In seventh heaven

A chance to participate in an installation exhibition in Beijing opens up a whole new world to a group of poor women from Ningxia Hui autonomous region. Erik Nilsson reports. Not only had they never…

Just for laughs

A Ming Dynasty art is being revived by a 27-year-old, whose humorous take on the hot topics of the day wins new fans for xiangsheng, or crosstalk. Cheng Anqi reports. Wang Zijian’s schoolmates can scarcely…

Grassroots football in China

My first step on Chinese soil, the first thing that hit me was the early June hot weather. I bent down to the ground and touched my hand to the ground for my belief that…

Young campers get taste of military life

Dressed in camouflage clothing, over 170 students participate in a military summer camp held in East China’s Jinan city by the Juvenile Working Committee of Shandong province, July 24, 2011. The five-day program aims at…

After tiger mom, here comes the tiger wife

When Wendi Deng made a rare public appearance a month ago at the Shanghai International Film Festival, together with her husband Rupert Murdoch, the strongest impression she left on my colleague was her height: “She…

A never-ending magic show

Traversing the Gobi desert from Ulan Bator to Dalanzadgad is a series of natural and man-made wonders, Chitralekha Basu discovers. If you are planning to fly from the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator to Dalanzadgad,…

How do you gauge impact of a giant?

At 2.26 meters, or as we old folk like to say – 7 foot, 5 inches, Yao Ming must have some trouble getting through most doors; but he sure as heck opened up a lot…

What’s new

New version of 1997 hit drama shown on Hunan TV A new version of Princess Huanzhu, a smash hit that premiered in 1997, was shown on Hunan TV on July 16. The television drama is…

Welcome home, Yao Ming!

The smart power of Yao Ming’s charisma will reach far beyond his retirement. That is why the NBA superstar’s farewell to his professional basketball career has sparked such emotion in his hometown Shanghai, in China…

Love for star will never die

WASHINGTON – Though regretting Yao Ming’s decision to retire, Chinese fans across America are adamant they will continue their support for the all-star center and support his charity foundation and Yao Restaurant in Houston. Yao,…