China at a Glance - August 4-6

by Wenhousecrafts.com

4 August 2006 (Lunar July 11)

China’s Youngest University Student just celebrated his 11^th birthday last month. Zhang started reading at age two and passed his college entrance exam when he was 10.

Martial Arts Masters Jackie Chan and Jet Li Are to Co-star Together in an action movie, probably a remake of the classic Western Journey. It will be a big Hollywood style film in English, addressing an audience of Western kung fu movie fans. But it is yet to decide which of them will play the role of Monkey God.

Foetus Gender Identification Prohibited: Chinese government says that hospitals and doctors who help patients determine a foetus’ sex for non-medical reasons will be punished by losing their license to practice.

Bus Explosion Kills 11: A passenger bus in Guizhou province, southwest of China, exploded earlier yesterday morning, killing 11 and injuring 15.

A life-size dancing robot made by China's Science Academy

5 August 2006 (Lunar July 12)

Shanghai Private School Sues Government: A group of parents in Shanghai want to sue Shanghai Education Department for closing their family-style school called "Hall of Mercian’s Mother" which mainly instructed the students to recite Chinese classics. Mercian was traditionally regarded as the second greatest sage after Confucian and the story of his poor widowed mother repeatedly relocating the residence in order to pick a right environment for her son is legendary. Last week the Department ordered the school to be closed, claiming it did not follow the official guidelines on general education. But the similar schools are still operating in many cities of China.

Confucian's Portrait

400-Year Old Turtle: China’s oldest green turtle is the one in Guangdong Aquarium. Weighted 300 kg, it is believed to be 400-year old. It loves lattice salad and socialising - whenever seeing young visitors, it would swim forward to greet the new friends.

China’s Men’s Day: August 3 is China’s Men’s Day (八三男人节), Chinese men’s answer to the International Women’s Day on March 8. The idea was first proposed three years ago by Beijing man Skinny Horse who is the chief editor of Fashion and Health for Gentlemen. This year the centre stage of the Men’s Day moved to Shanghai, with 50 well-known companies offering their male staff a day off, just as they usually do to their female staff on 8 of March.

A 7000-year old jade ornament

7000-Year Old Articles Unearthed: A few days earlier in Liyang County, Jiangsu Province, large quantity of pottery and jade articles - mainly utensils for daily use – were unearthed from a bury site dating back to Neolithic period 7000 years ago. The site consists of 252 tombs and belongs to the ancient Majia Culture (马家文化) which is the source of the Jiangnan Culture.

6 August 2006 (Lunar July 13)

First Train to Dunhuang: Yesterday morning the first train arrived in Dunhuang, the gateway to the Silk Road. 2000 kilometres west of Beijing, it is one of the top tourist destinations in China, containing 492 caves with total of 45000 square metres of Buddhist murals. Previously a trip to this historical site would involve travelling through the formidable Gebi desert by coach.

Growing Number of Internet Addicts in China: A program designed to help young people quit their Internet addiction started running yesterday. It plans to recruit 100 young addicts to participate on the trail that offers free counselling and training. According to a survey published last November, among young Netizens in China, more than 13 percent - mainly high school boys - are addictive users.

A Talkative Baby Girl: A Chinese journalist visited a Beijing family that reportedly has a talkative baby girl. The baby, named Zhang Qiaochu, was born on the Valentine’s Day this year; 34 days later on March 20, she demanded her mother to breastfeed her by voicing her first word "chinan (吃奶, meaning drink milk). Since then, her vocabulary kept expanding, which includes "daddy, grandma, cold". Once her mother watched the TV while breastfeeding her and didn’t take notice when she finished the meal. The baby scratched the mother’s breasts and commented on the service, saying "ridiculous" (taoyan 讨厌). On another occasion, when the baby found her father was not in the bed sleeping as her mother would like her to believe, she complained: "You lied" (bianren 骗人). Now five and half months old, she becomes more loquacious and greeted the journalist by calling her "Auntie" (ayi 阿姨).