Just a Walk in the Park

One of the things that makes living in Beijing enjoyable is being able to walk through a public park on the way to work.The park in the northwestern part of the cityisasanctuaryforseniorcitizens,who pour down from the surrounding high-rise apartment blocks that characterize Beijing,to go through their time-honored morning rituals.At the park entrance are the"bird men."Most people who imagine life in China will no doubt have an image somewhere in their minds of elderly,vest-wearing men     

Technology,Teaching and COVID-19

We are living through one of the rarest times of history,as families grapple to keep loved ones safe,retain their jobs and maintain any sense of normalcy.This is a particularly stra nge time to be a student.I feel bad for school students,who have to deal with mounting pressures of homework and an impending college entrance exam.     

Badai：a living fossil of Miao History and Culture

＂＇Badai＂ is the name the Miao give to their shamans, who officiate at sacrificial and customary rituals and indeed all ceremonies for Miao social events. The culture of rituals is called ＂Badai culture,＂ and it holds a significant place in Miao culture. The process of rituals and ceremonies, the ＂living fossil＂ of Miao history and culture so to speak, enabling the Miao people of today to inherit their ancestors＇ culture and social conventions. A ceremony may involve from seven to 36 Badai, and it is they who have taken up the torch from their ancestors, perpetuating the survival of the ancient culture. Though predominantly an oral tradition, the words of the rituals have now been brought together in a 176-chapter, 2,866-section ＂classic.＂ It is an authentic record of Miao history and culture, with copious information about Miao religion, philosophy, history, arts, medicine, and health preservation.     

House Slaves

Rising house prices in China's major cities is a major headache for people taking a first step on the property ladder and has led to a growing number sacrificing quality of life just to have a home of their own Closely watching the family's spend- ing and living in fear of another interest rate rise have become reali- ties for many Chinese city dwellers who have taken out mortgages that stretch their finances to the limit.     

Photos of Their Youth

正IN today’s China,there is a group of people born in the 1980s and 1990s who have left their hometowns to seek fortunes in big cities;they are single;they spend everything they earn on day-to-day living expenses,so they can’t afford to buy an apartment or a car.They long for a better life,but are struggling and wandering between dream and reality.In fact,they have no idea what their future has in store.But despite     

SOCIETY

<正>Improving Cultural Life Members of a folk art troupe from Shannan City practice dancing exercises during two months of training in Lhasa,capital city of southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region,on November 28.There are currently more than 2,000 performing folk groups in the autonomous region.For rural inhabitants living in remote areas,folk troupes have played an important role in enriching their lives.The publicly funded training aims to improve the performance of the folk troupes.     

Like It or Lump Migrant Workers in Beijing

LURED by better living and working conditions, huge numbers of Chinese farmers leave their rural homes for the city. Their education having generally ended at junior middle school, they have little choice but to take up poorly paid manual labor. This they do uncomplainingly as it is preferable to eking out a living in the countryside.     

Sustained Development Leads to Higher Living Standards简

正CHINA’s economy has significantly advanced over the past 35 years of reform and openingup.Chinese people’s incomes have risen and their living standards have improved,from barely having enough to eat and adequate clothing to today’s generally better-off lifestyle.     

Cultivating Modern Farmers

正Despite industrializing at an unprecedented rate over the past three decades, China remains basically an agrarian country in terms of the huge size of its farming population and the country's vast rural areas. China relies on agriculture to feed its 1.3 billion citizens,and over the years steady efforts have been made by the Chinese Government to promote agricultural development and raise the living standards of farmers.     

