan Mountain, you can take a bus from Shaoyang South Station to Xinning County. It will take you about 2 hours and the price of the bus ticket is 54 yuan each adult. Then you can take a taxi to Langshan Mountain. The best time to visit Langshan Mountain is from March to October.

    In the eyes of many foreigners, Chinese are the best hosts and the worst guests in the world. They're not really bad guests, but because the guest­host relationship in China is much different than in some Western countries, it appears they are not nice guests. And Western hosts sometimes look rude in the eyes of Chinese guests.

In China, guests are almost like gods. Whenever I enter a Chinese person's home, there is always fruit on the table for me, and someone is quick to bring me a cup of tea or water. In the West, generally the guest is not a god. Acting according to the host's way of doing things is usual behavior for a guest.

    My wife's mother, a very kind elderly Chinese lady, doesn't smoke. When I see some of her guests smoking in her house, as a non­smoker, I feel unhappy. Usually I want to stop them directly, but I must realize that in China, to be a good host, she must not do that. In most North American homes, if you are a guest, and the hosts are not smokers, you should not smoke in their house. At the very least, you could ask, "Is it OK if I smoke?" But, don't be surprised if they say, "No, you can't smoke." In our culture, if you smoke in their home, you are a bad guest, but if they do not allow you to smoke in their house, they are not a rude host.

    Guests in China also have special habits. Some Western people may not adapt to these habits very soon. Thankfully my wife is Chinese, so whenever we visit a Chinese family she tells me to buy them a gift. However, giving a gift to a host is not always necessary in my country. So, if you invite international guests to your house, don't be too surprised if they don't bring you a gift.

    In China, you probably won't need to change the guest­host relationship very much because you will probably only be the host, and Chinese are naturally very good hosts. If Western hosts invite you to their house, try not to be too surprised if their style of treating you is not what you have expected.