Life Health

The beauty of tradition

Dozens of needles pierced Zhang Xing's belly. In just a few months, the young man's waistline has shrunk about 50 centimeters thanks to traditional acupuncture treatment.

Why stress is good for you

LONDON: Just put in a stressful 60-hour week? Some people would say that's a good thing - and not just your slave-driver boss. In fact, while almost three-quarters of employees admit to being stressed at work, more than half think that this is by no means a problem. Not only is stress at work conductive to quality performance, they say - it even aids relaxation once you've clocked off for the day.

Breast-fed children are smarter because of gene

LONDON: A very common gene can help explain why breast-fed babies tend to grow up to be more intelligent than those raised exclusively on bottled milk.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life People

Wok around the world

SHANGHAI: "I see myself as half-Chinese, half-Australian. Therefore I wanted to be the link between the West and the East." A comment like this may seem rather ambitious for most people, yet from the mouth of Australian-born Chinese celebrity chef Kylie Kwong, it's not that farfetched.

A real big deal in the land of dreams

SHANGHAI: Gary Locke, the first Chinese American governor in the United States, now enjoys the shift from the limelight to a private life, but he remains active in public affairs and participates in numerous Sino-American exchanges.

Life Expat

Sweet charity

SHANGHAI: If charity makes you think of sleepy old women selling homemade cupcakes at a local bazaar, think again. Shanghai's expat community is a whole lot more inventive than that. The most recent example of reaching out in an "untraditional" way is the hunks at a local expatriate rugby club, who have just stripped off for a picture calendar - all in the name of charity.

Global village

Schools in

Out of Africa and into a land of trading opportunities

Many expats first come to China to learn the language and discover the marvels of local culture. Time flies, and the next thing they know, decades pass, and the initial seeds of interest have grown into deep roots.