36 hours in Nashville, Tennessee

Country music is alive and well in Nashville; you might even see a young family in broad daylight practicing their line dancing on the sidewalk outside a bar downtown - all in cowboy boots, including the toddler who just learned to walk.

Little Kyoto

Like most small towns in Japan, Takayama, Gifu, in Central Japan has a serene look. Except for the Nohi bus terminal and the JR railway station, it has virtually no traffic, even though the town functions as a hub that connects some of Japan's most famous tourists sites like the historic UNESCO village Shirakawa-go, the Okuhida Onsen-go and the Japanese Alps.

An unexpected stop

On the day when my cousin and I were scheduled to leave Japan, we took the Centair express from Nagoya city to Centair airport. We were happily working out possible plans for our next trip together, since we are both in jobs that do not allow us to take leave without advance notice. But never would we know that we'd have an extra day in Japan, and for me it turned out to be absolutely the gem of my trip.

Special deliveryman

A courier has won superstar fame since he rang the New York Stock Exchange bell on behalf of e-commerce titan Alibaba Group. He tells Deng Zhangyu he hopes to employ his celebrity to expand his charity work.

Stargazing fetches Chinese woman honor for research

Gazing at stars has always been her thing since childhood. So it wasn't entirely surprising when Chen Xuefei was recently recognized along with nine others for contributions to the sciences.

Conductor takes his 'magic' to America and back

Conductor and pianist Lio Kuokman can still recall the first classical music concert he attended at the age of 4. An orchestra from Macao was performing, and the program included Brahms' Symphony No 2.

The day the music died

For Gao Weiguo, a 35-year-old who works in the IT industry, a karaoke bar is where he spent his free time when he was in his 20s.

On the way home

New tidings

This year's lunar New Year holiday season is likely to witness fierce competition at the country's box office among three movies that have been adapted from reality TV programs.

What's in a name? For Birdman, maybe an Oscar

And the winner is ... a mouthful.

Unbroken unable to draw local audience yet

For Chinese moviegoers, the movie Unbroken has it all - from being directed by Angelina Jolie to the screenplay written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen to its cinematography by the 11-time Oscar-nominee Roger Deakins. In addition, there's popular Japanese singer Miyavi, who plays the villainous Mutsuhiro Watanabe.

New faces for gala

As a small gesture to its urgent craving for change, China Central Television on Monday announced that for its much-anticipated annual Spring Festival Gala, widely known as Chunwan, it will double the number of hosts this year.