Google FITTING IN

Search engine giant's path to China is proving to be a bumpy ride You have to hand it to Google; it knows how to make a big splash. When the doyen of search engines came to town to reinvent itself, no expense was spared. Booking the banquet hall of Beijing's most famous five-star hotel, cramming it full of the cream of the IT world and a gaggle of journalists from 170 news agencies,     

Legacy of Shanxi Tycoons

Aline of visitors files through the small courtyard entrance to the Rishengchang (Rising Sun Prosperity) Draft Bank on bustling West Street at World Cultural Heritage site Pingyao, Shanxi Province. The accrued value of entrance tickets to the bank is a pittance compared to the wealth it earned from bills of exchange, butnevertheless indicates the bank's capacity to regenerateafter decades of dormancy. About a hundred years ago, this residence-like courtyard was financial hub of the Qing Dynasty. Looking at the modest courtyard offices, it is hard to     

The Sartorial Lining--China’s silver-haired mannequins are more than just billboards;they’re role models

It’s big and it’s bland, full of tension and fear. They do it over there but we don’t do it here. Fashion! Turn to the left. Fashion! Turn to the right. We are the silver squad and we’re coming to town. The first part comes courtesy of David Bowie, the last sentence of China’s shishang nainai.     

The Ascent Of Haba Snow Mountain

正IN 1995,a group of Chinese mountaineers reached the summit of Haba Snow Mountain,5,396 meters above sea level,making it the highest snow peak in Yunnan Province to be conquered by humans.The mountain,in the eyes of professional mountaineers,is"entry level."However,to amateurs,it is a game for the brave.At 10 a.m.on October 5,2013,I,along with 17teammates and a group coordinator,reached the top of Haba.Standing next to the altitude mark,I texted"I made it!"to my family.The message was simple but we all knew it was hard earned.     

Beijing seen from above

Nothing can compare to looking down this old city from above. Beijing's physical growth during the last 30 years makes it difficult to appreciate the layout of the city and the relationship of each district to the city as a whole. It would be great to actually see it from the air, but the city's airport is to the east of the built-up area and only on very clear days can the whole city stretching to the Western Hills be seen during descent. Maps of Beijing, updated with the layout of the city every year, can give a two-dimensional view of the city's shape and particularly the development of the urban highway network. However, nothing can compare to looking down from above.     

MARKET WATCH

正OPINION Sustained Yuan Appreciation Unlikely Recently,the continued depreciation of the yuan has aroused extensive attention.Some think it was the result of intervention by the People’s Bank of China,the country’s central bank,to pour cold water on expectations of renminbi appreciation.If it’s true,the central bank has set out to make preparations for prospective exchange rate reform.According to the report on the implementation of monetary policies in the fourth     

Poverty Alleviation for Human Rights

China has made tremendous efforts to alleviate poverty and to eventually eliminate it. As it is recognized worldwide, poverty constitutes a challenge to the international community. China, on its part, has won global acclaim for the achievements it has made in poverty alleviation. To provide interested readers with information of the hows and whys, our staff reporter interviewed Hu Fuguo, Vice-Director of the State Council Steering Group in Charge of Poverty Alleviation through Development. A summary of the interview follows:     

Values and Human Rights

Values and the view of human rights are the concepts in the superstructure that belong to the category of morality category. So-called value refers to people’s attitude towards the choice between material wealth and spiritual wealth. Specifically speaking, it reflects the interests, demands, psychological and behavioral orientation of certain subjects. it is the inward rule which is used by people to measure the value of things, judge whether they are good or not     

Geng Yanbo： Datong＇s Scholarly Mayor

SPEAKING to Geng Yanbo, the new mayor of Datong, it is difficult not to be swept up by his enthusiasm for the history of his city. And it is that enthusiasm which a majority of the city＇s residents agree also accounts for Geng＇s unique approach to modernizing Datong while preserving its long cultural heritage. Looking about, the evidence of that commitment is everywhere, from the newly opened shops to ihe freshly paved roads. Since being transferred in March from Taiyuan to Datong to become acting mayor and deputy secretary of the Municipal Committee of the CPC, Geng has acted resolutely to turn this industrious coal town into a cultural showpiece.     

