|
|
|
|
 Why learning Chinese is easier in Year of the Ox
Britney Spears wants to stop biting her nails, Cameron Diaz wants to stop smoking and start wearing a bra, and I want to speak Chinese. We all have different New Year's resolutions and maybe in 2009 there's a few expats who will share my wish.
| |
|
 China presents Sweden 1st Confucius statue
A statue of Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius presented by the government of east China's Shandong Province to the Nordic Confucius Institute is unveiled at Stockholm University in Stockholm, Sweden, December 3, 2008.
| |
|
 Chinese acrobats perform in India
Chinese acrobats perform during an India-China cultural exchange programme in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata November 24, 2008. The programme was organised by the Indian council for cultural relations and embassy of the People's Republic of China to strengthen the cultural bonds between the two countries.
| |
|
 Japanese actors stage Yangtze Valley Drama Festival
Actor of the Japanese Bird Theatre Company perform in a drama of Sword Casting, adapted from a novel by Chinese literati Lu Xun, at the Grand Theatre in Zhangjiagang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, November 4, 2008
| |
|
 Hundreds of new marine species discovered
Hundreds of new marine species and previously uncharted undersea mountains and canyons have been discovered in the depths of the Southern Ocean, Australian scientists said Wednesday.
| |
|
 Nepal appoints new living goddess
Hindu and Buddhist priests chanted sacred hymns and cascaded flowers and grains of rice over a 3-year-old girl who was appointed a living goddess in Nepal on Tuesday.
| |
|
 Ceramics exposition opens in Zibo
The eighth four-day China (Zibo) International Ceramics Exposition and World Ceramics Purchasing Fair kicked off Tuesday in Zibo, east China's Shandong province.
| |
|
 Chinese tourists can head for Israel
Good news for adventurous Chinese travelers, they can now sign up for tours of Israel, after the China-Israel Memorandum of Understanding on tourism came into effect on Monday.
| |
|
 Lebanese fine arts come to Beijing
China and Lebanon are both cradles of ancient civilizations. In modern times, both countries have been experiencing rapid changes. This week, some of Lebanon's best contemporary artworks arrived in Beijing for an exhibition.
| |
|
 German children learn Chinese culture
German students learn playing Chinese folk musical instruments in Yaohua Binhai School in north China's Municipality of Tianjin, September 6, 2008.
| |
|
 Atlanta panda cub put in incubator for monitoring
The only panda born at a US zoo so far this year was placed in an incubator on Monday for closer monitoring by zookeepers after visitors flocked to watch mother and child on a live video feed at Zoo Atlanta.
| |
|
 Tourists dispel myths about China
After setting foot inside the Olympic city for the first time just weeks ago, it didn't take long for Ravindra Sharma to notice a very different China from the one he had imagined back home in India.
| |
|
 Zhengzhou set to host Asian Art Festival
Thirty-seven performing troupes from across Asia will gather next month at a grand festival in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province, to provide their distinctive forms of entertainment for locals and tourists from home and abroad.
| |
|
 US scientists confirm water on Mars
Mission scientists of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander reported on Thursday that an instrument aboard the spacecraft has identified water in a soil sample.
| |
|
 Saddam Hussein returns to life on TV
The Israeli actor playing Saddam Hussein in a new television series once narrowly escaped a missile fired by the former Iraqi president's army.
| |
|
 Chinese students get home-like treatment in Russia
"I know that people from China's Sichuan province like chili and rice, so our priority is to make sure every kid can have them everyday," said Vitaly Marzoev, director of the All-Russia Children's Care Center, in an interview with Xinhua Tuesday.
| |
|
 Stolen Picasso print recovered
Brazilian Police have arrested a suspect in the heist of two Pablo Picasso prints from a museum in Sao Paulo and recovered one of the works, police and a museum official said on Saturday.
| |
|
 Pilgrims gather for World Youth Day
Tens of thousands of Catholic pilgrims from around the world crammed onto the waterfront of Sydney's famous harbor yesterday, waving flags of their home countries and singing as they awaited a Mass opening the World Youth Day festival.
| |
|
 Miss Venezuela crowned Miss Universe 2008
Miss Venezuela Dayana Mendoza, an interior designer, was named Miss Universe 2008 on Monday, after outperforming and outsmarting 14 other young women in the final round of the 57th pageant held in Vietnam's central Nha Trang city.
| |
|
 Why we're staying in China
The number of expats in China has soared in the lead-up to the Olympics. But with the Games set to begin a month from tomorrow, the question is: Is it true that what goes up must – or at least, in this case, will – come down?
