The originally Western day for lovers is catching on among enamoured white collars in China. THEY sit there staring into the depths of one another's souls. Pulses quicken as the waiter slips the meticulously prepa...The originally Western day for lovers is catching on among enamoured white collars in China. THEY sit there staring into the depths of one another's souls. Pulses quicken as the waiter slips the meticulously prepared Valentine's special onto the candle-lit table. Fingers interlock, and the rapt lovers are unable to tell whether the dizziness is caused by the romance, or the revolving restaurant in which they're dining. Their gaze breaks for a peek outside the window, down upon the shimmering city lights. Only the perpetual pollution kissing the outside of the windowpane betrays that they sit in west Beijing's CCTV tower, and not in Paris... Now that might read like something out of a Mills and Boon novel (or their Chinese counterpart, Chiung Yao), but scenes like that are everywhere in China's wealthier cities on February 14. Along with Christmas and Halloween, Valentine's Day is jostling to become the country's most celebrated Western festival. It's having some success, too.展开更多
STREAKS of mascara trailed down her cheeks as Xiao Fei left yet another miserable interview in Shanghai. With a top-class post-grad in corporate finance and a relevant internship in a foreign bank, Xiao Fei never imag...STREAKS of mascara trailed down her cheeks as Xiao Fei left yet another miserable interview in Shanghai. With a top-class post-grad in corporate finance and a relevant internship in a foreign bank, Xiao Fei never imagined the competition could be so fierce. But she never imagined that discrimination against females in the white-collar job market could be so real either.展开更多
THEY had hardly finished the last piece of cake when newlyweds Zhang Jian and Liu Xiaoyan began wandering Beijing＇s wide boulevards on a mission to locate their very first house. With brand new and half-built apartme...THEY had hardly finished the last piece of cake when newlyweds Zhang Jian and Liu Xiaoyan began wandering Beijing＇s wide boulevards on a mission to locate their very first house. With brand new and half-built apartments, and even bare foundations being offered on the market, you＇d think they would be spoiled for choice.展开更多
NEVER mind smoking, gambling, or crack cocaine, Chinese youths are developing a compulsion for a differentfeature of modern life - the Internet. And the consequences can be just as severe. Just ask the family of a you...NEVER mind smoking, gambling, or crack cocaine, Chinese youths are developing a compulsion for a differentfeature of modern life - the Internet. And the consequences can be just as severe. Just ask the family of a young Tianjin teenager named Zhang Xiaoyi. Captivated by life in a fantastical cyber world, in 2004 he jumped from the roof of a 24-story building, so he could join his virtual friends in paradise.展开更多
ONCE the realm at the rattling boneshaker, China＇a city streets have been taken over by the privately owned auto. The resultant roadway chaos rnight suggest thai drivers＇ licenses are non-existent in China, bat they...ONCE the realm at the rattling boneshaker, China＇a city streets have been taken over by the privately owned auto. The resultant roadway chaos rnight suggest thai drivers＇ licenses are non-existent in China, bat they are. and they＇re not easy to obtain. As every new shixi siji （rookie driver） can attest. 58 hours of lessons and a much stricter test are needed these days before the Car Wars can begin.展开更多
BOTOX, RMB 500 per area, Liposuction, RMB 2,000 per area, Breast Augmentation, RMB 15,000,' touts an Ameri- can plastic surgeon s ad to potential clients in Beijing, where he now operates. But since 2003, when a p...BOTOX, RMB 500 per area, Liposuction, RMB 2,000 per area, Breast Augmentation, RMB 15,000,' touts an Ameri- can plastic surgeon s ad to potential clients in Beijing, where he now operates. But since 2003, when a plain Chinese girl named Hao Lulu became a house-展开更多
Chinese students are still heading overseas for education - but these days, they're also coming back. THE sea turtle may be one of the animal kingdoms' most endangered species, hut in its allegorical sense, it...Chinese students are still heading overseas for education - but these days, they're also coming back. THE sea turtle may be one of the animal kingdoms' most endangered species, hut in its allegorical sense, it thrives. Each year, thousands of Chinese set out for distant lands on a hunt for knowledge, and well-worn trails lead to every top university on earth. Some never make it - they're snaffled up by massive competition, financial restraints or bureaucracy before they ever leave their shores. But those that do get through have different instincts than their predecessors -展开更多
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, scheduled to be complete in 2010,will cover an area where one-third of the global population lives and owns 40 percent of global foreign exchange reserves.
LIAONING Province in Northeast China was once the country＇s industrial engine. Within a decade of New China＇s founding, it was churning out everything from coal and steel to fighter jets. But the engine spluttered o...LIAONING Province in Northeast China was once the country＇s industrial engine. Within a decade of New China＇s founding, it was churning out everything from coal and steel to fighter jets. But the engine spluttered out in the mid-1990s, when many of Liaoning＇s state-owned enterprises restructured or shut down completely due to bankruptcy, cavernous inefficiencies or new anti-pollution regulations. Millions were laid off, and as China was at that time concentrating on the eastern and southern seaboards, the outlook for Liaoning wasn＇t pretty. However, a new drive to revitalize the Northeast, galvanized by closer economic cooperation between Northeast China, Japan and South Korea, is breathing new life into Liaoning and beyond.展开更多
Changing traditions mean that the Chinese are marrying at a less tender age than before, and that some don't bother at all. THERE was a time in China when a bride, who might have been 16 years old, didn't see ...Changing traditions mean that the Chinese are marrying at a less tender age than before, and that some don't bother at all. THERE was a time in China when a bride, who might have been 16 years old, didn't see her betrothed's face until his anxious hands removed her silken red veil on their wedding night. Back then, all decisions regarding marriage were the parents' preserve.展开更多
CHINA＇S Olympic athletes hope to dazzle the nation with a record haul of medals at the Beijing Games in 2008, but another race to bring a smile to the host city has just commenced. This month sees the official launch...CHINA＇S Olympic athletes hope to dazzle the nation with a record haul of medals at the Beijing Games in 2008, but another race to bring a smile to the host city has just commenced. This month sees the official launch of the recruitment campaign for Olympic Volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of candidates hope to cross the finish line with a post - and the honor of serving the biggest and most significant international event their country has ever hosted.展开更多
More Chinese college students dive into the big, bad world every June - this year, there are more than 4 million. What's involved in bridging the gap between campus and working life?