GREETINGS TO THE BRIDGE BUILDERS

Warm congratulations to Youxie on its fortieth anniversary. Over the years, it has built multiple bridges between the Chinese people and those of foreign lands. In earlier days, when stateto-state relations between the People's Republic of China and the governments of other countries were still few, it helped, through joint efforts of the peoples on both sides, to build bridges of understanding and thus speed the establishment and increase of such relations. When state-to-state relations multiplied, it helped consolidate them by build-     

Short Stories Mirroring Contemporary Life

FOR Chinese literature, it is the best of times, and it is the worst of times, to quote the opening sentence of Charles Dickens’A Tale of Two Cities. Literary critic Zhu Dake laments the bleak wasteland that literature has become, while poet Ye Kuangzheng has simply declared it dead. Yet the year 2011 saw the publication of 4,000 fulllength works of ction in China. More than 30,000 writers also serialized their short stories online and made writing their careers, according to the Annual Report on China Literature 2011 - 2012 released by the Chinese Academy of     

Working Toward an Inclusive World

正The world has never been homogenous.Over the ages,the plurality of man has been blamed as the root of various conflicts.But it must also be acknowledged that it is through such diversity that mankind managed to compete and progress,ultimately contributing to what it is today.     

Geng Yanbo: Datong’s Scholarly Mayor

SPEAKING to Geng Yanbo, the new mayor of Datong, it is diffi cult not to be swept up by his enthusiasm for the history of his city. And it is that enthusiasm which a majority of the city’s residents agree also accounts for Geng’s unique approach to modernizing Datong while preserving its long cultural heritage. Looking about, the evidence of that commitment is everywhere, from the newly opened shops to the freshly paved roads. Since being transferred in March from Taiyuan to Datong to become acting mayor and deputy secretary of the Municipal Committee of the CPC, Geng has acted resolutely to turn this industrious coal town into a cultural showpiece.     

Pingyao-World Cultural Heritage

Watching the locals do business in the same houses as their ancestor did centuries ago is akin to stepping into a time machine.p INGYAO is located in Shanxi province, to the west of its capital Tai- yuan. All of the city walls, streets, buildings and shops are well preserved from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Today, the town looks much the same as it did when it was the county seat in ancient times. china’s Past Revealed to Foreign Eyes pingyao particularly appeals to two kinds of people.…     

A Development Milestone

正Tibet Autonomous Region marked its 55th anniversary on September 1. Now, with the rest of the nation it has another milestone to reach by the end of the year: completing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. Since Tibet, due to its high altitude, has harsh living and production conditions, it is one of the key target areas for the government to improve the local economy. The     

Tales From a Festival

<正>The Dragon Boat Festival,one of China’s traditions,has a long history and many legends attached to it The Dragon Boat Festival is the fifth day of the fifth month according to the Chinese lunar calendar.In 2011,it falls on June 6 of the solar calendar.     

Worldwide Remembrance of China’s Theater of War

正ON February 27,the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed a decision on ratifying two memorial days–September 3 to commemorate the victory of Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,and December 13 to honor victims of the Nanjing Massacre.Japan’s response was predictable.Although it didn’t brazenly slander China,it described adding these events to the calendar as"suspicious."     

Finding Friends

An expatriate life has a certain thrill to it-a new country, a new culture, the exploits and escapades-but it is the interaction with the people that we carry with us on our last flight back home.My China sojourn began in the summer of 1999-September 20 to be exact. It was supposed to last a couple of months, and as it happens to many of us,I ended up staying longer than I had planned to.     

Right to Environment:A New Human Right Of Modern Times

Human rights are the fundamental rights. The right to environment is derived from human rights. The right to life lies in the central core of human rights. Without a sound environment it would not be possible to sustain an acceptable quality of life or even life itself. The right to environment therefore originated in the right to life, but transcends lite. Thus it is a new human right of modern times.     

For Common Development

There are two kinds of reactions to the hot global topic of China's foreign assistance to other developing countries. Some people in the West try to deliberately discredit China, alleging it is throwing the recipient countries into a debt crisis, and even calling it " neo-colonialism."