Spending the Year of Ram in the City of Rams

Every year, Spring Festival is no doubt the most exciting holi day to the Chinese. It is a festival to celebrate the advent of the traditional lunar New Year. Full of expectation and joyfulness, the people spend the festival as the Europeans do during Christmas. According to tradition, the coming lunar New Year will be Year of Ram. And talking of the Year of Ram, people would easily think of the City of Rams-Guangzhou.     

The Development and Contribution of the Case-law of the Inter-American of Court of Human Rights

It is with particular satisfaction that I accede to the invitation to write this Preface to Dr. Gu Shengkai's book "International Human Rights Law: Inter-American Theory and Practice". I first met Dr. Gu Shengkai at the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, on 09 December 2002, when I there delivered a public lecture, at the Human Rights Law Centre of its School of Law, on "Recent Developments in the Case-Law of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights". Ever since his successful completion at that University, Dr. Gu Shengkai pursued patiently his line of research on the subject-matter of his present book. The outcome of his research, his present book, gives testimony of all his endeavours in examining the subject in a proper perspective.     

Rise of the Yuan

Chinese currency appreciation should take a gradual and controllable path The over appreciation of the renminbi will cause turbulence in the Chinese economy,said Chen Deming,Vice Minister of Commerce,during the Third China-U.S.Strategic Economic Dialogue held in the middle of last December. However,directly after his remarks,the Chinese currency took a sudden rise.On January 14,the average value of the yuan,a     

Cardens of the paople

A paltry fee of one kuai al lows admission into one of Beijing's best-kept secrets. Barely identifiable for what it is, the Altar of the Sun could easily be mistaken for what it isn't: just another secure embassy behind a ten foot wall. A few blocks removed from the main drag, and a stone's throw west of the British compound, Ritan Park is a diversion from the nearby commercialism of Silk Alley and the Russian market. First established in 1540, this serene park, like local Gardens of the People throughout China, still presents a microcosm of the social mo-     

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the CPAFFC

May 3, 1994 marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). On this occasion, on behalf of the Japan-China Cultural Exchange Association (ICCEA), I would like to extend you our sincere congratulations. The CPAFFC was founded in 1954, the fifth year after the     

State of the Market

Urban Household Savings In February 2006, the People's Bank of China conducted a survey on urban household savings in about 50 cities of various sizes with 20,000 valid responses. According to the survey, the income sentiment index of urban households stood at 22.1 percent in the first quarter, 7.8 percentage points higher over the previous quarter. Among the total, 28.6 percent of households believed their current income was increasing, up 6.2 percentage points. Though seasonal factors may explain the rise of the income sentiment index, statistics from previous years still showed a gradual upward movement in this field, particularly reflected in the robust and steady strengthening of the index in the past two years.     

Savior of the World Economy

The credit crunch and generally tightened monetary policy caused by the subprime crisis in the United States are still being widely assessed around the globe.Worries are that a further downturn of the U.S.market in the coming year will intensify cash flow shortages and spur more economic losses,resulting in a complete decline of the U.S.market and therefore slowing down the world economy.Another theory has surfaced assuming that China and the United States are the double-barreled engines of the world economy.As China's influence spreads,it will have to complement the United States to rid the world of this crisis. Ding Yifan,Deputy Director of the Institute of World Development under the Development Research Center of the State Council,has made clear China's growing impact on the global economy.However,as Ding wrote to the Global Times,a Beijing-based daily publication,the knockdown effect of the mortgage crisis is apparent,and emerging markets look even more vulnerable because of it.Excerpts follow:     

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Normalization of Sino-Japanese Diplomatic Relations

In Beijing golden Autumn itwas warm and sunny with gen-tle breezes and flowers in fullbloom. In the happy days of cel-ebrating the return of Hong Kongto the motherland, the successfulconvening of the 15th NationalCongress of the Communist Partyof China and the 48th anniversaryof the founding of the People's Re-public of China, we greeted the25th anniversary of the normali-zation of Sino-Japanese diplo-     

Fresco by the name of Buddha Murals of the Potala Palace

For thousands of years, the mysterious murals of thePotala Palace have always evoked boundlessimagination. "Potala" is a derivation from the Sanskrit "Potalaka", whichis the mythical mountain abode of Avalokitesvara, one of theBodhisattvas (Buddhist saints). The Potala stands on the RedHill overlooking of Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.It is the largest existent architectural complex in Tibet. It is 3,600 meters above sea level and covers an area of over 366,775square mete…     