| |
|
 'The Discus Thrower' to display in HK
The world-renowned marble sculpture "The Discus Thrower" will leave the British Museum for exhibition for the first time and come to Hong Kong with other 110 invaluable items during "The Ancient Olympic Games" exhibition in August, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong government said Monday.
| |
|
 Hello Kitty to represent Japan in China
Japan's tourism ministry on Monday named global marketing phenom Hello Kitty as its choice to represent the country in Chinese mainland and Hong Kong where she is extremely popular among children and young women.
| |
|
 Beijing Int'l Dance Festival opens with 'Her Story'
The first Beijing International Dance Festival raised its curtain on Friday at the Tianqiao Theater in downtown Beijing. The opening performance was called "Her Story", and was presented by the Hong Kong City Contemporary Dance Company.
| |
|
 Japanese youth start China tour for year of youth exchange
A 1,000-member Japanese youth delegation has started their tour of China with different groups visiting Shanghai and Hangzhou in the east, Chongqing and Chengdu in the west, Guangzhou in the south and Dalian in the north respectively.
| |
|
 CSA to offer non-stop Beijing-Tehran flights
China Southern Airlines (CSA) announced on Monday that it will launch non-stop direct flights from Beijing to Tehran and double the frequency to four flights per week, starting on March 31.
| |
|
 Sino-Thai Friendship Pavilion opens in Bangkok
An official delegation from Beijing presented a gift to its friendship city, the Thai capital of Bangkok on Saturday – a Chinese pavilion located in Bangkok's Lumpini Park, after two years' building.
| |
|
 CCTV opens three channels in Cuba
The China Central Television (CCTV) opened three channels in Cuba on Sunday, marking the completion of a three-phase project over the past five years.
| |
|
 Foreigners' Dream of Red Mansions
Foreign students took part in Beijing audition on Saturday, January 26, 2008, for an adaptation of the ancient Chinese literary classic, "A Dream of Red Mansions."
| |
|
 Beijing Olympic Float in LA Rose Parade wins award
The Beijing Olympic Float, which took part in the Pasadena Tournament of Rose Parade in Los Angeles on Tuesday, has won the Theme Trophy for excellence in presenting parade theme, organizers announced on Wednesday.
| |
|
 China, S Korea joust over fengshui art
For many years, the art of fengshui has been seen as an indispensable part of Chinese traditional culture. But recently, this long standing heritage was challenged when South Korea applied to list the art as a World Cultural Heritage under its name.
| |
|
 Thai Princess records Qinghai-Tibet trip in new book
A Thai Princess has released a pictorial album in Bangkok today. The album records the Princess' train journey in her own words along China's Qinghai and Tibet. A launch ceremony was held to mark this occasion because it symbolizes an ongoing and intimate bilateral relationship mutually enjoyed by the nations of Thailand and China.
| |
|
 Legendary writer Norman Mailer dies at 84
Norman Mailer, the pugnacious two-time Pulitzer Prize winner who was a dominating presence on the US literary scene for more than half a century, died on Saturday of kidney failure, his family said. He was 84.
| |
|
 More foreign students coming to China
China attracted more than 162,000 students from 185 countries and regions in 2006, an official with the Ministry of Education said at a function in Beijing for foreign students for the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Tuesday.
| |
|
 'Housewives' Re-dubbed for Shanghai Audience
The American smash hit TV series "Desperate Housewives" has been re-translated and dubbed into Chinese by the Shanghai Film Dubbing Studio for a second round of screening in Shanghai.
| |
|
 Rare Barbie Dolls to Tour China
A year-long itinerant show featuring 1,000 precious Barbie dolls since their creation in 1959 will be kicked off next January to cover seven Chinese cities including Shanghai and Beijing, an organizer said in Beijing on Wednesday.
| |
|
 Zhuhai to Host Air Show in Nov 2008
To meet the fast growing demand for aviation service, Zhuhai in South China's Guangdong Province will host China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, or Airshow China, in November 2008, Chen Ying, vice-mayor of Zhuhai, said yesterday.
| |
|
 Lively Views Exchanged on Relations
Frank and heated exchanges on Sino-Japanese relations and the future of Asia marked discussions between Chinese university students and Japanese guests at the third Beijing-Tokyo Forum yesterday.
| |
|
 Chinese Students Chat with Astronauts
Twenty Chinese students in Nanjing, the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday spoke directly via amateur radio with an astronaut orbiting above them in the International Space Station (ISS).
| |
|
 How Harry Spells It Out
College freshman Wan Xu from Beijing had no idea he would become such a popular guy. The 21-year-old is a serious member of HP Fans, a website set up by people wild about Harry Potter, the teen wizard who cast a spell across the world.
