Discover the Han Heritage in Xuzhou

THERE is a Chinese saying about the ancient city of Xuzhou： ＂Beijing is famous for its Ming and Qing cultures, Xi＇an is famous for its Qin and Tang cultures, while Xuzhou is famous for its Han culture.＂ With a rich and varied history, visitors to Xuzhou will discover a priceless assortment of Han Dynasty pottery warriors and horses, tombs and stone reliefs, and will hear riveting tales of the many historical figures who made the city famous. Among them was Pengzu （circa 2,000 B,C,）, who is widely considered to be the founder of Chinese culinary culture, and who lived in what was then known as Pengcheng.     

Pushing Granite

IF you want to look at what it means to be transformed by tech- nology, what better fast-track, hothouse case to consider than China, a society that has morphed itself in an alarmingly compressed window of time. That＇s what inventor and stone sculptor Daniel Henderson concluded. You likely use a piece of Henderson＇s work regularly; he holds the patent for wireless transmission of photos and video from cell phones. Having made a solid fortune manipulating the ethereal, it＇s not so surprising that he then gravitated towards stone.     

China's Six Archaeological Discoveries Of the Year

正Prehistoric migration In a cave at the crossroads of China and Europe,archaeologists have unearthed stone artifacts dating back 3,500to 45,000 years.It is the first Paleolithic cave site found in the southern foothills of the Altay Mountains,northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.The methods apparent in the creation of an oval shaped stone scraper found in the cave match those of similar artifacts from cultures in     

New Ideas for an Old Dream

THEY will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no take up sword against nation nor will they learn war anymore." This quote adorns a stone wall that lies outside the UN headquarters in New York and, though biblical in origin, expresses a universal desire for peace that was the fundamental inspiration for the creation of the UN.     

Life in the Taihang Mountains

THE Taihang Mountain Range meanders for 500 kilometers across the territories of Henan, Shanxi and Hebei provinces. It is an important ecological screen for the North China Plain and source of water. In Hebei's Shexian County sits Wangjinzhuang, a 300-year-old stone village nestled in the mountains.The village is a stone world-lanes, houses, court-yard walls, towers, pavilions, tables, benches and mills are all hewn fom ancient rock. Streets and lanes are paved in stones of various shapes and sizes whose sur-     

A Transboundary Trial

正How China’s Kunqu Opera finds its groove on the ballet stageInspiration arose when a mutual friend of Wu Husheng and Zhang Ting proposed the idea and introduced them to each other. After Wu got in touch with Zhang, they immediately clicked and started devising the creation of A Dream of a Floating Life.China's Kunqu Opera and the art that is ballet performing together on the same stage? A feat perhaps far-fetched before, yet, as the world rests on the cusp of change, no longer beyond realization. One might be curious as to what the combination of the two arts, opera and dance, East and West, looks like. A Dream of a Floating Life will provide the answer to that question.     

The Most Philosophical Traditional Chinese Ethnic Sports Event——WUSHU

Japan＇s Judo and Karate and Korea＇s Taekwondo, which all originated from traditional Chinese Wushu （martial arts）, all have the Chinese character ＂Dao＂ （way or doctrine） in their names. However, Chinese Wushu itself just adopted the word ＂Shu＂ （art or skill）. In traditional Chinese philosophy, ＂Dao＂ and ＂Shu＂ are two opposite concepts, with the first referring to something metaphysical and the latter something physical. ＂Dao＂ usually means ＂law＂ and ＂truth＂, while ＂Shu＂ just means the application or reflection of ＂Dao＂. Then, why didn＇t Chinese Wushu call itself a kind of ＂Dao＂？     

Ethnic Minority Sports Thrive in China

True to the name, this quadrennial gala for China＇s ethnic minority people is indeed ＂national.＂ TheNational Traditional Games Minorities is organized by of Ethnic the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the ministerial body of the central govern- ment in charge of affairs concerning China＇s 55 ethnic minority groups.     

Second to None The Beauty of China＇s Smaller Cities

IT is a common attribute of people absorbed in the humdrum of their daily lives that they fail to see the special qualities of the cities they call home. How many New Yorkers have never visited the Empire State building？ How many Beijingers have never walked on the Great Wall nor explored the Forbidden City？ We do not see what is directly around us when the pressures of the ＂real world＂ dictate how we spend our time and on what we focus our energies.     

