Third parties aid customers' needs

With more Chinese people aware of a larger variety of products available to them, objective suggestions from third parties are starting to be appreciated.

Big data offers a goldmine

Internet observers analyzing the benefits of the sensational deal between Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Sina Corp's Twitter-like Weibo service reckon data resources may be a hidden treasure for both companies.

Guanxi suffers from social networking

The importance of guanxi in executives' career management in China is being seen as changing as a result of online career management and social media sites, according to a recently released survey.

Tech bytes

The challenges of urbanization

Urbanization | Zheng Yangpeng

Taxing Internet sales - a burden too far for some?

Commerce| Shen Jingting

Strategic inaction best way forward?

Nothing appeared more serious than the market-wide setback for Chinese stocks as the Shanghai Composite Index fell to 2000 and may, as some analysts fear, fall further to 1900.

Microblog insights

Topic 1: Stocks in the United States, Europe, China and Japan all plunged on Thursday as investors fretted over the US Federal Reserve's plan to begin reducing its stimulus later this year if the economy strengthens. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said the central bank's policy of buying $85 billion in bonds per month could start to wind down this year if the economy is strong enough and could finish in mid-2014.

Starwood accelerates expansion in China

Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide has announced plans to open a new hotel in China every 20 days for the next year. China is already the hotel conglomerate's largest market outside the United States, and also its fastest growing - with 120 hotels open and more than 100 in the pipeline.

Wedding belles by the beach on Sanya

Where else in China can you get married on the beach with the tropical sun shining down on you? This is the dream wedding with style, romance and atmosphere. In fact, it is everything a beach wedding should be, and it's all part of the bridal show put on at the beachside lawn of the Kempinski Hotel Haitang Bay Sanya, a 2 billion yuan ($323 million) investment by the group and its first and only beach resort in China.

On the island of the gods

There is now one more reason to visit the island of Bali. The Regent Bali, barely a few weeks old after its opening on June 1, is another good place to enjoy Bali's famous beaches, with the added incentive of perfectly landscaped greenery and a large infinity pool.

Hotel listings

Beijing