| |
|
 Play Offers Israelis Window into Chinese Daily Life
As an important part of the first China Cultural Festival being held in Israel this year, a popular drama by the renowned National Theater of China was presented Saturday night in Tel Aviv, offering the local audience a rare opportunity to learn about the daily life of Chinese people.
| |
|
 Heavy Burden, Responsible Shoulders
She could feel Queen Elizabeth II's affection for China while presenting her credentials to the monarch a couple of months ago. It was evident in the queen's tone. "Her Royal Highness was very impressed on her tour of China in 1986. She recalled discovering that the expressions of each of the Terracotta Warriors was different," says Fu Ying, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom. The warriors in Xi'an were made to guard of the tomb of the first Chinese Emperor Qinshihuang.
| |
|
 'Chinese Bridge' a Stage for Sinophiles
The second and final rounds of the Sixth Chinese Bridge – Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students kicked off today in Changchun, in northeast China's Jilin Province. The ten-day competition has collected foreign Chinese learners from universities around the world. All have survived the international preliminary rounds.
| |
|
 Sino-Japan Movie to Open Tokyo Film Festival
Cross Over, a co-production by Chinese and Japanese film makers, will open the 20th Tokyo International Film Festival in October, organisers said on Monday at the festival's first press conference.
| |
|
 Blind Girl Determined to Help Disabled Enters Harvard
Few students of any nationality receive acceptance letters from eight top US universities. The fact that Wu Jing is blind makes the achievement even more stunning in her hometown in East China's Jiangsu Province.
| |
|
 Chinese Research May Help Rescue African Mangoes
A traditional pest control method used in China could also help African farmers keep about 60 percent more of their high value crops, according to a recently released research by the Africa Rice Center in Benin.
| |
|
 Of Taiji, Chinese Culture and Zheng He
Mahmoud Allam does not only look like a sportsman, but also love sports, especially outdoor activities like hiking, tennis and, hold your breath, Chinese Taiji. He feels happy and content after exercising in open air, says Egypt's ambassador to China.
| |
|
 British Students Learn Kunqu Opera
Over a hundred students from the UK on the British Students' Camp 2007 visited the Qinlan Hall of Kunqu Opera in Suzhou and learned artistic motions from actors and actresses of Kunqu Opera.
| |
|
 Yura from St Petersburg
"We came to Inner Mongolia three and a half years ago," said Irineshna Gormarsharov, a forty-five year old Russian national.
| |
|
 Chinese Fans Rush for Final Potter Book
Thousands of Harry Potter fans in China swarmed into book stores in Beijing on Saturday to get the seventh and final volume of the boy wizard's adventures after standing in line for several hours from midnight.
| |
|
 Chinese Studies, a Sought-after Major
A notebook in hand, Mary Lepneva wrote down all the Chinese phrases that were new to her, while working as a volunteer for the Fourth China-Russia Women's Cultural Week.
| |
|
 Prince of Melancholy Hits Beijing
German singer and songwriter Maximilian Hecker met with Chinese media and expectant Beijing fans on Sunday afternoon, warming up for his upcoming show, Friday night, at Star Live.
| |
|
 Hollywood to Remake Hong Kong Romance
Hollywood will continue its tradition of ripping off popular films from other countries after a studio agreed to remake the Hong Kong romantic comedy Love Undercover.
| |
|
 'Japanese Mei Lanfang' Likely to Tour China
Japanese kabuki actor, Sakata Toojuuroo, hailed as the "Japanese Mei Lanfang," is expected to tour China in September. Along with a drama group, Sakata Toojuuroo will bring two classic pieces of kabuki art to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.
| |
|
 People Diplomacy, Shaolin Style
A Shaolin Temple delegation of martial arts experts and monks left Dengfeng in central China's Henan Province yesterday for a two-month visit to Japan where they will compete, offer demonstrations and try to boost relations between the two countries.
| |
|
 Spanish Art Exhibition Debuts in Beijing
An art exhibition from the Spanish Prado National Museum opened in Beijing on Thursday, with visiting Spanish King Juan Carlos I attending the opening ceremony.
| |
|
 Moscow, Beijing Mayors Vow to Cement Ties
Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan pledged on Wednesday to expand cooperation and enhance people-to-people contact in a bid to further bilateral ties.
| |
|
 South China Karst Made World Heritage
The South China Karst, which is made up of the stone forest in Yunnan Province, Libo County in Guizhou Province, and Wulong County in Chongqing City, was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List Wednesday.
| |
|
 Flights Added to China-Japan Route
Additional daily passenger charter flights between China and Japan will commence in October, civil aviation officials announced yesterday.
