A piece of calligraphy work of Chinese character 'he', or 'harmony' in English. [Photo: xuxiaohui.blog.techweb.com]

The Chinese character which means 'Harmony' in English, has turned out to be top word in an online vote of Chinese words and phrases which best illustrate China and the world in the past year, according to Beijing Times.

In the top words and phrases award held on Saturday, co-organized by the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center and the Commercial Press, '30 Years of China's Reform and Opening-up' also proved to be the most frequently used phrase relating to China 2008. And 'fight' and 'Wall Street crisis' won best word and phrase illustrating the world of 2008 respectively.

Experts say the word 'harmony' precisely summarizes what Chinese people experienced in 2008. The united spirit and harmonious attitudes in people's hearts can best be seen in people's fight against the snow disaster and earthquakes of 2008. The success of Beijing Olympic Games also embodies the harmony of the universe. China-U.S. cooperation in fighting against financial crisis displays the Chinese harmonious philosophy in yet another way.

In contrast with the word selected for China, 'Fight', short for "conflicts", "disputes" or "controversy", is the key word that best describes the restless situation of the world in 2008.