An arduous journey to a Beijing hukou

Both good news and bad news await students returning to Beijing with a postgraduate degree from overseas universities.

6 ways to get the vital document

1) New graduates can try to find jobs with the national ministries or State-owned enterprises, which typically offer a hukou to their hires. Unfortunately, it's not easy to land those jobs. Successful applicants must excel in many rounds of exams and interviews. However, the trade-off with accepting the job might be a 5- or 10-year contract. The penalty for breaching those contracts is high.

Spring time in bike lane

Ever since the first snow, which came the end of October, marked the beginning of an early winter in Beijing, I've been asking when spring will come. On Monday, I woke up again to a blanket of white in the garden and the swishing sound of brooms sweeping pavement, my hopes for an early spring dashed.

Matchmaking moms need to let go

Spring Festival is the time for family reunions in China since long ago. But nowadays, many young people choose to stay in Beijing instead of going home for the festival. The reason may sound weird: to escape their mothers' "date and marriage" push.

Culture is used as excuse for failed marriage

On Why foreigners date Chinese women?

Quotation of the day

Bagging the best at market

For locals and foreign residents in the know culinary heaven can be found among the choice pickings at Xinyuanli shops.

Produce market has fresh fruit appeal

Diners tired of the same old apples, oranges and watermelon after Chinese meals can venture to the south Fourth Ring Road to procure exotic fruits at wholesale prices.

For Korean kimchi Nanhu Zonghe gets full complement

Those so accustomed to living in China that retail prices actually begin to feel like retail prices can take heart: Beijing and its environs have a bounty of markets proffering almost any food items at wholesale prices.

String quartet

The Belcea Quartet will present a program that includes Beethoven's String Quartet Op 18 No 6, Bartok's String Quartet No 3 and Schubert's Death and Maiden. Established in 1994 at the Royal College of Music of London, the band comprises Corina Belcea-Fisher and Laura Samuel on the violin, Krzysztof Chorzelski on the viola, and Antoine Lederlin on the cello. The band has had an exclusive contract with EMI Classics since 2000 and is known for its dramatic style.

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Events

From the runway to class

There is something 22-year-old Ana Ropot's classmates don't know about her.