Chinese Language

There are seven major groups of dialects of the Chinese language, which each have their own variations, according to Mount Holyoke College. Mandarin dialects are spoken by 71.5 percent of the population, followed by Wu (8.5 percent), Yue (also called Cantonese; 5 percent), Xiang (4.8 percent), Min (4.1 percent), Hakka (3.7 percent) and Gan (2.4 percent).

Chinese dialects are very different, according to Jerry Norman, a former professor of linguistics at the University of Washington and author of "Chinese (Cambridge Language Surveys)" (Cambridge University Press, 1988). "Chinese is rather more like a language family than a single language made up of a number of regional forms," he wrote. "The Chinese dialectal complex is in many ways analogous to the Romance language family in Europe. To take an extreme example, there is probably as much difference between the dialects of Peking [Beijing] and Chaozhou as there is between Italian and French."

The official national language of China is Pŭtōnghuà, a type of Mandarin spoken in the capital Beijing, according to the Order of the President of the People's Republic of China. Many Chinese are also fluent in English.

Mizzou Botanic Garden

The Mizzou Botanic Garden is a public garden located in University of Missouri Columbia, MO. Mizzou Botanic Garden is generally open 7:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.. Adult admission is free.

First Friday

The first Friday of each month, the North Village Arts District will collectively open its doors, encouraging residents, visitors and tourists to explore and appreciate the ever-growing collections of art and entertainment that diversify and energize our community.

 Mar 6
6pm–9pm
North Village Arts District
1023 East Walnut
Columbia, Missouri 65201

Cashew Chicken

Traditional Cashew Chicken

The traditional version of cashew chicken is stir-fried in a wok. Tender chunks of chicken are combined with crispy roasted cashews, vegetables and are tossed in a light sauce made from garlic, soy sauce and hoisin sauce, thinned with water.

Chinese Dish: Bamboo Rice

Ever tried Bamboo rice?

Bamboo rice is always cooked with rice and pork, which is cooked in a section of fresh green bamboo till the bamboo is seared. This food is delicious with the fresh fragrance of bamboo.

Where to taste it: Bamboo rice can be found in many places in China, especially where there are Dai minority and Yao minority people. Hence, you can have a taste when traveling to Yuannan Province (especially Xishuangbanna), Guilin (especially in the minority villages of Longsheng County), Guizhou Province (especially in the minority villages of Kaili), and Taiwan (Ali Mountain area).

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour are two of the five flavors of classical Chinese cooking (along with salty, pungent, and bitter), and go lo yuk, as the dish is called, is a favorite way to prepare pork in Cantonese cooking.

University of Missouri

University of Missouri, known as Mizzou. Founded in 1839 in Columbia, Missouri as the first public institution of higher education west of the Mississippi River.