Life Pulse

Great grassland hours away

It is a good time to escape from Beijing in August when the whole city is grasped by heat and moisture. And there's no better place to flee to than to Inner Mongolia, the vast grassland only 300 kilometers north of the capital.

Twist and shout

Buhe stood casually at the east side of the field; his eyes were fixed on the wrestlers. At 35, the father of two appeared very excited about the upcoming tussle.

Blasted heat does not suit me to a tea

Ask me to list three things I can't live without on a hot summer day, and I'll say an air conditioner, a back-up air conditioner and several glasses of sweetened iced tea - or what we southern Americans call "sweet tea".

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Films

Life Pulse

Main works of Feng Xiaogang

2006 The Banquet (Ye Yan)

When the invisible umbilical cord is cut

My husband and I honor punctuality. But when we arrived at the kindergarten in our neighborhood one afternoon, we found a party in full swing. Loud, cheerful music burst out of the half-open door, through which we could see people walking in a circle, clapping and waving hands. Seeing our hesitation, a smiling lady called us to join.

The people's filmmaker

Among China's three most powerful directors, Feng Xiaogang is perhaps the only grassroots hero. People often refer to Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige as masters, but when talking about Feng, they smile as if he is a sweet neighbor who always invites you to share his dumplings.

Reviews

Films

Blog leads to strangers on my doorstep

A few days ago, I was cleaning the mess left by our yellow kitten and my wife was preparing lunch. Everything appeared peaceful, harmonious and logical. There was no sign suggesting that it would be a day to challenge our imaginations.

Unlocking secrets

A Mongolian businessman couldn't find the keys of his Audi. The auto dealers said it would take one month to order the keys from Germany and the cost would be high. The man tried his luck with local locksmiths, none of whom could open the car door.