What's a beautiful banquet without a long, hearty chat?

SHANGHAI: Nothing like a home-cooked meal. And so it is for the Spring Festival.

Eight dishes the bare minimum

CHANGCHUN: People in Northeast China attach great importance to the Spring Festival Eve dinner. The meal is more luxurious than usual, with at least eight dishes on the table. Families, especially the women, take more than half a day to prepare it.

A nation totally wrapped

Jiaozi is a dumpling and is undoubtedly one of the best-loved Chinese foods for locals and expats alike. It is made with a flat dough wrapping and is stuffed with meat and vegetable and boiled or steamed.

How to make jiaozi

Ingredients (serves 4)

Life People

Famous fish tale

Thanks to the many rivers and lakes scattered around Hangzhou, the locals have developed many famous dishes with fish.

Hooked on a feeling

The lake is covered with a misty blanket and the glassy water surface is barely awakened by the small rowing boats. A few water birds chirp and flutter from the surface to the sky, which is turning bright red in the east.

Life Style

China touch for NY catwalk

NEW YORK: The image of Chinese fashion, still in the West associated with cheongsam dresses and Mao jackets, has been brought up to date by a catwalk show in New York.

Old is gold

NEW YORK: There is a bit of a vintage vibe at New York Fashion Week, with many designers mining bygone eras as inspiration for their new fall collections. The outfits are distinctly feminine, although there are many menswear touches. The brown, moss and gray backdrop is made richer with plum, berry and blue.

Life Travel

Mumbai magic

NEW YORK: "One could say that Mumbai is the New York City of India," Mumbai native Divya Abhat is saying about the metropolis formerly known as Bombay.