President Xi Jinping was named as "Person of the Year 2014" by the Russian Biographical Institute for the "strengthening of economic and political ties with the Russia" [url=http://www.cheapairmax90shoesuk.com/]air max 90 sale uk[/url] , which reflects the rising influence of China and its leader.

It is the first time the institute has given the award to a leader of a country that doesn't belong to the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The Russian Biographical Institute, founded in 1992, is a nongovernmental and noncommercial organization based in Moscow. Its Person of the Year award acknowledges the recipients involved as being guided by the principles of social, spiritual and moral responsibility.

Besides Xi, four other national leaders have been given the award: Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.

In all, the institute handed out awards to 42 individuals, companies and institutions in areas including culture, science, charity, medicine and health, and national defense.

"China is a fast-developing country with growing global influence. It is natural that more and more attention is being attached to its leader and decision-maker," said Zheng Yu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has said he is a fan of Xi. China released a photo on Monday of Zuckerberg with a copy of Xi's book on governance on his desk. The website quoted him as saying that he had purchased several copies of the book so he and colleagues could learn about "socialism with Chinese characteristics".

The book, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, a collection of 79 speeches and 45 photos of the president, was released by China's Foreign Languages Press in October. So far, more than 260,000 copies have been bought by overseas distributors.

Zhong Xin, professor of Renmin University of China, said Xi's political ideas and style of language make it easier to communicate with the world.

"His language is very simple but contains a lot of information, and he doesn't mention a lot of ideological confrontation," said Zhong.

"There are a lot of overseas scholars who still believe in the China threat theory. At least, the popularity of Xi's book can help to eliminate the misunderstanding," the professor said.

The traditional Chinese lunar calendar divides the year into 24 solar terms. Minor Snow, (Chinese: 小雪), the 20th solar term of the year, begins this year on Nov 22 and ends on Dec 7.

Minor Snow refers to the time when it starts to snow, mostly in China’s northern areas, and the temperature continues to drop.

Here are seven things you should know about Minor Snow.

Lightly snowy winter

A close-up picture of a snowflake, captured by Iranian photographer Omid Golzar. [PhotoIC]

An ancient Chinese book about plants explains that "in Minor Snow, the weather is cold and it is going to snow; while the earth is not frozen enough and the snow is light.” The temperature of most areas in the north drops to zero degrees and below. While in the lower and middle reaches of the Yellow River, the average time of the first snow is in the Minor Snow solar term. The snow is light and frozen at night, but melts quickly during the day.

Wearing hats and scarves

[file photo]

In China, starting in Minor Snow, the wind blows from the northeast a lot. Because it is not bitter yet, many people do not yet wear hats or scarves. In fact, according to an old Chinese saying, "the head is the place where all passages of the body gather". It is sensible to beware that one’s head can’t be frozen.

Drinking soup

Chicken soup.[file photo]

During Minor Snow, indoor heating begins to work. Thus the air indoors is dry and most people might feel their nose and mouth are dry. Their inner heat energy can’t get out. Symptoms appear, including dental ulcers or more pimples on a person's face. The way to solve this problem is to drink more hot soup, such as cabbage with bean curd soup, spinach with bean curd soup and mutton with radish soup

Eating glutinous rice cake

A woman paints on glutinous rice cakes in Quanzhou county, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, in Dec 2012[Photo by WangZichuangasianewsphoto]

In some areas of south China, people have glutinous rice cakes in the early 10th lunar month, which is around Minor Snow. In ancient times, glutinous rice cake was a traditional festival offering to the bull god used by peasants.

Making preserved pork

Preserved pork.[file photo]

After Minor Snow, the temperature declines sharply and the air becomes dry. It is the best time to start making preserved pork. Until the Chinese Spring Festival, it will be well made and enjoyed. In the past, when storage conditions were poor, people created many ways to store food. Preserved pork is one of them. Thus even in the bitter winter, the whole family could enjoy meat without going out. Some even say preserved pork tastes more delicious than fresh meat.

Making pickled vegetables

A dish made with pickled vegetables.[file photo]

For thousands of years, the people of Nanjing, Jiangsu province have welcomed Minor Snow with pickled vegetables cooked in different ways.

Nanjing is known for its pickled vegetables. In the past, due to inconvenient transportation, vegetables sold in Nanjing were few and expensive. Thus people there made pickled vegetables for the winter.

Avoiding spicy food

A dish from the Muslim Quarter, one of the most well-known parts of Xi'an, Shaanxi province.[Photo by Fan Zhenchinadaily]

On cold days, people want to have some hot and spicy food to keep warm. Experts say that it is wise not to eat overly spicy food, since that will enhance inner heat.

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