Could chili really be the spice of longer life?

Sit down in any restaurant in any Chinatown in a Western country and it's a fair bet that if you are not ethnically Chinese or don't speak reasonable Mandarin you will be offered the "regular menu", featuring localized versions of favorites such as sweet and sour chicken and other adapted dishes.

Some like it hot: Five spicy dishes that may provide health benefits

HOT POT is a traditional spicy dish that originated in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

Sanya learns how to be eco-friendly

The clear water, soft sand and extensive coral beds around Sanya Bay's West Islet are a natural tourist attraction, buoyed by fishing, sailing and diving that capitalize on a richly diverse undersea world.

Leaders push green growth as way to prosperous future

Distinguished by natural coastal scenery, offshore coral reefs and beach stones shaped like Chinese weiqi pieces, Qizi Bay, Hainan province, is ripe for development.

Around China

Jiangsu

Population to peak in 2025

A lower-than-expected fertility rate means China's population will peak in 2025, something the country's leadership will have to seriously consider when drawing up its forthcoming national development blueprint, said a senior Chinese demographic expert in Brussels.

Tapping ancient lore with modern research methods

Tu Youyou, the first Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in science, said winning the prize was "not that important", but the recognition of her work can boost further research into Traditional Chinese Medicine.

IN BRIEF (Page 2)

Typhoon leaves trail of death and mayhem

At least six people were killed and another 223 injured when Typhoon Mujigae battered Guangdong province on Sunday.

Transport delays reduce the time windows for organ transplants

A large proportion of China's donated lungs are wasted due to the country's poor human organ transport system, says one of the country's top lung transplant surgeons.

Plight of 'forgotten camp' POWs recalled

The underground catacombs of one of Britain's most iconic buildings are to offer a rare chance to relive the dark days of one of the most notorious Japanese prisoner of war camps in China. Liverpool's St. George's Hall is to host a photographic exhibition highlighting the Shenyang World War II Allied Prisoners Camp, originally known as Mukden POW Camp.

Japan seeks to 'block' application for Nanjing

The Japanese government has reportedly tried to block China's effort to apply to UNESCO to list documents relating to the 1937 Nanjing Massacre on the Memory of the World Register.