Reviving the Rural Financial Market

SONG Deshun, from Huangtu-ozi village in miyun County, beijing, has just obtained an rmb 8,000 loan from a re-cently formed agricultural mutual-aid fund — money he will now use to ex-pand his mushroom growing business. Although the scheme is still in its early stages,     

Home Appliances a Tough Sell in the Countryside

A brand-new color TV set stands in Shi Yunguo＇s house. ＂The set cost me RMB 1,350, and the government gave me an RMB 175 subsidy,＂ said Shi Yunguo, a farmer in Linyi, Shandong Province. Beginning in February 2009, Chinese farmers qualify for a 13 percent govern.ment subsidy on TV, mobile phone, refrigerator and washing machine purchases.     

Coal Mining Area on the Environmental Protection Road

THE catch from the river gets smaller by the day,＂ says Zhang Guisheng, resident of Zuoquan County, Shanxi Province. ＂In the 1980s, villagers used to haul in netsful of fish from the Qingzhang River.＂ Fine grey dust descended from thick smoke that billowed out of chimneys in the nearby thermal power plant as he spoke.     

Opportunity Knocks for Chinese Sports Translators

AFEW years ago, being a sports translator meant starving to death,＂ jokes Song Dongsheng, who has worked mainly as a team interpreter and trainer since graduating from Shanghai International Studies University in 1982. Over the years, many of Song＇s colleagues switched to more lucrative fields like machinery, chemicals, energy and automobiles. But recent times have seen a sudden explosion in international sporting events in China, with demand for sports translators rising accordingly. In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, it is becoming increasingly difficult to even find a sports translator, no matter how high the salary on offer.     

A 49-Year-Old Chinese Woman’s Round-the-World Tour

I couldn’t stop traveling once I started. Wherever I went, I had completely different feelings as I experienced each place," says Ma Li. In 19 years, Ma has traveled through an     

Changes at Panjiayuan Flea Market

EVERY morning before 9 o＇clock, Shu Jianjun gets to his shop in Beijing＇s Panjiayuan Flea Market. He displays a wide variety of seals in the counter beside the shop＇s door and waits for customers. Shu is greatly skilled at engraving people＇s images on small rocks. As well as handicrafts made by craftsmen like Shu, visitors to Panjiayuan market are dazzled by the endless array of products on sale.