Global village

Don't leave home without it

Expats must carry some form of identification when they roam around the Middle Kingdom, but they do not have to carry their full passport, a senior Beijing police spokesman told China Daily. However, the spokesman says it is a good idea for expats to keep their passport number handy in case they are involved in an accident and authorities need to identify them and contact their embassy or relatives. A country-of-origin drivers license is also a valid form of identification.

More than Cynthia can bear

German Cynthia Schupp invites expats to the Black Bear Rescue Center in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. Schupp is a member of the charity group Animals Asia and China Bear Rescue, a major project aiming to end bear farming in China. For more info about the group's work, go to www.animalsasia.org.

Splendid isolation

Over the past 18 years, Bill Porter has interviewed dozens of hermits and Zen masters in China in an effort to better understand the poetry and sutras he has translated under the name Red Pine. The result is a new book Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits.

Tales from Tianjin

Tianjin expats are a busy lot in one of China's largest cities and hold a variety of events to entertain themselves. Octoberfest celebrations will be held at The Renaissance TEDA Hotel next month. A backgammon club and a couple of folks have also started up coffee club. The group even holds a Ten Pin bowling competition. Also, every Sunday there is a Christian Fellowship with Sunday School for children. For more info about expat activities in Tianjin, check out http://www.tianjinexpats.com

Confucius says

Traditional Chinese artists are normally the people who conduct courses on cultural art, poems and calligraphy. So it is interesting to see a Brit joining the teaching throng. Knight Briard opened Confucius Institution in Nanjing Confucius Temple this year and is sharing his 13 years of knowledge about China's rich history.

Rocketed to a new dimension

The mountains of Nepal are a good place to see the stars but Utsav Sharma believes Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics is better. The 22-year-old Nepalese came to Nanjing two years ago and says it has changed his life. "I want to stay here in the future. Do you know, I love it here."

AND ANOTHER THING...

Six Chinese provinces are easy to identify by simply knowing the Chinese words for mountain (shan), river (he), lake (hu), north (bei), east (dong), south (nan) and west (xi). Shanxi Province is west of the mountain range and Shandong is east. Hebei is north of the Yellow River and Henan is south. Hubei is north of the Dongting Lake and Hunan is south.

(China Daily 09/21/2007 page20)