| |
|
 Foreign Students Get Onboard for Races
A group of international students from Guangzhou's Zhongshan University founded a dragon-boat team to enter today's citywide annual dragon boat competition.
| |
|
 Pulitzer-nominated Play to Stage in Shanghai
East West Theater is set to open its second show accommodating this gap in the market, whilst doing its bit for cultural exchange. The Dining Room which was first shown in New York in 1982 and earned author A.R. Gurney a Pulitzer Prize nomination opens locally today and promises its audience a humorous and compassionate performance.
| |
|
 Hunger for the West
For decades, Chinese cuisine has been making a journey to the West. But today, the dinner tables are turning. China's foreign food market, while still in its infancy, is growing fast in line with demand from a cosmopolitan set developing a taste for the international.
| |
|
 Jews Will Never Forget Harbin: Envoy
Yehoyada Haim has been in China for five years as Ambassador of Israel, but regrets not having visited more cities in the country. However, this is his sixth visit to Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
| |
|
 Mixed Marriages on the Increase
Last year, 68,000 mixed couples registered for marriage, 4,000 more than in 2005. Frequent migration across borders, driven by the country's rapid economic growth, is a major reason behind the growing number of mixed marriages
| |
|
 US Grainger President Receives Marco Polo Award
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the US-based W. W. Grainger Inc. Richard L. Keyser on Tuesday was given the Marco Polo Award, which honors American business people who support American volunteer professionals working in China.
| |
|
 Greece, China Boost Tourism Relations
Greece and China agreed on Wednesday to take a series of actions aimed to boosting bilateral tourism relations, starting with finalizing a date on holding a joint Greek-China commission on tourism in October.
| |
|
 5,000 More Students a Year to Study Overseas
The Ministry of Education has launched a five-year graduate program to send about 5,000 students a year to the world's best universities, including Harvard and Yale in the US, and Oxford and Cambridge in England.
| |
|
 Diplomats 'Impressed' by Ecoagriculture
Dozens of foreign diplomats to China said they were impressed by a Beijing village's use of ecoagriculture during a science and technology tour there Thursday.
| |
|
 British Headmasters in China to Boost Chinese Teaching
On Sunday, 110 headmasters of British schools came to China for an exchange program on Chinese language education. The program, "Chinese Bridge for UK Schools," is designed to boost cooperation between Chinese and British primary and middle schools in Chinese language teaching.
| |
|
 China-Russia Friendship Tour: China Tour Starts
The "China-Russia Friendship Tour: China Tour", a large-scale media activity jointly organized by China Radio International (CRI) and Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency, was launched in Beijing on Friday morning.
| |
|
 Two Cultures, One Office
Cultural differences, even more than language barriers, can make talking shop in Chinese offices tricky business.
| |
|
 UNICEF Holds Annual Meeting in HK for First Time
The 52nd Annual Meeting of the National Committees for the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) launched in Hong Kong Monday, with over 120 representatives joining the event.
| |
|
 Nepal Promoted as Attractive Tourist Destination
Nearly three months of its operation in Nepal, China Southern Airlines (CSA) is now focusing at promoting Nepal as an attractive tourist destination among outbound Chinese travelers, an official of the CSA said in Kathmandu Sunday.
| |
|
 Mr. Olympics Honored at Book Launch
He Zhenliang was praised as a great defender of the Olympic cause and a wise man of many qualities by Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, yesterday at the launch of his book He Zhenliang and China's Olympic Dream in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
| |
|
 China Mobile Ranks 5th Global Brand
China Mobile has leaped ahead of household names such as Marlboro and Wal-Mart to rank fifth in an influential annual ranking of the world's top brands.
| |
|
 Panda Cub to Stay in US for 2 More Years
Tai-shan, a Chinese panda cub born in the US National Zoo two years ago, will stay in the country for two more years, Chinese Ambassador to US Zhou Wenzhong announced on Tuesday.
| |
|
 New Zealand, China Expand Air Services
New code-share arrangements between New Zealand and Chinese airlines will bring about future growth in tourism and business travel between the two countries, New Zealand Transport Ministry said Monday.
| |
|
 Cai Stresses Peaceful Development
A top Chinese information official Monday emphasized the importance of peace and development to the world's most populous country during a trip to London.
| |
|
 Northeast Asian Personages Call for Cooperation
Renowned politicians, entrepreneurs, scholars and cultural personages from China, South Korea and Japan Monday called for strengthening regional cooperation and promoting common prosperity and stability in Northeast Asia.
| |
|
 Peking Opera 'Builds Bridges' with Kabuki
Peking Opera and Kabuki are two different genres of theater. But for Peking Opera actor Wu Rujun, cultural differences can turn into opportunities for cultural exchanges.
