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Search to see who's the wildest about Harry

Beijing has recently been declared China's "Harry-est City" by Joyo Amazon, the largest Chinese-language bookstore in the world and a major stockist of the Harry Potter books.

Other cities on the shortlist are Huizhou, Zhuhai and Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, Shanghai, and Wuhan in Central China's Hubei Province.

The cities were chosen for their sales of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh book in the series. Shi Tao, vice-president of Joyo Amazon, says that Harry Potter 7 (the Chinese version) has sold three times more copies than its predecessors.

The "Harry-est Town" in China is an honor given to the city that has ordered the most copies of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows from Joyo Amazon on a per capita basis, according to Shi Tao.

So far the Chinese edition of the previous six Harry Potter installments have reportedly sold over 9 million copies across China. Since its first installment came out in 1997, the Harry Potter series has been translated into 65 languages and sold at least 300 million copies.

A happy musical anniversary

The Central Conservatory of Music held a concert on Monday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's approval of the school's expansion of its admissions quota.

In 1977, China had its first public examination for the entrance of universities and colleges after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

Because of the accumulation of students during the 10 years, many talented students could not be admitted because of the limited quotas.

Deng, the then vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, approved the conservatory's request for a higher quota. Many students admitted that year became famous musicians later, such as Tan Dun, Chen Qigang and Guo Wenjing.

Separated twins hit screens

A City and Two Beautiful Girls (Yizuo Chengshi He Liangge Nuhai), a film featuring the picturesque scenery of Sanya, the tourist hotspot in South China's Hainan Province, premiered in Beijing on Monday.

Sanya is called "China's Hawaii" and the film is set among sandy beaches and coconut palms. The plot follows twin sisters who are separated because of their parents' divorce. One of them lives in Taiwan while the other stays in Sanya. After years of separation, the two meet again, at last. The film also focuses on the great changes that have taken place in Sanya since China's social reforms.

China Daily

(China Daily 12/12/2007 page18)