Speech at the Meeting in Commemoration of the Centenary of the Birth of Premier Zhou Enlai

In this exuberant and enchant-ing spring near the end of thiscentury, we are gathering here tocommemorate the centenary of thebirth of late Premier Zhou Enlai.Like the people all over China,     

Visiting the Birthplace of the Hulusi—Lianghe

<正>Hegel once said: Music is an art of mood that focuses directly on the emotions.To become acquainted with a place or a people,we may begin by getting to know its musical instruments. Lianghe County,located in the Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province,is the birthplace of the hulusi -the calabash flute.The sound of the hulusi is soft,fine,mellow and pastoral,evocatively leading you to the county of its birth-Lianghe.     

Painting the Soul of the Yangtze River

Chen Kezhi:a prestigious oil painter and a household name in Chinese fine arts circles,is add- ing luster to the cultural prosperity of the country with his artistic efforts.The latest sensation is over his masterpieces of the Three Gorges area.Since 1996,he has devoted himself to the Three Gorges series.These paintings reproduce the original impression of the Three Gorges area that will never be seen again.The paintings deliver the mystic atmosphere of the orient and the majestic scenery of China.Chen recently sat down with Beijing Review reporter Huang Jun to share his views and experience on these masterpieces.     

Reception in Celebration of the Founding of CAFA

The China-Arab Friendship Association (CAFA) held a grand reception in the GreatHall of the People in Beijing on the evening of De-cember 21, 2001 to celebrate its formal establish-ment. Tomur Dawamat. vice chairman of theStanding Committee of the National People's Con-gress and President of the CAFA. Vice Premier     

Celebrating the 50thAnniversary of theFounding of the People''''sRepublic of China

OnOctober1,1949,MaoZedongstoodonTian'anmenRostruminBeijingandannouncedthebirthofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.Now,50yearslater,theChinesepeoplewillagaingathertogetheronTian'anmentoshowtheirnationalprideandcelebratethe50thanniversaryofthePeople'sRepublicofChina.Theactivities,includingadisplayofChian'smilitarymight,aparade,aneveninggalaandfireworks,areintendedtoshowChinaandtheworldhowfarthenationhascomeoverthepast50years.Celebrating the 50thAnniversary of theFounding of the People'sRepublic…     

Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao Meets with the Delegation of the House of Councillors of Japan

On the afternoon of January 7,1999, ChineseVice President Hu Jintao met with the delega-tion of the House of Councillors of Japan at theGreat Hall of the People in Beijing. The host andthe guests had a cordial talk.     

State of the Market

Finance Financial performance remained sound and stable in February, according to the People's Bank of China (PBC), the country's central bank. During the month, money supply grew rapidly (see graph 1). A total of 482.8 billion yuan of cash was withdrawn from circulation and most of the cash put into circulation before the Spring Festival was drawn back.     

State of the Market

National Economy In the first half of 2006, the Chinese economy saw fast and stable growth, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on July 18. GDP. According to preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product in the first six months of this year totaled 9.14 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.9 percent, which was 0.9 percentage point higher     

About the Statue of Nanshan Guanyin on the Sea

Owing to the motivation of the broad masses worship- ping Buddhism,andauthorized by the Religions Bureau of State Council and People's Government of Hainan Province, the project of building of the Holy Statue of Nanshan Guanyin on the Sea is in the full swing. To realize the Guanyin's great wish inhabiting permanently on the South Sea and accomplish the long cherished expectation of thousands of     

2009-the Year of the Ox

In traditional Chinese culture, the ox symbolizes the honesty and diligence of human nature, as well as the exuberance and prosperity of human exis-tence. For the Chinese people, the Year of the Ox holds the promise of an economic boost that will lift the country and the world out of the current economic crisis.     

Translation of the Bible in China

Worldwide translation of the Bible began in the 3rd century B.C., but records of the Chinese version of the Bible go back to around the 7th-8th century. According to Gu Changsheng, a researcher of the history of Christianity in China, the earliest translation of the Bible in China can be found at the time of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In 635, foreign