Bellow gives readers much to think about

For the title of a new collection of nonfiction by Saul Bellow, Benjamin Taylor borrowed the name of a 1992 essay that Bellow wrote called There is Simply Too Much to Think About.

Photos capture old New York

A new book of photos by legendary photographer Weegee shows what industrialized, pre-gentrified New York looked like in the mid-20th century, before the city was crammed with towers and billboards.

TV schemer narrates The Art of War

A new audiobook recording of Sun Tzu's The Art of War will soon be available with the perfect narrator - the scheming royal adviser Littlefinger from Game of Thrones.

Freeing up ports of call

A new policy allows some Chinese cruise passengers to disembark in Japan without visas. Yang Feiyue reports.

Santa Monica - more than just an ocean city

Planning a trip to Southern California but don't want to fight Los Angeles' traffic? Or maybe when you hear the word Disneyland you think, "Been there, done that"? Check out the city of Santa Monica in all its picture-postcard beauty. From a funky old pier surrounded by some of the world's best beaches to its upscale shopping district, scores of art galleries, top-rated restaurants and bountiful nightlife, there are enough things to do in this little oasis just 19 kilometers west of downtown Los Angeles to keep you not only occupied but enthralled.

Ming At The Museum

More than 100,000 visitors attended a British Museum display on imperial China, and more collaboration with the UK is on the way. Wang Kaihao reports.

Taiwan artist on Plato, scrap metal and history

Hsi Shih-pin, a Taipei-based artist, uses metals and calculations in his sculptures to depict the universe in its many dimensions.

Nanjing festival seeks to grow with foreign and Chinese art

About 20 works from Pablo Picasso, all owned by a Chinese collector, will be shown to the public at the Nanjing International Art Festival in September.

Strictly Square Dancing

Day and night across China, groups of middle-aged, retirees, mostly women, gather together to dance in open spaces, such as parks and public squares.

Frosting on the cake

Marie Antoinette probably never uttered the phrase so often attributed to her: Let them eat cake.

For French baker, China is all about love and loaves

French native Jean-Pierre Morel, now in his 50s, has loved the smell of baking since he was a little boy. At the age of 16, he became an apprentice at a bakery in Paris. When he was 24, he opened his first bakery, and now has three independent bakeries in the French capital.

Pizza noir