文摘The originally Western day for lovers is catching on among enamoured white collars in China. THEY sit there staring into the depths of one another's souls. Pulses quicken as the waiter slips the meticulously prepared Valentine's special onto the candle-lit table. Fingers interlock, and the rapt lovers are unable to tell whether the dizziness is caused by the romance, or the revolving restaurant in which they're dining. Their gaze breaks for a peek outside the window, down upon the shimmering city lights. Only the perpetual pollution kissing the outside of the windowpane betrays that they sit in west Beijing's CCTV tower, and not in Paris... Now that might read like something out of a Mills and Boon novel (or their Chinese counterpart, Chiung Yao), but scenes like that are everywhere in China's wealthier cities on February 14. Along with Christmas and Halloween, Valentine's Day is jostling to become the country's most celebrated Western festival. It's having some success, too.
文摘STREAKS of mascara trailed down her cheeks as Xiao Fei left yet another miserable interview in Shanghai. With a top-class post-grad in corporate finance and a relevant internship in a foreign bank, Xiao Fei never imagined the competition could be so fierce. But she never imagined that discrimination against females in the white-collar job market could be so real either.
文摘THEY had hardly finished the last piece of cake when newlyweds Zhang Jian and Liu Xiaoyan began wandering Beijing＇s wide boulevards on a mission to locate their very first house. With brand new and half-built apartments, and even bare foundations being offered on the market, you＇d think they would be spoiled for choice.
文摘NEVER mind smoking, gambling, or crack cocaine, Chinese youths are developing a compulsion for a differentfeature of modern life - the Internet. And the consequences can be just as severe. Just ask the family of a young Tianjin teenager named Zhang Xiaoyi. Captivated by life in a fantastical cyber world, in 2004 he jumped from the roof of a 24-story building, so he could join his virtual friends in paradise.
文摘ONCE the realm at the rattling boneshaker, China＇a city streets have been taken over by the privately owned auto. The resultant roadway chaos rnight suggest thai drivers＇ licenses are non-existent in China, bat they are. and they＇re not easy to obtain. As every new shixi siji （rookie driver） can attest. 58 hours of lessons and a much stricter test are needed these days before the Car Wars can begin.
文摘BOTOX, RMB 500 per area, Liposuction, RMB 2,000 per area, Breast Augmentation, RMB 15,000,' touts an Ameri- can plastic surgeon s ad to potential clients in Beijing, where he now operates. But since 2003, when a plain Chinese girl named Hao Lulu became a house-
文摘Chinese students are still heading overseas for education - but these days, they're also coming back. THE sea turtle may be one of the animal kingdoms' most endangered species, hut in its allegorical sense, it thrives. Each year, thousands of Chinese set out for distant lands on a hunt for knowledge, and well-worn trails lead to every top university on earth. Some never make it - they're snaffled up by massive competition, financial restraints or bureaucracy before they ever leave their shores. But those that do get through have different instincts than their predecessors -
文摘The China-ASEAN Free Trade Zone, scheduled to be complete in 2010,will cover an area where one-third of the global population lives and owns 40 percent of global foreign exchange reserves.
文摘LIAONING Province in Northeast China was once the country＇s industrial engine. Within a decade of New China＇s founding, it was churning out everything from coal and steel to fighter jets. But the engine spluttered out in the mid-1990s, when many of Liaoning＇s state-owned enterprises restructured or shut down completely due to bankruptcy, cavernous inefficiencies or new anti-pollution regulations. Millions were laid off, and as China was at that time concentrating on the eastern and southern seaboards, the outlook for Liaoning wasn＇t pretty. However, a new drive to revitalize the Northeast, galvanized by closer economic cooperation between Northeast China, Japan and South Korea, is breathing new life into Liaoning and beyond.
文摘Changing traditions mean that the Chinese are marrying at a less tender age than before, and that some don't bother at all. THERE was a time in China when a bride, who might have been 16 years old, didn't see her betrothed's face until his anxious hands removed her silken red veil on their wedding night. Back then, all decisions regarding marriage were the parents' preserve.
文摘CHINA＇S Olympic athletes hope to dazzle the nation with a record haul of medals at the Beijing Games in 2008, but another race to bring a smile to the host city has just commenced. This month sees the official launch of the recruitment campaign for Olympic Volunteers. Hundreds of thousands of candidates hope to cross the finish line with a post - and the honor of serving the biggest and most significant international event their country has ever hosted.
文摘More Chinese college students dive into the big, bad world every June - this year, there are more than 4 million. What's involved in bridging the gap between campus and working life?
