HOLIDAY SEASON Spring Festival is China''''s biggest celebration,but foreign holidays such as Christmas and Valentine''''s Day are making inroads

As China opens to the world, Chinese people are embracing the Western world's holidays. Christmas, Valentine's Day and Halloween are all growing in popularity, as the commercial aspects of these celebrations find an audience. Young people say they feel increasingly detached from traditions associated with age-old Chinese festivals, such as Spring Festival, which starts January 29 this year and marks the lunar New Year. But Spring Festival isn't going anywhere yet, and this week the country heads home en masse to celebrate its only, and still much-loved, national holiday.     

The Vigor of Wenzhou

Several regions in China are known for their business-savvy residents. One of them is Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province. With their economic aptitude and pragmatic attitude, Wenzhou people, dubbed the ＂Chinese Jews,＂ can be found in almost all sectors of the economy, and have accumulated huge amounts of wealth. Small and medium-sized private enterprises are the mainstay of the city＇s economy. Under the onslaught of the financial crisis the number of these businesses has fallen by 20 percent, but the survivors have demonstrated the same robust flexibility which helped tide them over difficult times in the past.     

Top Four Inkstones

IINKSTONE,along with ink,writing brush and rice paper,are known as the Four Treasures of Study in China. For calligraphers and painters,a good inkstone is as important as the inkstick itself.An inkstone is a slate to grind the solid inkstick in water,and as such may     

Preparations for the 2010 Shanghai World Expo in Full Swing

After the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese people are looking forward to the 2010 Shanghai World Expo with the same fervency.The World Expo, started in London in 1851, is the world’s top-level ex-position, known as the "Olympics of human intelligence." For one and a half centuries, the World Expo has recorded every bit of progress made in science and technology, and explored major issues faced by humankind.The 2010 Shanghai World Expo is the fi rst such event held in China and in a developing country...     

Fhe Spirit of Wenzhou

AS soon as the policy of reform and opening-up began to unfold in China, the tough and shrewd Wenzhou people began to actively test the implications for business and trade. At first, they just sought inconspicuous jobs like cobbler, barber or peddler - much like their counterparts in other parts of China. Gradually, though, people found more and more retail operations, especially clothing and electronic stores,were being run by the Wenzhounese. Various kinds of products made in Wenzhou also flooded into the market. Such phenomenon made people take notice. Curiosity became admiration of Wenzhounese cleverness, and their big fortunes.     

Reading Patterns Changing

<正>Modern life is changing the way people read April 23 was the 16th World Book and Copyright Day,also known as the World Book Day.Reading-related problems have once again attracted people’s attention.Today,living a life with an increasingly rapid pace,most people are     

The Passionate People of Shandong

I have been living and working in the charming resort city of Yan- tai, Shandong Province, since the year 2000, and I find the people as friendly and warm asthe beautiful climate along the Yellow Sea coastline. After studying marketing, finance and commerce in Paris, I began my ca- reer as a marketing assistant at a well-The people in Yantai are deeply committed to Yan- tai's success and to play- ing their part in China's fast-growing economy.known French company in Buenos Ai- res. My wo…     

The Spirit of Wenzhou

AS soon as the policy of reform and opening-up began to unfold in China, the tough and shrewd Wenzhou people began to actively test the implications for business and trade. At first, they just sought inconspicuous jobs like cobbler,     

In the Beginning Was Culture

WHAT does culture mean? There are several interpretations of the concept.Sociology defines culture as the way of living that evolves within a group of people and continues for generations. The term culture also applies to tangible products of the spirit, such as painting, sculpture and stage art.     

Daughter-in-Law with a Difference

THREE decades earlier most Chinese people would have regarded a romantic relationship with a foreigner as something beyond their imaginations, even actively seeking to avoid such a taboo scenario. However, as the opening-up and reforms nudged China into interacting with the outside world, societyhas begun to view this as a normal occurrence. Expats are no longer exotic and mysterious to ordinary Chinese people, and interracial couples have risen out of China＇s increasingly intemationalized society.