An Eccentric Dramatist Who Focuses on Realities

L＇Aide-Memoire, by re- nowned French playwright Jean Claude Carriere, had its Chinese premiere in October 2008, and was warmly received by local audiences. The Beijing People＇s Art Theater, where the drama was staged, was filled to over 90 percent of its capacity. ＂That＇s amazing. We didn＇t expect much attention for such a serious play and small production,＂ remarks producer Wang Jingping.     

What Next： beijing After the Olympics

FEW will argue that the recently concluded beijing Games will stand as a great example in the annals of the Olympic movement. but beyond the obvious, concrete legacies represented by beijing’s entirely modernized, envy-inducing infrastructure, the true impact of the 2008 Olympics will take time to manifest itself as China continues its march forward.     

China＇s ＂New Generation＂ of Olympic Champions

THERE is nothing shy about China＇s new generation of Olympic sportsmen. Born almost exclusively in the 1980s, the athletically gifted young men and women who will represent China at the 2008 Games are far more willing to open up to the public than their predecessors, and like 20-somethings everywhere, they are at home on the Internet, managing their own fan blogs and communicating with their peers online.Their uninhibited self-expression has attracted the attention of commercial advertisers, and occasionally some less welcome interest, and they are celebrated as China＇s ＂new generation＂ in sports circles, ready to take center stage in August before a world audience.     

London 2012：Young Chinese Athletes Begin to Prepare for Gold

CHINESE athletes achieved remarkable success at the XXIX Olympic Games,earning a record number of gold medals in disciplines long dominated by China,such as weightlifting,diving and gymnastics. But they also scored impressively in other events,such as swimming,fencing and archery,establishing a presence that is certain to reap victories in London in 2012.     

The Olympics Economic Bonanza （Ⅱ）

THE demand for capital and financial services in the leadup to the Beijing Olympic Games is immense. Come August, over 10,000 athletes, 70,000 working personnel and 21,000 registered members of the press will gather in China＇s capital. Entries to the PRC by foreign nationals are expected to exceed 4.6 million, representing an estimated RMB 4.5 billion worth of consumption. Demand for foreign currency exchange,     

After Gold,What＇s Next？——Chinese Athletes in Retirement

WHEN Chinese badminton player Zhang Ning won gold for a second time in the women＇s singles at the Beijing Olympics, she knelt on the ground and cried. Tears were still running down her cheeks when she mounted the podium. No doubt this was partly because the victory was also a farewell： soon after successfully defending the Olympic championship, the 33-year-old Zhang announced her retirement, bringing her 23- year badminton career to an end.     

Songs of Young Bareback Riders

BAATAR DORJE, 13, was born of the Ewenki ethnic-ity in the central Hulun Buir grasslands of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. True to the Ewenki horse-riding tradition, Dorje has been riding bareback since age five, and helping to break horses since he was eight. Ewenki folk songs that have been sung for generations are an aspect of his daily life.     

The Olympics Economic Bonanza

SINCE Los Angeles unexpectedly reaped a profit in 1984 for the first time in the history of the modem Olympics, the quadrennial event has become an economic bonanza for host cities. Barce- lona, for example, achieved a profit of US $26.05 billion in 1992. The Olym- pic-related economy in Beijing is also picking up as the big event draws near.and put up eight temporary structures in and around the park. After the Games, the park and venues will continue to host top sporting events, and provide ample facilities for the public＇s sporting activities. The boom is expected to last well beyond August. At the begin- ning of 2007, the Beijing Municipal Government stated that sports-related businesses are set to be one of the city＇s     

China＇s Top Coaches and Their Nicknames

MARKSMAN Xu Haifeng became China＇s first ever Olympic gold medalist in Los Angeles in 1984, and over the years, China has won 112 additional gold medals at the summer Games. Ever since Liu Changchun became the first Chinese athlete to participate in the Games, also in Los Angeles, in 1932, China＇s Olympic sportsmen have been national heroes,     

Beijing＇s Olympic Venues

AS at the end of November 2007, construction of 26 of the Beijing 2008 Olympiad venues, along with others in Hong Kong （equestrian events）, Qingdao （sailing events）, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang and Qinhuangdao （soccer） were completed. The work includes 12 new constructions and eight temporary venues and the refurbishment of 11 existing stadiums. Of the 31 venues in Beijing, 10 are scattered around the Olympic Green in northern Beijing; the remainder are in the western and eastern districts, university area and northern suburbs. Construction of the National Stadium, also known as the Bird＇s Nest, will be finished in March 2008. Test events will be held there in April.