Speaking in Black and White—Female Painter Qi Peng

QI Peng is trying to create a series of pictures on the theme of the Beijing Olympic Games in traditional Chinese ink and wash. However, even she herself is not sure if it is an appropriate way to fully capture the athletes＇ sportsmanship. ＂Perhaps I should try other means...oil painting,or multiple materials...＂ Qi Peng thinks aloud.     

The Most Stunning Traditional Chinese Ethnic Sports Event

In the Chinese language, ＂climbing up a mountain of daggers and diving into a sea of flames＂ is a metaphor for doing something that is incredibly dangerous. For people of the Lisu ethnic group in southwest China＇s Yunnan Province, however, this is no literary expression, but something they can do for real. They even have a special festival, the Daogan Festival （literally meaning ＂the Blade and Fire Day＂）, to display this extraordinary skill.     

The Eternal Couple Taishan Mountain and Tai＇an City

TAI＇AN City is located in the center of Shandong Province, home to the ancient states of Lu and Qi. Built in homage to Taishan Mountain （Mount Tai）, one of China＇s sacred peaks, the city was named after an old saying： ＂If all is well on Taishan Mountain, the world will be at peace.＂ ＂Tai＇an＂ literally means ＂peace upon Taishan.＂     

More Chinese Travelers Go It Alone

IN June China＇s first tour group to the U.S. visited major cities from coast to coast over 12 days. Most .of the group of 200 were elderly and middle-aged people with the time and, more importantly, money to spare-the tour cost RMB 20,000 （just under US $3,000）, or around one-third of the average annual income of Chinese urbanites.     

China Made： From Processing to Licensing

THE world＇s best known mouse is the one created by Walt Disney. Today this iconic cartoon rodent is seen all over the world in all forms and materials. Manufacturers worldwide vie to produce ＂Mickey,＂ safe in the knowledge that joining Disney＇s legion of licensed suppliers means a steady flow of business and an assured profit stream.     

Traditional Dining Etiquette

WITHIN traditional Chinese thought, eating means far more than just filling the stomach or gastronomic pleasure. In Confucian terms, it is a vehicle for social etiquette.To ancient Chinese literati, the foremost function of eating was physical and mental cultivation. They catego-rized diners into three groups: Greedy eaters taking in as much food as possible without discrimination; gourmets meticulous about taste, preparation, cooking and ingre-     

SPORTS OF ANOHER GENRE CHINA＇S ETHNIC AND FOLK SPORTS

＂China＇s ethnic and folk sports＂ refer to those traditional sports the Chinese people created by drawing on their own life,which have been passed down to this day sports popular among people of the country＇s 55 ethnic minority groups.According to statistics.     

High Numbers,Low Quality：Chinese TV Dramas

LIKE Prison Break＇s Michael Scofield in the United States, the character Xu San-duo has become something of a household name in China since the top-rating Chinese drama Soldier＇s Sortie debuted in 2007. The 30-episode series follows Xu＇s travails as an ordinary soldier from rural China. In 2007, an average of 40 episodes of TV drama were produced per day in the country. ＂China has become the world＇s largest producer and broadcaster of drama for television,＂ said Hu Zhanfan, deputy director general of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.     

Bringing Frozen Landscapes to Life——Dong Junqi＇s Ink-and-Wash Art

DONG Junqi＇s wash paintings capture the beauty and quiet elegance of crystal ice, a unique natural characteristic of northern China. The artist mainly depicts the perennially snow-capped Changbai Mountains. His skillful use of ink-and-wash, and the meticulous layout of his work, owes a clear debt to traditional Chinese landscape painting, as well as expressing Dong＇s own innovative style.     

