Ancient flower may have been toxic

Do not let its beauty fool you. A newly identified and exquisitely preserved flower found entombed in amber - fossilized tree sap - may have packed quite a punch.

Ghost town tests self-driving cars of tomorrow

Tucked away on a tree-lined US college campus, a sprawling ghost town has been built to test the self-driving cars of the future.

Go beyond the partying

While many may see the Spring Festival as one big extended celebration that involves a lot of eating, drinking and merrymaking, there is a serious and often hidden side to the festivities. Here we share stories of people who explain what the event really means to them and their families and how it influences them in their daily lives.

A city which nurtures its traditions

On the seventh day of Lunar New Year, which fell on Sunday, residents of Chengdu gathered at Du Fu's Thatched Cottage in the city's Qingyang district to recite poems and celebrate.

When a hutong helps bring back memories

During the Spring Festival this year, Wang Wei, 37, drove for two hours with her husband and 10-year-old son from their villa in northern Beijing to a narrow hutong near Niujie Mosque, to join in her family in celebrating the traditional festival. It's a 20-square-meter house in a courtyard, where her parents live. Her younger brother, Wang Ran, 32, who works for an Internet company in Beijing, also came back to the house with his family to join in the dinner.

Okra heads south

High-flying Beijing chef Max Levy tests the waters in Hong Kong with a proven approach, Mike Peters reports.

When life gives you lemons, make lemon chicken

When in London for the Lunar New Year week, I met an old friend in Chinatown: lemon chicken.

Chinese eating less salt, but still too much

Salt intake has been on the decline in China since 2000, but it currently is still nearly twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization, a new study said on Tuesday. Published in the US journal Jama, the study was based on total diet surveys in 2000, and from 2009-2011 in 12 of China's 31 mainland provinces, covering at least 46 percent of the Chinese population.

One hot martini

Love of machines

American engineer reluctantly takes up a job at a Chinese company and is happily surprised, report Zhang Li in Nanning and Liu Xiangrui in Beijing.

Designer draws inspiration from empress dowager

Indian-born designer Bibhu Mohapatra, who has dressed Michelle Obama and Gwyneth Paltrow, unveiled a stunning fall/winter collection in New York inspired by one of the most important women in Chinese history.

Reality-show singer to bring soulful voice to Beijing

Standing against a red door, Yuan Yawei pulls her hair over one shoulder and flashes a wide smile. The warm afternoon sun makes her happy. Dressed in a white sweater and tight jeans, she giggles while posing in a narrow hutong (alley) of downtown Beijing.