Life People

Full speed ahead on the flaming red fast lane to fun

RADDA, Italy: It's sunny, but not too hot, and I am behind the wheel of a glorious, flaming red, 1965 Giulia Spider Veloce. There's an olive grove to the left, a vineyard to the right and not another car in sight.

Long ride to Finnish line

Tony Ilmoni heard the terrifying sound of ice cracking. Suddenly the steep, snowy peaks were drained of beauty. The early, crisp air had given way to unrelenting heat, turning this frozen wasteland to a melting death trap.

Life Culture

Qu is my language of love

The first collection of my poetry is called A New Song of Old Desperation. Why? It's because of my admiration of Qu Yuan.

Poetry in motion

So often, people celebrate festivals without any idea of their origins. A good example of this is the Duanwu Festival, or the Dragon Boat Festival, which starts today - the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. It is one of the three major traditional Chinese festivals, in addition to the Spring Festival (February 18 this year) and the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 25).

Remembering the essence of Chinese culture

Nearly every month featured a festival in ancient China. These festivals were deeply entrenched in daily life and were richly intertwined with cultural characteristics that can only be "seen" through one's "mind" and "heart".

Life Expat

New options for foreign kids

The Ministry of Education has approved 86 international schools across the country, including 20 in Beijing and 18 in Shanghai, to be opened to foreigners by January. Private schools have also opened to foreigners, with tuition and boarding fees about 50,000 yuan ($6,500) a year, slightly lower than international schools.

Global village

BEIJING

Sunseeker leaves a global trail of goodwill

After he left the bone-chilling cold of northern Canada, Greg MacIsaac spent four years as a schoolteacher in tropical Tanzania where he warmed up long enough to entertain a new job at a Beijing school. His dislike for the cold and his fondness for teaching motivated him to explore the outside world, he says.

School daze

When American Mareno Rathell began investigating the best way to educate his three sons he was surprised by the "outrageous prices, lack of choice and the system that is in place but does not work". The English teacher from Milwaukee wanted to send his children to an international school, but the option was beyond his reach. Some schools charge more than $20,000 per child per year.