Al Qaeda Moves Into Iraq

正The creation of a self-proclaimed state further complicates the region .Terrorism gained a new foothold early this year.On January 3,the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant,an insurgent organization established by Al Qaeda’s Iraq branch and the National Salvation Front in Syria—a Syrian opposition group—declared the creation of the"Islamic State of Iraq and Syria"in Fallujah.     

Is Tourism Approaching a Low-price Eva？

Under the inlluence ot the international financial crisis, the price of many hotel rooms, scenic spots, and flights have been sharply reduced in an attempt to stimulate demand. Travel is suddenly costing about hall what it did in the past, starting a ＂low-price era＂ of tourism.     

China＇s ＂Brain Pacemaker＂ Begins Clinical Trials

Professor Li Luming of Tsinghua University and his research team have developed what they call intriguingly a ＂brain pacemaker.＂ With the hardware tests and animal trials completed to the satisfaction of international safety standards and norms, the potentially revolutionary device is now set to begin human clinical trials.     

How Will China Influence the World？

I can easily feel the increasing attention the world now pays to China at recent international meetings I have attended. My foreign peers all show an interest in China＇s blueprint for the comprehensively deepened reforms laid out at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, eager to know what will happen in China and what will it bring to the rest of the world. A question frequently asked is： ＂How will China influence the world？＂     

Landmark Signs of the Times

THE Chinese public has periodically selected over the past five decades what they believe to be Beijing＇s ten most impressive pieces of architecture. Buildings voted ＂top ten＂ in 1959, 1988, 2001 and 2007 reflect both the changes in China＇s architectural concepts and the country＇s progressive socio-economic transition.     

Human Rights Research Methods in Social Science

<正>Introduction and Motivation Legal science and philosophy are two of the most important disciplines in the i eld of human rights research,both of them assuming different roles and functions in human rights analysis.Scholars can discuss or debate from a philosophical perspective such as where the ideology of human rights comes from,what the ontology of human rights is and whether people could legitimate human rights claims on the basis of     

A Sunday Bazaar

正‘To obtain a deeper understanding of a new culture, one needs to do what the locals do, see what the locals see,and buy what the locals buy." That's what our marketing lecturer taught us some 30 years ago. In my years of travel, I've fervently applied that brand of philosophy to reap greater insights and gain richer experiences beyond the guide-books. I've since added "eat what the locals eat"to the list and never looked back.     

Olympic Flame Illuminates National Sports

In an e-mail interview,the pundit of China Central Television's On the Spot Olympics coverage,Susan Brownell,gave Beijing Review her impressions of the Olympics lasting legacy on the nation and the Games themselves. A former U.S. track-and-field athlete her-self,Brownell is an authority on Chinese sports,having written several books on the country itself and conducted fieldwork on sports and body culture,and Olympic Studies. She was guest pro-fessor at the Beijing Sports University throughout 2007-08,and is currently Professor of Anthropology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.     

Nanjing, History＇s Great Survivor

PERHAPS no other city in China suffered more during the Second World War than Nanjing. Although traditionally protected by the Yangtze River and Zijin Mountain to its north and east, the city quickly fell to Japanese invaders in 1937, with tragic consequences. In what became known as the ＂Rape of Nanjing,＂ 330,000 men, women and children were systematically and brutally murdered by rampaging Japanese soldiers in a six-week-long orgy of violence.     

Victory in the Sports Field, and Beyond

F EW champion athletes in the world can do as well when they move into another fi eld, particu- larly one as dissimilar as the high-tech industry. But Daniel Borel, chairman of the board of Logi- tech Group, is an amazing exception. A former member of the Swiss ski team, Daniel co-founded Logitech in 1981, and has turned it into the world’s largest computer mouse manufacturer. He believes his years in sports prepared him for the tough challenges in the business arena. “When I toured the …     

Minimum Living Cost Program in Zhejiang

The promulgation of the Rules represents a crucial step toward institutionalization and standardization of the minimum cost of living program, which marks the end of the arbitrariness in the traditional relief behavior. In a country, to what degree the citizens enjoy human rights, it depends on the law. The minimum cost of living system has to be ensured by law in its progress toward institutionalization and standardization. This has been testified by the history of the development of the social security systems, either in Germany, which is regarded as a pioneer in modern social security systems or the United States.