SARS Changes China

THE most distinctive featureof the spring/summer fash-ion show held in Parrs onApril 20 was that the mod-els elegantly stalking along thecatwalk wore gauze masks.Thiswas no fashion designer’s whim,but a realistic aspect of contempo-rary life.To residents of Beijing,     

Guo Nian——Celebrating the Lunar New Year

THE Lunar New Year, known in China as Spring Festival, or Nian, is for Chinese people the most important traditional festival. At this time of year all trains are packed to capacity as people head home for the holiday. It is a time for     

FOREIGN OR DOMESTIC：Which Brand Is Best？

In recent years it hasbecome practice inthe Chinese garmentindustry to registera trademark abroadat minimal cost,or purchase the usufruct of a provisional brandfrom a small Europeanfactory,and affixits name to goods otherwise produced inChina.“We have no choice,”says made-in-China brand Bellvilies’proprietor defiantly.“Unless our goods havea foreign trademark,large shopping centersrefuse to rent us counter space.”     

Ancient Chinese Medicine Men

Ancient China had 14 sages.Medical SageZhang Zhongjing and Pharmaceutical Sage SunSimiao stood equal to the more widely knownLiterary Sage Confucius and Military Sage SunWu (or Sun Zi,author ofThe Art of War).     

Prosperity under the Auspices of Chairman Mao

TO the Chinese people,Hunan,MaoZedong’s home province,is synonymous with the great helmsman.Havingset the course of China’s modern histo-ry,his memory is still revered across thenation.Even today,it is the train from Beijing     

A Tender Heart

BEIJINGER Chang Mengwas once one of those for-tunate types that seem notto have a care in the world.On marrying twenty years ago,after a sweet and loving courtship.Chang Meng and her husbandopened an hotel that prospereddaily.Her life was bliss.Then one     

A Blessing in Disguise？

HUANG An finally set footin Hainan, the onlyChinese province he hasnever been to, at the end ofJune. If he had gone in May theprice of his ticket would have been50 percent less. But the awarenessat that time that visitors fromBejing, the area worst stricken bySARS, were not welcome in otherparts of China made him wait.     

China＇s Burgeoning Mobile Phone Industry

WHEN the cell phone first appeared on the Chinese market in the late 1980s it cost 10,000-20,000 yuan,and was the size of a brick.Regarded as the ultimate status symbol,it was called the da ge da,meaning very influential person.At that time,sales of mobile phones were under state control,and stocks were limited.Purchasers were required to place an order and make an 80 percent down payment.How things have changed!Mobiles are now available in multiple choices of size,color and function,on request.     

Migrant Workers： Urban Underclass

ACCORDING to official statistics, there are now 130 million (equivalent to half the American population) migrant workers in Chinese cities. This means that China has more migrant than urban workers, and that they constitute the main Chinese industrial workforce. To those familiar with China, this phenomenon is an important signal for social change. The term farmer carries quite different connotations in China from what it does in the West, where farming is a profession taken up by well-educated people and involves large-scale mechanical production. Also known as agricultural industrial workers, fanners have a social status equal to that of urban dwellers. In China, being a fanner is synonymous with low social status. Chinese fanners have a comparatively poor education and live on a small patch of farmland (per capita farmland is less than 1 mu, 1 mu = 1/15 hectare). Some farmers work in non-agricultural industries, or go to cities as migrant workers, but do not enjoy the same political rights and social     

People-Oriented Constitutional Amendments

THERE was one practical aspect of the 2004 sessions of the National People's Congress and People's Political Consultative Conference that, for Beijing residents, set them apart from previous years. Coaches transporting NPC deputies and CPPCC committee members meekly waited their turn at main intersections along with less exalted vehi-