A play that is very tough to make

Thomas Fuller, an English scholar and preacher who died in 1661, said, "All things are difficult before they are easy."

A bite of the past a feast for the senses

Ruyi Gastronomy recreates the tradition of marrying the tableware to the food to enhance the experience of eating

Patisseries and porcelain

China World Hotel Beijing is cooperating with the French porcelain brand Legle France to create afternoon teas featuring French patisseries made with Chinese ingredients, presented on lotus-themed plates.

Eat Beat

Fan the flames

The sphinx in china? no, it's a replica zhu lixin

Mountain school

Best bets

Classical Music-The Classic Buskers in Shanghai

Listings

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When leader knows, he tells partner

Henry Morgan, a 17th-century Welsh pirate who along the Spanish Main became a multimillionaire in today's dollars, said, "A kleptomaniac is a person who helps himself because he can't help himself."

Mixing it up

Wall Street bankers do it before work; laborers do it after work. Bartenders are among a rare bunch who need to do it both before and after work.

Q & A

How does the Beijing cocktail scene and culture compare with that of New York?

Spanish chef thinks 'nose to tail' for special dinner

Aitor Olabegoya, his "chef's whites" still crisp after an hour in the kitchen, is poised like an eagle over a steaming pan of soup.