| |
|
 Two Cultures Unite in a Family
While some deep-rooted antagonism between the Japanese and Chinese cultures exists, one couple has bridged the divide with love.
| |
|
 Yearlong Fiesta in China-Spain Relationship
Spanish artists staged a performance at the opening ceremony of the "Year of Spain in China" on Friday in Beijing. Spain's First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega and China's Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng inaugurated the "Year of Spain in China", a yearlong series of activities aimed at fostering bilateral friendship and cooperation.
| |
|
 China Explores EU's 50 Years in Photographs
China unveiled a photo exhibition on Sunday which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome by charting the progress of the European Union (EU) since its inception.
| |
|
 Chinese Circus Stages in Germany
Artists of the Chinese National Circus stage a guest performance at the Tempodrom theatre in the German capital Berlin March 29, 2007.
| |
|
 Rome Woos Chinese Tourists
Both Beijing and Rome are popular tourist destinations and cities with a strong and varied cultural heritage. This provides a basis for more exchange programs in tourism, cultural protection and restoration, the mayor of Rome said during his recent visit to China.
| |
|
 Biggest Show to Beef up Economic Ties
China hosts its largest-ever exhibition China National Exhibition in a foreign land this week with nearly 200 large companies showcasing state-of-art products in the Russian capital to add economic substance to burgeoning political relations.
| |
|
 SW City to Host China's 1st Int'l Clown Festival
China's first international clown festival in early May is expected to attract 50 artists from 10 countries to Liuzhou, in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said a local government official on Wednesday.
| |
|
 Chinese Military Doctors Leave for Zambia
A Chinese medical team comprising nine military doctors, one translator and one logistics staff member left China on Monday for Zambia to offer medical aid to local residents.
| |
|
 200 Students Begin Exchange Tour in Japan
A group of over 200 Chinese high school students were welcomed Wednesday in Tokyo by Japanese government officials and friendship organizations, before they begin a week-long exchange tour in Japan.
| |
|
 Dongbei Comedy to Make Debut in US
Famous comic Zhao Benshan is taking Errenzhuan, a genre of theatrical duet comedy sketches popular in northeastern China, to the US. This is the first time the traditional Chinese folk entertainment will be performed on such a high-profile tour in America.
| |
|
 Chinese Weddings Through Foreign Eyes
The bride and the groom are the center of all eyes at a wedding feast in the Chinese countryside. True? No, not if a blonde, blue-eyed US citizen is around.
| |
|
 Spring Festival Observed in New York
A total 1,327 colored lamps were lit atop the Empire State Building, the highest building in New York City, from February 15 to 17, to celebrate Spring Festival, the Chinese lunar New Year, which falls on February 18 this year.
| |
|
 Chinese-Indian IT Venture Launched
India's biggest IT company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), officially launched a joint venture in Beijing yesterday and announced a contract with China's Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), a part of the central banking system.
| |
|
 Expat Corner: US Historian Sings Praises of the Song
"We have to 'unlearn' history if we want to know more about the past," says Richard L. Davis, head of the Department of History at Hong Kong's Lingnan University and an expert in the history of the Five Dynasties (907- 960) and Song Dynasty (960-1279) periods.
| |
|
 US Airways to Pitch for China Route
US Airways Group Inc, unsuccessful in a hostile bid for Delta Air Lines Inc last month, will seek US authorization to begin flights to China in 2008.
| |
|
 China Most Popular Tourist Destination by 2020
China will rise to become the world's top tourist destination before 2020, Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) announced Thursday at a ceremony in Beijing. China earned US$33.5 billion from tourism last year, making it the sixth highest global tourism revenue earner.
| |
|
 African Continent: Big Draw for Chinese
National Tourism Administration figures show that the number of Chinese tourists choosing African countries as first stops on trips abroad reached 194,000 last year, a year-on-year growth of 35.2 percent, with South Africa and Egypt as the top two destinations.
| |
|
 China to Continue Desert Control Efforts in Africa
The Chinese government will continue to help African countries combat desertification, according to the Gansu Desert Control Research Institute (GDCRI), which trains technicians from developing countries in desert-control methods.
| |
|
 World's Most Desirable Men to Face off in S. China
After having hosted three Miss World contests, China's tropical resort of Sanya will see the world's most handsome men compete for the title Mister World in March, the city's government announced Wednesday.
| |
|
 ADB Assists Fresh Railway Construction in China
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping China in building fresh railway systems through two technical assistance grants totaling US$1.1 million, the bank's news office said on Monday.
| |
|
|
