A sound mix

World-renowned groups such as Huun-Huur-Tu came together in Shanghai recently with unknown farmer musicians such as those of the Pumi ethnic group from Yunnan province to present a kaleidoscopic view of music in the world.

Life Pulse

Lady and the torch

On April 26, 2007, each mobile phone subscriber of Guanghan, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan province, received a short message from the local government, reading: "Guanghan, hometown of Sanxingdui Ruins and birthplace of Yangtz River culture, will be one of the torch relay cities for the 2008 Olympics."

A taste of real farm labor on Labor Day

Do you want to be a two-day farmer, a friend asks me just before the May Day holiday. Why not, I think, it must be a lot of fun. I accept happily, hoping to have a real Labor Day.

Reviews

Book

Life Pulse

Victory lap

May 2, 2008, was a red-letter day for the people of Hong Kong - 44 years after the Olympic torch first arrived on Sept, 1964, the island witnessed another historic moment.

A life amid kind thieves and prescient old men

My friend Juanzi has the magical ability to make mundane life sound really exciting. For example, she is the only one of us to have got back her purse from a thief. One day, in a vegetable market, she found her purse gone and shouted: "Those who have taken away my purse, listen to me.

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Films

Life Pulse

Back against the Wall

In chilly winds of early April, Yang Yongfu, 46, walked in an internal passageway in a section of Great Wall stretching up to the mountaintop. Yang limped along the ridge of the mountain range and reached the signal fire platform at the top. He is not a tourist, but the constructor of the 760-m long Great Wall conjunct with three signal fire platforms.

Have bowl and chopsticks, will eat and travel

Twenty minutes before class began my dad called: "What did you have for lunch?" "I'm eating now. Noodles with egg stew." "Now? Won't you be late for class?"