A Giant Mystery

Millions of years ago, during the era called the Cretaceous period, the planet we call home was ruled by giant creatures that have long since disap- peared. The legacy of the dinosaurs is not only the mysteri- ous ecological environment they lived in, but also the cause of their sudden (relatively speaking) extinction. One theory suggests that dinosaurs may have passed down their distinctive DNA to birds to keep their genes alive. Buried fossils of various species provide us with an opportun…     

Making Cities Better

<正>Livelihood programs change the lives of urban residents For decades Chinese cities have vied with each other to top national and international development rankings. However, the triennial national list of cities with an advanced living environment judges candidates according to less conventional     

LETTERS

正Now in my 60s,I am starting to think seriously about where I’m going to spend my later years.I do not personally oppose living in a nursing home when I’m too old to take care of myself.My children treat me very well and I enjoy the time we spend together.But they have lives of their own,while I have a life of my own.I don’t have the heart to expect them to look after me,as they are already occupied with     

Diversified Experiences At Ascott's Properties Worldwide

<正>Guests staying at The Ascott Ltd.'s Ascott,Citadines and Somerset serviced residences worldwide will get to enjoy a myriad of delightful experiences offered through its Ascott Lifestyle program beginning April 1.These specially handpicked experiences,ranging from the cultural to the gastronomical,from local attractions to wellness,will enable guests to explore the cities they are living in and continue to enjoy the activities they are familiar with while being away from home.For a sampling of the Ascott Lifestyle experiences,guests can view a collection of featured experiences from the Ascott Lifestyle website(www.the-ascott.com/ascottlifestyle)even before their arrival at the serviced residence.The featured experiences will be refreshed regularly so that guests can make the most of their experiences in the city,whether they are staying at Ascott for business or pleasure.To find out more or have an Ascott Lifestyle     

Are TCM Courses Suitable For Pupils?

<正>The education authorities in east China’s Zhejiang Province have released a set of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)textbooks for elementary school students,the first of their kind on the Chinese mainland,and now require elementary schools to teach TCM knowledge to pupils in a bid to enhance younger generations’awareness of traditional ways of living and keeping fit.     

Retired Life

As Hong Kong inhabitants have a sense of privacy and their living space is often limited, they seldom invite people to their homes. The teahouse is the most popular meeting place. Our interview with Tsui Chee, however, was at his homeMEI Foo Sun Chuen, Hong Kong's first private residential subdistrict in Lai Chi Kok, was built in 1968. It epitomized a well off society where middle-class people, such as Tsui Chee and his family, moved in the 1970s, to live in compact communities. Tsui Chee's apartment has an area of more than 80 square meters. It is furnished in a manner similar to that of a mainland household, other than the altar left of the entrance, where devotions to deities and ancestors are made. As the principles of fengshui are commonly observed in Hong Kong, the position of the altar in the household is decided by geomancers. Hong Kong people visit temples to worship deities and also to draw bamboo slips out of a pot for divination purposes. Geomancers are employed to determine the most auspicious location of new companies and suitable layouts of houses being considered for purchase.     

Chinese Entrepreneurs Around the World Meet in Nanjing──Dream of Industrialization

TODAY Chinese entrepreneurs can be found inalmost every corner of the world. Their forefatherstraveled across the sea centuries ago to settle in various pats of the world, and started small businessesin order to make a living. Their resourcefulness, diligenceand resilience helped them become established in their newenvironment and eventually become an integral facet of thelocal economy. In 2001, the Sixth World ChineseEntrepreneurs Convention is to be held in Naming.In 1908, Dr Sun Yat-s…     

Book Information

In order to redeem their pledge, several generations of Mongolian wrestlers start an expedition to the west in company with a beautiful woman--Alatajin, who will never grow old. They win their contests all their way, but it seems they will never reach the end of the world. The expedition explores for several centuries when one day they look ahead and see their homeland before them they have traveled right around the earth only to come back to their starting point. But their beautiful prairie has become a battlefield and the nation is in turmoil...     

Senior Remarriaye: Perplexities and pitfalls

The right to freedom of marriage has always been promoted and protected in China, and since the 1980s the increasing numbers of seniors have made their second marriage an issue of social concern.     

Supporting the Bereaved

Traditionally, Chinese people are expected to support their parents during retirement. But filial piety cannot mollify parents who have lost their only child. After more than 30 years of the family planning policy, aging parents bereft of an only child are becoming an increasingly visible group in China shouldering an     

Is the Future Chinese？

MORE than 2,300 universities in over 100 countries have introduced Chinese courses to their curricula, and young overseas nationals flock to China each year to learn Chinese. In 2004, the number of international students in China was 400,000. with an annual increase of 20 percent in the past five years, according to the Chinese Ministry of Education.