On camera

A photographer shoots the world's first camera exhibited at the Capital Museum of China in April with a state-of-the-art digital camera, marking a stark contrast between the antique and the modern. As part of the Sino-French Cultural Exchange 2007, the exhibition "A French Innovation: Birth of Photography" showcased 117 related historical items and photos. It was jointly sponsored by the Capital Museum of China, the Paris municipal government, the French Culture Center and the Nicphore Nipce Museum. Wen Zhao

Opportunities beckoning

Editor's note: The French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China (CCIFC) plays a key role in helping French companies tap into business opportunities in China. Its president Annick de Kermadec shares with China Daily her opinions on related issues, reports Liu Baijia.

Life Travel

Drinking their fields dry

Few of the thousands of tourists to Longsheng County of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region would realize that their presence is actually endangering the magnificent landscape of terraced fields they enjoy. With a population of 167,000, of whom nearly 80 percent are ethnic minorities of Miao, Yao, Dong and Zhuang, Longsheng received 235,000 sightseers in 2006, according to Yang Tongming, head of the county.

Mayan Riviera witnesses construction boom

CANCUN, Mexico: Mexico's Caribbean coastline is glowing, one-and-a-half years after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Wilma.

Life Health

A budding mom's highs and lows

Heavily pregnant Chongqing policewoman Liu Liu leaves office for a yoga institute nearby. Although Liu's husband offers her a lift, the 30-year-old insists on getting there by foot. After changing, she strokes her ball-like belly tenderly, saying: "Hi, my little baby, let's do yoga together."

Yoga's quite a stretch for some pregnant women

In China, the first prenatal yoga class was launched in October 2003 by the pregnancy gym at Shanghai's No 1 Women and Infants' Health Center, focusing on 16 to 37 weeks moms-to-be.

Herbal medicines may hinder IVF treatment, says study

LONDON: Infertile women who supplement their fertility treatment with alternative medicines may be harming their chances of becoming pregnant, according to controversial research by psychologists.

IN BRIEF (Page 19)

Life Culture

Brushing up on tradition

In 1856, Lady Yehenara was confronted with the question of what to give Qing Emperor Xianfeng for his 25th birthday. So, the learned and ambitious concubine, who would later be known as Empress Dowager Cixi, ordered the creation of a top-quality writing brush.