Sheer satisfaction

Inside a rudimentary mud house in one of China's most far-flung regions, half a dozen wide-eyed villagers crowd around the screen of a laptop, as though glimpsing some alien part of their future. It is the first time any of these impoverished farmers has seen a computer.

Life Travel

Walk along Poland's wild side

MIKOLAJKI, Poland: The clouds in the clear blue sky seem to skirt the rolling hills in Poland's Masuria Province, as we paddle along a stream so clear that the fish can be seen darting amid a carpet of underwater plants.

Snow-white mountain wedding is as precious as jade

SHENZHEN: How many couples plan to get married on a snow-capped mountain? It may not be the normal ceremony, but on the first day of October on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang, a scenic city in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, more than 500 couples are planning to hold a massive wedding ceremony.

Seaside blues

Careering down a mountain along a metal half-pipe track, loosely strapped into a flimsy plastic sled, you can't help but have a little giggle to yourself.

Life Health

The funny thing about health

MUNICH: Popular wisdom has it that laughter is the best medicine. And now, a growing number of scientific studies are now providing proof.

A new look at old medicines

CHICAGO: Scientists are studying traditional food supplements used for centuries - from ginseng and flaxseed to shark cartilage - for possible cancer-curing qualities, according to research presented at a major cancer conference in Chicago.

Battle of the bulge

Ten-year-old Chang Tai is always hungry. The little fellow particularly enjoys wolfing down pork, chicken legs, and hamburgers. He already weighs 50 kilograms, almost 15 kilograms heavier than most boys of his age and height, and his weight problem is shattering his confidence.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life Book

Xinhua Bookstore turns 70

The Xinhua Bookstore was founded on April 24, 1937, in the Qingliang Mountains in Yan'an. Communist revolutionaries opened the first store at their Shaanxi Province base.