China＇s Monocameral System Opens Up

DEMOCRACY is a topic often mentioned when certain Western people talk about China. China has chosen to practice a form of democracy that is different from that in Westem countries. As early as in 1987 Deng Xiaoping said, ＂In the West, democracy means separation of the three powers and multi-party elections. We have no objection to their doing so, but in the Chinese mainland we don＇t practice multi-party elections, separate the three powers, or use a bicameral system. We practice the monocameral system - the National People＇s Congress. This bests suits China＇s realities.＂     

Extending Beijing＇s Ancient Backbone

THE concept of a ＂center＂ is one of the most distinctive characteristics of China＇s traditional culture, and is reflected in the design of the country＇s ancient cities like Beijing. While the traditional layout of the capital is still evident, in contemporary times the Olympic Games have seen the capital＇s ancient backbone extended northward.     

THE ELE GANCE OF QUYI——The Fourth Quyi Showcase of Chinese Ethnic Minority Groups

The history and tradition of Quyi （storytelling with music and periormance） are among the longest and most profound of China＇s folk art forms. Having evolved over centuries and centuries from folk oral literature and singing, Quyi is the catch-all name of various ＂art forms of talking and singing＂ in China. For millennia Quyi has been the vehicle by which Chinese people of whatever ethnic group have expressed their way of life and revealed their inner feelings.     

Business Information

The new year draws near and the Grand Hotel Beijing has been preparing its annual series of gift boxes, These traditional foods, including hand-made sausages, salted Beijing duck and varieties of Chinese bread, will give you and your loved one.s a taste of pure old Beijing during the holiday festivities. With just a call, you can enjoy ＂five-star＂ delicacies at home!     

Go West- The Ideal and the Real Deal

MOVING forward with its ＂Western Development＂ strategy for a decade now, the Chinese government has consistently recruited qualified personnel to inject brain power into the region, signing up nearly 100,000 applicants in 2009 from the ranks of the country＇s university graduates. Does this new generation of Chinese youth regard their adventure an ideal pursuit, or just a realistic choice for those caught in the current tight employment situation？     

Cool Gadgets

Chameleon Bandage
Unless you＇re an American rapper named ＂Nelly,＂ you probably don＇t like everyone to see the bandage you＇ve just applied to your cut, nick or other wounds. Inspired by everyone＇s favorite clade of lizards, the Chameleon Bandage changes color when applied to match your skin tone. It＇s neat trick to hide your cut and avoid the ＂Oh, what happened？＂ conversation.     

Nocturnal Eel Hunt

＂Lighting up yellow eels＂ or ＂pincering yellow eels,＂ are terms used by the Miao people to refer to their custom of eel catching. In Miao villages of western Hunan, the first ten days of May, just after plowing but before planting, is the time when the process of eels＇ sex change is at its height （When born all the eels are female, they mature and immediately after mating and spawning they turn male）. They swarm to the edges or to the center of the fields in order to spawn, preparing to become male. During this period, they always emerge from the mud at night, so it is easy to catch them, which the local people do, carrying torches and bamboo clamps to hunt their prey.     

Poverty Eradication:A Basic Human Right

Poverty generally refers to material destitution, namely, conditions under which a person＇s or a family＇s life is not up to the lowest socially acceptable standard. Lacking some necessary means of livelihood and services, they live in great difficulty. Poverty deprives a person of his or her naturally endowed value and of life＇s basic necessities. Poverty is a deprivation of the most basic human right and an insult to human dignity.     

China On Parade ——A Feast for 1.3 Billion People

ON October 1, 2009, the world＇s biggest birthday party was held in Tian anmen Square in central Beijing -200,000 people gathered to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the People＇s Republic of China. The rest of the public watched the live broadcast on TV or online, sharing the pride and confidence of a nation rejuvenating itself on its great joumey of opening-up and reform.     

Online and Off

China＇s population of Internet users now numbers 298 million, and the worldwide web has profoundly impacted people＇s lives in both positive and negative ways. On the eve of this year＇s sessions of the National People＇s Congress （NPC） and the Chinese People＇s Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）, Premier Wen Jiabao engaged the nation＇s netizens during a two- hour interactive web chat. During the sessions, Wen regularly logged on to collect the people＇s opinions on their progress.