Superstitious people will go to any length to avoid certain things that their culture considers as harbingers of bad luck. It is the same all over the world. Go to any part of the world and you will find, irrespective of caste & creed, eyelash extensions hong kong there are certain things that are considered unlucky and certain things that are considered as lucky. It is the same with the Chinese too, but the difference between the Chinese and Western culture, eyelash extensions hong kong especially with regards to their culture and the superstitions based thereon, are revealed starkly when it comes to number 13. Do you recall the date of opening of the Beijing Olympics? It was on the 8th of August 2008. eyelash extensions hong kong If you thing that this was just a fluke and has nothing to do with the Chinese culture and its affection for certain numbers, you should check out the inauguration time of the Beijing Olympics. eyelash extensions hong kong It was inaugurated at 8:08pm. This obsession for numbers is not prevalent in China only and one can also observe it in Singapore and Hong Kong and both these countries have a majority of Chinese people. The number 8 is pronounced as `“fa”, which is how words like fortune and prosperity sound in the Chinese language. eyelash extensions hong kong But what about number 13 which is considered unlucky by Europeans and why do the Chinese consider it as lucky? The number “1” when put in the “tens” sounds like “shi” which means definite in Mandarin. China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since 2005 in the second quarter, prompting the yuan’s biggest drop in seven weeks on speculation the government will slow its advance to protect exporters. eyelash extensions hong kong The yuan fell 0.2 percent against the dollar, paring a 7 percent advance this year that made it Asia’s best performer. Some Chinese officials are pressing for slower currency appreciation to protect jobs as cooling global demand threatens to trigger a slump in shipments from the world’s fastest-growing major economy. China’s growth is still the fastest of the world’s 20 biggest economies and is helping to sustain the global expansion this year as a housing slump and credit-market turmoil threaten to send the US into a recession. Export prospects have deteriorated, with US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke saying this week that the US faces significant downside risks to the outlook for growth. Most textile companies were unprofitable in the first five months of the year, Du Yuzhou, President of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles said at an industry conference in Shanghai. Inflation has eased from February’s 12-year high of 8.7 percent on smaller gains in food prices. It remains above the central bank’s 4.8 percent annual target and rising commodity costs may keep prices elevated. Besides using the currency to cool inflation, China has imposed lending quotas and ordered banks to set aside a record 17.5 percent of deposits as reserves to soak up cash flooding the economy from trade, foreign direct investment and investors betting on gains by the yuan. The central bank hasn’t raised interest rates this year to avoid attracting capital inflows. China’s economy grew at the slowest pace since 2005 in the second quarter, prompting the yuan’s biggest drop in seven weeks on speculation the government will slow its advance to protect exporters. The yuan fell 0.2 percent against the dollar, paring a 7 percent advance this year that made it Asia’s best performer. Some Chinese officials are pressing for slower currency appreciation to protect jobs as cooling global demand threatens to trigger a slump in shipments from the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The median estimate of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for a 10.3 percent expansion. The US economy grew 2.5 percent in the first quarter. The trade surplus for the second quarter narrowed 12 percent from a year earlier to US$58.14 billion as import costs climbed and US demand faltered.