The visitors - Leone and Leo, had long since departed. Yet fond memories of them remained. They had been the talk of the neighbourhood and welcomed where ever they visited. From the first moment they settled in with Granma T and the children, a jolly time was had by all.

How they had all laughed as Leone and Leo had worked hard at using chopsticks but they had tried all of the food that was new to them - finding that they did in fact like most of it. They had enjoyed their trip to the old city and were amazed at all the people who lived in the houseboats down by the river, while it was the hustle and bustle of all the people going backwards and forward to work that had never failed to amaze them. Where had they all come from? Where did they all go? What did they all do?

To be fair there had been so many different sights,sounds and smells to take in in the very short time time that they were here. Yet one incident had caused much interest. It was this that the workmen were discussing as they busily repackaged some handbills for the printers down the way.

Chi Wing (foreman): I could NOT persuade Leo and Leone that their millenuim starts today.

Wah Ming: No, neither could I. Why ever do they believe that their second milleniun started back with the year 2000?

Wai Ping: Did you notice how they said the date? Two thousand and one!

Wah Ming: I thought that was clever of you to spot their habit of speaking the date. Eighteen-oh-one, nineteen-oh-one, but two thousand and one.

Wai Ping: Not twenty-oh-one. What is the betting they would say twenty-one-oh-one for 2101, though?

Chi Wing: Yeh, but we do use the idea of 'ling' remember. It does save us alot of bother.

Wai Ping: I still remember their faces when Granma T tried to explain that we had already had four millenia of civilisation...uh, uh.

Chi Wing: Yea, all those different dynasties. Which of you pair can remember them all and in the correct order?

Wai Ping: I know I can't, but I do remember from MY school days that the Qin comes before Han

Chi Wing: It must be the only thing you have remembered...

Wai Ping: We really ought to find out which was when also how long each lasted.

Chi Wing: I can't be certain but I think there have been fourteen dynasties or was it fifteen?

Wah Ming: We can soon find that out, Mai Ling will know where to look for that information. We certainly confused the visitors when we said that we celebrated

our New Year sometime in January or February - depending on the moon.

Wai Ping: Yep, and next year we shall celebrate the year of the snake and none of us are getting any younger.

Chi Wing: True... so in the meantime, while we get on with the task in hand .. ............

Children...you might like to:

1. Complete the silhouettes of the workmen who had been called 'The Los Amigos' by Leone and Leo...
2. Decide which silhouette is Chi Wing's, Wai Ping's and Wah Ming's.
3. Search the Internet for details about the start of the New Year - the year of the Snake.
4. Research the different dynasties - how many have there been? How long did each last?
5. Try to find out more about Chinese numbers - how they are written and what they are called.

Parents you might like to:

1. Find out about Tsao Wang, the Kitchen God and what relevance this has for the Chinese community.
2. Find out how local communities are celebrating the Year of the Snake.
3. Explain the phrase "...what is the betting..." and try to build up the idea of what could represent a safe bet or risky bet or those in between.
4. Help decide on when the new millenium did actually start.

Teachers you might like to:

1. Explore how the Chinese write and say their larger numbers as well as use them arithmetically.
2. Consider the different ways the silhouettes could be assigned to the three workmen? To all those who work at Granma T's?
3. Rehearse the arguments used for deciding when the Western millenium actually began.
4. Consider which dynasties occurred in which millenia and what they are renowned for.
5. Build up the vocabulary of things singular/ things plural, for example, millenium/ millenia; cactus/ cacti; etc. Or consider how some nouns change to become adjectives - millenium/ millennial; cactus/ cactaceous