Life Travel

Getting there

Direct flights between Beijing and Kashgar do not yet exist so a stop in Urumqi - a few hours at the airport or overnight - is necessary. Return flights to Urumqi are around 1,600 yuan ($210). Return flights between Urumqi and Kashgar can be as low as 1,000 yuan ($131) although a 24-hour train ride one-way gives a sense of the vastness of the region and costs 400 yuan ($52) for a soft sleeper.

Bordering on Bazaar

The knife was sharp. He had proved that by seizing my right arm, turning it veins up and dragging the blade across my skin. At the sight of a three-centimeter square bald patch on my arm, I agreed to only 10 yuan ($1.3) less than his initial asking price.

Three-day course to underwater paradise

BELLHEIM, Germany: Only millionaires can afford a trip into space. The world beneath the waves, nearly as exotic, is a far cheaper destination. While perhaps not as romantic as a half century ago - the heyday of French ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau and Hans Hass, the Austrian marine biologist - advanced scuba diving technology has made going there a lot easier.

Chinese tourism to Japan jumps by a quarter

TOKYO: Travelers to Japan from China rose by nearly a quarter last year, boosting the total number of visitors and the economy, the government said Tuesday. A total of 810,000 Chinese visited Japan in 2006, a growth of 24.6 percent from the previous year, according to a report by the transport ministry.

Life Health

Soaking up the healing powers of the sea

HAMBURG: Every year countless vacationers take a beach holiday as a way to relax, feel the surf on their feet, the warmth of the sun on their skin and the wind in their hair.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Fat or fiction?

LONDON: Working out can be not only tough and time-consuming, it is often downright bamboozling because there is so much information to comprehend. We looked at how the five biggest fitness myths stack up against scientific fact.

Life Art

Importance of getting Gaudi and gorgeous

The bright silver arch, with a mirror positioned underneath, and a uniquely designed wooden bench are out of the ordinary. Welcome to the world of Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), Spain's most eccentric architect. The exhibition, Cosmos Gaudi: Architecture, Geometry and Design, is now running at the Capital Museum in Beijing until August 2.

Spicy opera serves up many different courses

It was a pivotal moment of East-meets-West culture on Beijing's art stage. At the Forbidden City, acclaimed director Zhang Yimou and his international crew staged Puccini's opera, Turandot. That same week, Sichuan dramatist Wei Minglun presented Chinese Princess Du Landuo - his adaptation of Puccini's famous work.